Healy school staff members take part in a healthy heart pep rally on Tuesday Page 32
32 Pages • Four Sections
Volume 21 • Number 28
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Published in Scott City, Ks.
$1 single copy
by sea and by air Scott Community High School senior Steven Fisher (in front of a depiction of a mosasaur) holds portions of a mosasaur vertebrate that he uncovered while fossil hunting. Fisher is hoping the mosasaur and pteranodon will be designated official Kansas fossils.
Scott City youth seeking two state fossils Having walked the chalk beds of this region for many years in search of fossils, Steven Fisher has gained an appreciation for this vast area that was once part of the Western Interior Sea between 70 and 90 million years ago. His interest began as a young 4-Her who decided to start a geology project because “I liked finding rocks that looked cool.” But in an area that has become famous for its fossil treasures thanks to George Sternberg, Ernest Fick and Marion and Chuck Bonner, it was only natural for Fisher to eventually follow a similar path. “The more I learned the
Gives testimony before House committee more I wanted to know,” says the 18-year-old senior at Scott Community High School. “Finding fossils has been the favorite part of my (4-H) project. You’re finding history.” Only recently, Fisher discovered that despite the state’s rich contributions to the world of paleontology, Kansas is among just 10 states without an official state fossil. Fisher is hoping to change that after appearing before a committee in the Kansas Legislature on Wednesday morning asking that the state designate
the mosasaur and the pteranodon as the state fossils. He has also been circulating a petition to gather signatures in support of his effort. The Tylosaurus, which is a giant mosasaur which inhabited the great inland sea, would be the official marine fossil. The pteranodon would be the official flying fossil. Fisher was invited to speak before the Vision 20/20 Committee by State Rep. Don Hineman, Dighton, who is a committee member. Also giving testimony were Alan Detrich,
the paleontologist who found the T-Rex skeleton in Wyoming, and Mike Everhart, author of the book, “Oceans of Kansas.” “It’s a pretty friendly committee,” says Rep. Hineman, pointing out that Committee Chairman Tom Sloan (R-Lawrence) had once tried unsuccessfully to get a fossil bill passed by the House. State Deserves a Fossil Chuck Bonner and his wife, Barbara Shelton, who own the Keystone Gallery in southern Logan County, were approached
(See SRC on page two)
(See FOSSILS on page eight)
Budget shortfall concerns some, not all legislators
SRC targets 2M reduction in water use
After several years of sharp increases in water usage, the Scott Recreation Commission is planning to reverse that trend. In a meeting with the Scott City Council on Tuesday evening, the SRC director outlined plans to reduce water usage by two million gallons this year. The reduction in usage is also in line with the city’s goal of cutting consumption by 20 percent should a Local Enhanced Management Area (LEMA) be approved which would include Scott County and four other area counties in Groundwater Management District No. 1. Water usage by the SRC at its soccer fields and the Sports Complex has skyrocketed since 2007 when the two locations
about the idea a couple of years ago by Rep. Hineman. “It’s surprising that Kansas doesn’t have an official state fossil considering the great discoveries here,” says the longtime fossil hunter and expert. “Either one would be a good choice.” Bonner said he has always favored the pteranodon since the best fossil specimens in the world have been discovered in Kansas chalk beds. The mosasaur, while found throughout the world, was prevalent in the Western Inland Sea and, according to Bonner, “was the first animal designated as extinct by a scientific paper.”
State Rep. Don Hineman takes notes while State Sen. Mitch Holmes answers a question during a legislative stop in Scott City on Saturday. (Record Photo)
406 Main, St. Scott City • 620-872-2090 www.scottcountyrecord.com
National FFA president pays a visit to SCHS chapter Page 9
When the Kansas Legislature approved Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax cut plan a year ago there were concerns in some corners that it wouldn’t produce enough revenue through new job creation to offset income that was being eliminated - or the job creation wouldn’t happen quickly enough. That concern was echoed by Rep. Don Hineman (RDighton) during his annual legislative tour in Scott City on Saturday afternoon with State Sen. Mitch Holmes (R-St. John). “Some folks are starting to look at options,” noted Rep. Hineman. “Some urban legislators are thinking that usevalue appraisal is too good a deal for farmers and maybe they ought to be paying more property tax. They see that as a partial solution to the revenue shortfall.” A bill has also been introduced in the House which would increase the state cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack, generating an estimated $100 million annually.
406 Main, St. Scott City • 620-872-2090 www.scottcountyrecord.com Opinion • Pages 4-5 Calendar • Page 7 LEC report • Page 10 Health • Pages 12-13 Deaths • Page 14-15
Sports • Pages 17-24 Business • Page 25 Farm section • Pages 26-28 Classified ads • Pages 30-31
(See BUDGET on page two)
GWAC title slips away from SCHS boys with loss to Horns Page 17
The Scott County Record • Page 2 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
Commercial vehicle registration deadline Feb. 28 Time is running out on a two-month grace period for heavy trucks and trailers to renew their registration in the new Commercial Motor Vehicle system. At the start of the year the state switched to a new registration system for commercial motor vehicles. The grade period ends on Feb. 28 for registrations that expired on Dec. 31. Farm vehicle registration is not affected by the change, according to Scott County Treasurer Lark Speer. Since Jan. 1, more than
42,000 commercial motor vehicles have been registered at the 72 county and state offices offering the service. Starting March 1, commercial motor vehicles with expired tags could be ticketed by law enforcement. “The last week of the month is always a busy time for county treasurers as many drivers wait until the end of the month to renew their tags,” says Speer. “We urge those businesses with commercial vehicle registrations that expired in December to not wait until the last minute.”
Budget “But that reminds me of the old (Kansas State University economist) Barry Flinchbaugh quote that there’s not enough sin in Kansas to finance state government with sin taxes,” he noted. Without some action, the state could be staring at some serious financial problems within the next couple of years. It’s projected that the state will spend $179 million more than it takes in during the current fiscal year that ends June 30. That will balloon to $283 million next year. Rep. Hineman says the only thing creating a major fiscal crisis in the short term is $500 million in savings, with most of that disappearing over the next two years if income projections hold true. By the end of the 2016 fiscal year (June 30, 2016) the state will have spent $235 million more in revenue than it receives “and we’ll be broke by the end of the year,” says Rep. Hineman. “If the tax cut plan doesn’t work as projected
Motor carriers operating solely in Kansas as an intrastate motor carrier will receive a new license plate. The new white and purple plate marked “Commercial” will provide an easy reference for law enforcement. Kansas-based motor carriers that drive in Kansas and other states and currently have an apportioned tag will continue to receive the license plate that is white with red marked “Apportioned.” The definition of a commercial vehicle is not changing;
the federal rules have been in place since July 2000. The new system will help ensure that all commercial vehicles are properly registered and comply with existing federal and state laws. Currently, commercial vehicles should be operating under a U.S. DOT number. That DOT number will be used to set up the new intrastate commercial vehicle registration account. A commercial vehicle is a non-farm vehicle used to transport property or passengers and: •Has a gross vehicle weight
or gross combination vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more; •Is designed or used to transport 15 or more passengers, including the driver; or •Is used to transport hazardous material in a quantity requiring placarding. More information is available in the commercial vehicle registration section of www. truckingks.org. Operators can also check if their county treasurer’s office offers commercial vehicle registration or to register for a DOT number.
(continued from page one)
we’ll be in trouble,” he said. Sen. Holmes remains optimistic, claiming that “revenue isn’t as dire as we were told it was going to be.” “This is my tenth session and every session, when you look at projections for the next five years, it looks like the end of the world. It hasn’t happened,” says Sen. Holmes. “The projections are useful for planning tools, but I don’t take a Chicken Little attitude because projections say that seven years from now we’ll be $3 billion under.” Rep. Hineman says more legislators are taking a serious look at revenue projections, “but no one has a direction we ought to go yet.” Larry Hoeme, Scott City, suggested the legislature may need to look at shortening the list of sales tax exemptions. “It seems that every time the legislature looks at it they keep adding to the list . . . property tax (exemptions) too,” Hoeme noted.
SRC
That situation may get worse before it gets better, said Rep. Hineman. He said there is a bill in the House Tax Committee that would exempt privately owned health clubs from property taxes so they can enjoy the same tax break as YMCAs. “They want their (tax break) and they’re probably going to get it,” said Rep. Hineman. “It would seem we’ve shrunk the tax base enough, but they’re probably going to get it.” Rep. Hineman also questions the fiscal policy that calls for eliminating personal income and corporate taxes while keeping the sales tax at a higher rate. He points out the state has traded a tax source that has “positive elasticity” with one that offers less room for growth. For example, if an individual or company’s income should double in a year’s time, that would be reflected in greater income tax revenue for the state - if the state has an income tax. That increase in revenue, however, won’t
translate into a similar increase in the sales tax. “Just because you made twice as much money doesn’t mean you’ll spend twice as much,” says Rep. Hineman. He also points out that the states bonded indebtedness increased from $3.7 billion in FY2011 to $4.5 billion in FY2013. “Half of this is from (the Kansas Department of Transportation). The state keeps stealing their money,” says Rep. Hineman. For example, when the state needed $7 million to complete landscaping of the capitol grounds, it raided KDOT funds. “This is a disturbing trend,” adds Rep. Hineman. “There are warning flags out there that we need to be paying attention to.”
(continued from page one)
used a total of 1.27 million gallons. Water usage peaked during 2012 - a severe drought year - at 16.17 million gallons. The department sliced its water use by 24 percent - or 3.9 million gallons last year to 12.24 million gallons. SRC Director Lauren Robinson cited a number of water-saving measures which have been, or will be, implemented
by the commission. These include: •The SRC has purchased and installed a new sprinkler system motor for $10,500. This will conserve water by providing better coverage and less over-watering. •Sprinkler heads are being purchased to replace older heads which leak or no longer provide adequate coverage. •The SRC, in partnership with USD 466, has started to use an aeriova-
tor which was purchased in the spring of 2013. This machine sends vibrated tines about 4-5 inches into the ground to allow the water to reach deeper roots. This also makes the ground softer which means less water needs to be applied. •The SRC is looking at the purchase of rain sensors that would automatically shut off the sprinkler system if rain should pass through the area while it is in operation.
What’s for Lunch in Scott City? Sun. - Sat., Feb. 23-Mar. 1
Majestic Theatre 420 Main • 872-3840
Hours
Lunch • Tues., Wed., Thurs., Fri. 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Evenings • Thurs., Fri., Sat. 5:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Tues. • Open faced prime rib sandwich with fries, $10.95 Wed. • Chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes, $6.95 Thurs. • Smothered steak with mashed potatoes and gravy, $6.95 Fri. • Tijuana tostada, $6.95
What’s for Supper?
The Broiler
1211 Main • 872-3215
5Buck Lunch 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Chili Cheese Dog • 1/4 lb Cheeseburger • 3 Piece Chicken Strips
Includes Fries, 21 oz. Drink and Small Sundae
102 Main St. • 872-5055 1304 S. Main • 872-5301
6
$
Mon. • Sat. 5:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Sun. • 5:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Mon.• Chicken fry
49
Buffet
11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Tues.• Hamburger steak with mushrooms and onions Wed.• Fried chicken Thurs.• Mountain oysters Fri.• Seafood specials Sat. • Prime rib
Breakfast specials every night.
The Scott County Record
Community Living
Page 3 - Thursday, February 20, 2014
Popular Walk Kansas event is coming soon Now is the time to mark your calendar and get ready to dust off your walking shoes. The annual Walk Kansas will kickoff on March 16 and continue through May 10. The eight-week fitness challenge has become a springtime tradition in Kansas. The program challenges teams of six to log regular physical activity with a goal of accumulating 423 miles - the distance between the state’s east and west borders. The team concept helps people to do what they might find more difficult to achieve on their own.
The beauty of the program is that it’s as simple as walking or biking in your neighborhood or around town. You can do it after work, during your lunch hour or on weekends. The program is also popular with friends, neighbors and families because they can do it together. You can work out your
own schedule, but 30 minutes of physical activity five or more days a week will help your team reach its 423-mile goal. Of course, this is about more than getting your team across the state. Individuals who exercise regularly realize the benefits of better sleep, greater ability to manage stress, increased energy level, improved muscle tone, and a drop in blood pressure, for example. Physical activity can also be helpful in managing arthritis and has been shown to reduce the risk of some cancers.
And regular exercise will lead to weight loss. Walk Kansas participants receive weekly encouragement via a nutrition and health newsletter. In addition to logging your miles, participants also have the option of tracking fruit and vegetable consumption, with a goal of increasing healthpromoting foods and decreasing foods that are higher in calories and fat. The newsletter includes recipes to encourage participants to incorporate a variety of foods into meals and snacks. Walk Kansas partici-
Births PARENTS OF DAUGHTER Bennett and Kaci Sattler, Halstead, announce the birth of their daughter, Elsa Jane, who was born on Jan. 27, 2014. She weighed 7 lbs., 6.8 oz. and was 19-1/2 inches long. Maternal grandparents are Rex and Caren Watson, Peabody. Paternal grandparents are Daniel and Karen Sattler, Scott City. Maternal great-grandmother is Barbara Watson, St. John, and paternal great-grandmother is Janice Sattler, Atwood. PARENTS OF DAUGHTER Kris and Angie Radke, Scott City, announce the birth of their daughter, Shalyn Marie, born Dec. 30, 2013, at the Scott County Hospital. She weighed 9 lbs. 5 oz. and was 20-1/2 inches long. Shalyn was welcomed home by her big brothers, Katherine Coffman and Matt Dixon Avery and Aaren. Maternal grandparents are Brad and Susan Hull and Steve and Loretta Fyler, all of Scott City. Richard and Vickie rently employeed as the Paternal grandparents are Jake Radke, Great Bend, Coffman, Minneapolis, human resource manager and the late Shari Radke. Ks., announce the engage- at AGCO Corporation in Great-grandparents are Carmenlee Hull and Kenment of their daughter, Beloit. neth Fyler, Scott City, and Marie Baker, Marienthal. Katherine, to Matthew Matt is a 1996 graduate Dixon, son of Robert and of Scott Community High Rose Dixon, Friend. School. He is employed in Kate is a 2001 graduproduction support at El ate of Minneapolis High School and 2005 gradu- Dorado National, Salina. The couple plans a ate of Ft. Hays State UniMarch 29 wedding at the versity with a bachelors of business administra- First Presbyterian Church, tion degree. Kate is cur- Minneapolis.
Coffman-Dixon are engaged
Reception to honor Fyler on 90th birthday
Kenneth L. Fyler will observe his 90th birthday on Mon., March 3. He was born March 3, 1924, at McCracken. Fyler started the Dairy Queen in Scott City in 1950. He has three sons, Kenneth L., Jr., and wife, Charlene, Wichita, Mike and wife, Melinda, McPherson, and Steven and wife, Loretta, Scott City. His children will host a come-and-go reception on Sat., March 1, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., at the Bryan Conference Center, 416 S. Main, Scott City.
Friendship ‘Meals to Go’
Good for special diets • only $3.25/meal • Call 872-3501
pants are encouraged to add strengthening exercises two days each week, and to choose water, rather than sugary beverages. The cost to participate in Scott County is $7. T-shirts and other apparel are optional and available for an additional cost. The shirt colors this year are purple, gray and turquoise. Teams who prefer a greater challenge can try to make it across the state twice - a total of 846 miles - or around the state. To register stop by the Extension office and pick up a captain’s packet or
print sign-up information from the Extension website at www.scott.ksu.edu. Registration is due by March 14. Each team who has their registration submitted on time will be included in a drawing with the winning team getting their registration fee refunded. So, don’t delay. Get your team together now. The local event will conclude with a Walk Kansas celebration on May 13 at the courthouse. For more information call the Extension office (872-2930) or e-mail ccrouch@ksu.edu.
The Scott County Record
Editorial/Opinion
Page 4 - Thursday, February 20, 2014
editorially speaking
Overdue:
History dictates Kansas should have state fossil
When one considers the tremendous fossil discoveries that have been made in Kansas and the contributions that fossil hunters in the state have made to our understanding of life in this region tens of millions of years ago, it’s hard to imagine that we don’t have an official state fossil. If we can have a state reptile (ornate box turtle), a state amphibian (Barred Tiger Salamander) and even state grass (Little Bluestem), then why not a state fossil? Or two? Scott Community High School senior Steven Fisher was in Topeka earlier this week appearing before a House Committee to make a pitch for the mosasaur (marine) and pteranodon (flying) to be designated as official state fossils. The effort has the support of author Mike Everhart whose book, “Oceans of Kansas,” helped educate many people about the Western Interior Sea that once covered Kansas. And the project has the support of long-time fossil hunting expert Chuck Bonner whose family has their own special place in the world of paleontology with the Bonnerichthys named in their honor. While Bonner is particularly supportive of the pteranodon since “the best specimens are found in the Kansas chalk,” he concedes, “they can share billing.” Those endorsements of the high school youth’s efforts are helpful, but Fisher can also use added support in the form of letters, e-mails and petitions sent to members of the Vision 20/20 Committee and state legislators. Western Kansas is famous throughout the world for our fossil hunters and their discoveries have led to a better understanding of what the world was like when giant reptiles swam the oceans and soared in the skies. If having a state fossil will help bring attention to our unique history and acknowledge the contributions of these individuals then all we can add is that it’s long overdue.
Shattering illusion: WKCAC forces us to confront unpleasant truth
The Western Kansas Child Advocacy Center finds itself in an unusual situation. It’s a business seeing growth in an area where we wish that weren’t happening. During 2013, the agency conducted interviews with 320 young people who were victims of sexual or physical abuse which represents an increase of about 11 percent in each of the past two years. Since 2004, WKCAC has conducted interviews with 1,844 young people who are victims of abuse. And that’s just in the 30-county area of Western Kansas which is the agency’s primary service area. Those numbers are astonishing for two reasons: 1) We like to live under the illusion that this type of thing is a “big city” issue and couldn’t possibly happen in our wholesome neck of the woods. 2) It makes you wonder what would have happened if WKCAC didn’t exist? Who would have been able to help these young victims and their families. That’s not to say nothing would have been done, but the trained staff at WKCAC, their ability to go into the field with mobile units to investigate and provide follow-up help and their ability to gather evidence that can prevent further abuse puts the WKCAC in a unique position. Credit WKCAC with being there for young people and their families who would have had nowhere else to turn - or at a minimum would have found it more difficult to negotiate the legal process and get the help they need. But the agency has provided an even greater service. They have forced us to confront an issue that many would rather pretend doesn’t exist. Like too many things, there are those who feel that if we don’t talk about something it will go away. The WKCAC didn’t suddenly stumble upon abuse. It’s always been here. As the WKCAC staff points out, in some instances it’s a problem that - for a variety of reasons - exists from one generation to the next. The advocacy center represents the first real opportunity for some families to finally end the chain of abuse. As one adult victim said: “Where were you when I needed someone?” At least WKCAC is here now and perhaps, in time, we can celebrate when growth is no longer an expected occurrence.
Trickle down has a price tag
For more than a generation we’ve been hearing of the virtues of “trickle down economics.” You know how it’s supposed to work. The more we cut taxes for the wealthy the more we all benefit because that allows them to spread all that newfound wealth as “job creators.” Apparently the big secret is just how quickly the benefits trickle down. There was no trickling under the Reagan Administration. The anticipated trickle didn’t happen under Bush, Jr. And now we’re being told that it will eventually happen under the Brownback Administration if we’re patient enough. Right-wing Republicans have been drinking the “trickle down koolaid” for so long that they refuse to believe it can’t work. Kansas is only the latest laboratory in which the trickle down theory is being inflicted upon taxpayers. Not everyone is drinking what the trickle down cult leaders are pouring out. According to the Leg-
islative Research Department, state spending in Kansas will exceed revenue by $179 million when the current fiscal year ends on June 30. You can add another $283 million in projected red ink for the following year and $235 million in the next year. The only thing preventing a fiscal crisis in the short term is $500 million that the state had in savings - along with the fact the state continues to raid reserves being held by the Kansas Department of Transportation, the Kansas Insurance Department and other agencies in order to find money needed to plug budget holes. Sen. Mitch Holmes (RSt. John) isn’t worried. When not drinking the kool-aid he likes to remind people that budget projections have a habit of making it look “like the end of the world” is approaching. He doesn’t take “a Chick-
en Little attitude” based on these projections. Sen. Holmes is perfectly safe from a falling sky because his head is buried deep in the sand so he can pretend there are no problems on the horizon. Others are more skeptical. Rep. Don Hill (REmporia) is proposing a $1.50 per pack increase in the cigarette tax because “we’re broke.” Rep. Don Hineman (R-Dighton) points out that urban lawmakers are looking at revamping the use-value appraisal method as a means of generating more property tax revenue from farmland. It’s obvious that not everyone is buying into the tax cut illusion and taxpayers will be expected to pick up the slack. While taking another sip of kool-aid, Sen. Holmes read from the trickle down script that “we’re looking to create more revenue by creating more jobs.” Whether or not the tax cuts will create jobs to the extent that Brownback and Holmes are hoping for - if at all - is debat-
able. Kansas job growth last year was 0.7 percent - which was less than each of the surrounding states. And those states didn’t cut taxes. But even if the jobs eventually arrive, the additional revenue they provide will be several years down the road. The revenue shortfall we’re experiencing is now. So how does state government continue to function in the midst of declining revenue? It’s the old trick of robbing Peter to pay Paul. For example, over the past five years the legislature has diverted more than $1 billion from the Kansas Department of Transportation to fund other departments. During the current fiscal year, $264 million has been transferred from KDOT, with $140 million diverted to K-12 public education. The legislature is proposing to transfer another $215 million next year. That’s how one can whistle merrily while avoiding a Chicken Little syndrome. (See TRICKLE on page six)
The GOP’s Obamacare crisis
Oh dear. The Republican Party’s worst nightmare is coming true. Obamacare is working. The news that nearly 1.2 million people signed up last month for insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchanges is highly inconvenient for GOP candidates nationwide. It looks as if the party’s two-word strategy for the fall election - bash Obamacare will need to be revised. Wednesday’s status report on the healthinsurance reforms was by far the best news for Democrats and the Obama administration since the program’s incompetent launch. January was the first month when new enrollments surpassed expectations, as the balky HealthCare.gov website began functioning more or less as intended.
Where to Write
another view by Eugene Robinson
Cumulatively, 3.3 million people had chosen insurance plans through the state and federal exchanges by the end of January. That is fewer than the administration had originally hoped but well above the predictions of critics who believed - or hoped - that the program would never succeed. The Congressional Budget Office projects that six million people will have chosen plans through Obamacare when the initial enrollment period ends March 31, down from a pre-launch estimate of seven million. Not bad at all. The numbers are even more encouraging when you look more closely. The proportion of young
Gov. Sam Brownback 2nd Floor - State Capitol Topeka, Ks. 66612-1501 (785) 296-3232
people - from 18 and 34 who chose insurance plans through the exchanges increased slightly to 27 percent, compared with an average of 24 percent in previous months. This is important because premiums would have to rise if not enough young, healthy people enrolled. The administration had hoped the percentage of young enrollees would reach about 40 percent. But the January figure - and the rising trend should put to rest any notion that the whole program could go down the drain in an actuarial “death spiral.” Administration officials are convinced this won’t happen. According to the January report, about 80 percent of those signing up for Obamacare are eligible for subsidies to help them pay for insurance. The administration believes,
Sen. Pat Roberts 109 Hart Senate Office Bldg. Washington, D.C. 20510 (202) 224-4774 roberts.senate.gov/email.htm
but does not have the data to prove, that most of the new enrollees were previously uninsured. These figures do not include the additional people who have been determined newly eligible for insurance under the federal-state Medicaid program. Overall, the program appears to be doing exactly what it was designed to do: make health insurance accessible and affordable for those who truly need it. The Affordable Care Act could be doing even more if Republican governors such as Rick Perry of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida were not doing all they could to sabotage the program. But even in states that refused to set up their own healthinsurance exchanges or to (See CRISIS on page six)
Sen. Jerry Moran 141 Hart Senate Office Bldg. Washington, D.C. 20510 (202) 224-6521 www.house.gov/moranks01/
Joke is on GOP with Obamacare youth hoax The Scott County Record • Page 5 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
by Matt Miller
It’s rare for a political party to trumpet a position that unintentionally reveals its myopia, incoherence and expediency. Yet such is the trifecta with the Republican campaign to call attention to Obamacare’s young “victims.” Republicans are obsessed with the supposed injustice being done to some healthy young people who will effectively subsidize their sicker elders when Obamacare’s individual mandate takes effect. The crusaders are nothing if not convinced of the righteousness of their cause. “The whole scheme is enlisting young adults to overpay, so other people can have subsidies,” Dean Clancy, a vice president at FreedomWorks, told my Post colleague Sarah Kliff. “That unfairness reminded us of
the military draft.” Conservatives are therefore urging young Americans to resist. “I’m burning my Obamacare draft card,” runs one theatrical riff from a group called Young Americans for Liberty, “because I’m too busy paying student loans to pay for somebody else’s health insurance.” Republican policy advisors have urged the party to make such child abuse a big part of their anti-Obamacare message. Sounds like a sexy argument, except for one thing. Republicans seem to have forgotten where most people aged 19 to 34 get health coverage: from their employer. And at virtually every company, young people pay the same premiums as employees who are much older than they are and who get more expensively sick than they do.
It turns out every big company in America is essentially a socialized health care republic, in which the young subsidize the old, and the healthy subsidize the sick - all of whom pay the same premiums for the same plans.
In other words, the evil crosssubsidy Obamacare’s foes are storming the barricades to roll back already exists, at vastly larger scale, in corporate America. These youngsters are already in chains! They’ve been put there by the private sector! And, inexplicably, young employees have entered this servitude of their own volition. (To extend the GOP’s draft analogy, it turns out there’s a voluntary army of health care masochists from sea to shining sea.) How could injustice on this scale escape the GOP’s searing moral scrutiny?
After all, the president is only hoping that about 2.7 million young people will purchase coverage in the new exchanges. But 20 million Americans between the ages of 19 and 34 get coverage from their employer right now, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. If you’re keeping score, that makes employer-based health care’s cross-subsidy about eight times more evil than Obamacare’s. How does it work? Compare a typical, strapping young employee of 28 to her broken-down 58-year-old colleague. These two employees have very different annual health expenses. Yet under the nefarious plot known as “group health insurance,” they basically pay the same premiums. It turns out every big company in America is essentially a socialized health care republic,
in which the young subsidize the old, and the healthy subsidize the sick - all of whom pay the same premiums for the same plans. Similar dynamics explain why, in the federal health-care plan, spry 42-year-olds like Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz subsidize 79-year-old geezers like Chuck Grassley and Orrin Hatch. Maybe that’s why Cruz always seems so angry. Of course, most people in civilized nations know and accept that this is how insurance works. But Republicans nowadays aren’t like most people in civilized nations. They think Obamacare is a form of injustice akin to slavery. Which makes employer-provided health care slavery on steroids. Where’s the outrage? (See HOAX on page seven)
Have we learned nothing from NCLB’s failure? by Lisa Guisbond
The whereabouts of Sen. Roberts by Jim Hightower
If a politician clings to office too long, a couple of bad things can happen: The constituency can change and suddenly yank the comfy rug of incumbency out from under the politico, or the office holder can come unmoored from the home place and drift away from the constituency. Both things have happened to Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, who has been in Washington since 1967, first as a congressional staffer, then as a House member, and now as a threeterm Senator. He’s an arch-conservative, but not arch enough for the far-out tea-party rightwingers who’ve taken over the Kansas GOP.
Even worse than the change in the home base constituency, however, has been Roberts’ own absence from home base. It turns out that the senator from Kansas doesn’t actually… you know… live there. Instead, he and his wife have lived in a Washington suburb for years. While a house in Dodge City is listed as his official residence, it’s a rental property he owns, and he never lived in it. When Roberts does do an overnighter in the “home state,” he stays in hotels or with a couple of campaign donors whose home is on a country club golf course. Now facing a far-right teaparty challenger, Roberts has not only skittered to get even more “righter” than the challenger, but he’s also scampering
around the state as SuperKansan. He’s begun paying $300 a month for his room in that country club house and now list it as his official residence, and suddenly he’s everywhere, having visited 72 of the state’s 105 counties in the past year. No doubt he’ll be riding a wheat thresher, singing the state song, and wearing a straw hat with tea bags hanging from it before this election is over. Who’s he fooling? If your political principles are that malleable and your sense of place is that mobile, you’re probably only representing yourself and shouldn’t be elected to anything.
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker and author
It’s 2014, the year all U.S. public schools were supposed to reach 100% student proficiency, so said No Child Left Behind (NCLB). No, you didn’t miss the fanfare. One hundred percent proficiency didn’t happen. Not even close. In fact, our classrooms are making even less progress toward improving overall educational performance and narrowing racial test score gaps than before NCLB became law. The problem is policymakers are still following NCLB’s test-and-punish path. The names of the tests may have changed, but the strategy remains the same. As the late, great Pete Seeger sang, “When will we ever learn?” It’s not that the law’s proponents haven’t acknowledged - repeatedly - the law’s vast unpopularity and negative consequences, including the way it made schools all about testing. Back in 2007, Congressman George Miller, an NCLB coauthor, said, “No Child Left Behind may be the most negative brand in America.” The retiring congressman said recently that the results from the federally mandated tests were intended to measure school progress and drive improvements. Instead, he said, “the mission became about the test.” He added, “I don’t believe you can drive a car blindfolded. So all we asked was, ‘How are the kids doing in your test?’
The problem is policymakers are still following NCLB’s test-and-punish path. The names of the tests may have changed, but the strategy remains the same.
And it turned out to be a nuclear explosion, because it wasn’t in the interest of the school district to tell the community how each and every kid was doing on their test.” Miller is right that you can’t drive a car blindfolded. But you can’t steer safely if federal law forces you to stare at the speedometer instead of looking through the windshield and at the mirrors and other gauges to choose the best route forward. Yet, that’s exactly what NCLB’s fixation on standardized test scores requires schools to do. The best teachers know they get the most useful information by considering a variety of measures of student learning. They know it’s essential to use the windshield, that is, look at the work students do in class every day. By watching them tackle math problems and reading their essays and research papers, teachers can see how students approach things, why they succeed or get tripped up. Then they can use that information right away. They can give feedback, shift their practices appropriately and steer students in a more successful direction. Test scores add some useful information, like the speedometer, which needs to be checked (See NCLB on page six)
Stand your ground has no moral ground Some laws are grey, but this one seems to be increasingly black and white. The Stand Your Ground law in Florida - and now 24 other states, including many in the South - was a major factor in jury deliberations for both the Trayvon Martin killing and now, the case of Michael Dunn, who killed 17-year-old Jordan Davis. George Zimmerman was acquitted of shooting an unarmed African-American teenager. The jury in the Dunn case failed to reach a consensus on the murder charge and the judge ruled a mistrial. Both the Dunn and Zimmerman trials have highlighted a major theological problem with Stand Your Ground laws. In Romans 13, the
behind the headlines by Jim Wallis
apostle Paul describes the role of government as a positive one - meant to protect the poor and to promote the common good. The Stand Your Ground laws are based on fear - fear that is often rooted in racism. Rather than promoting a vision of the common good and what our life together should look like, it justifies taking life and codifies fear. When Dunn pulled into a gas station convenience store next to a car with three black teenagers, the dispute was about “loud music.” Later statements from Dunn describe “thug music”
and call the teenagers “gangsters” who seemed “menacing.” Dunn resented being called a “cracker” when he argued with them. The prosecution said Dunn shot Davis because he got angry when the teenagers wouldn’t turn down their music when he asked them to and then “mouthed off” to him. Dunn also claimed that Davis raised a shotgun, but no witnesses saw a gun and none were found. Dunn was convicted on other charges of attempted murder when he got out of his car and crouched to fire more rounds into the car of unarmed teenagers as they sped away from him in fear. Dunn will serve at least 60 years in prison for those shots. While Dunn deserves the
prison time for the lesser charges, justice has yet to be served in the killing of an unarmed black teenager, just as it failed Trayvon Martin. The problem is the systemic injustice inherent in Stand Your Ground laws: just feeling like you are being threatened can justify your response in “selfdefense.” Under Florida selfdefense laws now, someone can use even lethal force if they “reasonably believe” it is necessary to defend their lives or avoid great harm. How does a jury decide what a “reasonable person” would do under all the circumstances? Even if Dunn really believed there was a gun in the black teenagers’ car and there wasn’t one, he could still be justified in shooting into the car according
to Stand Your Ground. The New York Times quoted Mary Anne Franks, an associate law professor at the University of Miami saying, “This trial is indicative of how much of a problem Stand Your Ground laws really do create. By the time you have an incident like this and ask a jury to look at the facts, it’s difficult to re-create the situation and determine the reasonableness of a defendant’s fear.” And unfortunately, the law creates an opportunity for racial factors - whether they’re conscious or not - to trump facts when even one juror who is sympathetic to a defendant’s “reasonable” fear can prevent prosecution. (See MORAL on page six)
The Scott County Record • Page 6 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
eTexts still haven’t made impact at universities by John Schrock
American university students this spring are still using printed textbooks far more than eTexts. In 2010, it was predicted that eTexts would rise from two percent of college course materials to over 18 percent after 2014. It didn’t happen. In the study “Student Reading Practices in Print and Electronic Media” to be published in the journal College and Research Libraries in September of 2014, researchers tracked the reading hab-
its of juniors, seniors and graduate students at the College of New York. Although students used electronic media for nonacademic reading, they relied on paper for academics. There are “a lot of misconceptions about Millennials” as a digital generation, according to researcher Nancy Foasberg who led the study. The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on Foasberg’s research: “Several students in Ms. Foasberg’s study expressed a distaste for
digital textbooks. Some who had used e-books said they would not use them again because they found the embedded links distracting and because they could not interact with the content as they could with print texts - highlighting or taking notes in the margins, for instance. “And since the students found themselves printing out digital texts, whatever money they had saved by not buying printed copies was largely lost to printing costs.” Another writer, Ferris Jabr, details the exten-
sive research over the last two years that confirms the science behind students’ intuitive preference for printed text. In the November 2013 issue of Scientific American, Jabr lays out the shortcomings of reading from screens in “Why the Brain Prefers Print.” Research indicates that the brain treats words as physical objects which have a placement on a page but are fleeting on screen. Measures of brain activity are high when a student writes letters by hand, but not when they
are typed. Many of us experience “drifting away” while scrolling. Research shows that scrolling promotes shallow reading and reduces comprehension. Text provides us with both “deep reading” and context. Reading printed text is “less taxing cognitively” and provides us with “more free capacity for comprehension.” Reading on the Kindle “ink” format that imitates paper is less taxing than reading the backlit screens of other readers,
cell phones, tablets and computer screens. Indeed, most readers report higher levels of stress, eye strain, and scrolling that “drains more mental resources.” Researchers found that screens promote browsing, taking shortcuts and scanning. Readers of print are much more likely to re-read and check for understanding. For college students, the bottom line is: “Will the format affect my test scores?” Researchers found that “ . . . volunteers using (See eTEXTS on page seven)
Moral Polar bears, grizzlies announce merger (continued from page five)
The facts of the case really don’t matter anymore, just the feelings and beliefs of the defendant. And when you add the race of the victims into the mix, the disparities in how the law is applied are clear. Basically, if a white man feels or believes he is threatened, regardless of the facts of the case, he can be justified in shooting and killing a black man. The reality of Stand Your Ground laws in Florida and 24 more states is that racial fear and hatred is now legally justified. Black men are always at risk - as every black parent in this country has told their young boys and as the statistics now bear out. Since the law was passed in Florida, there has been an eight percent increase in the homicide rate. Under Stand Your Ground laws in general, the chances that whiteon-black killings will be found justified is more than 11 times than that of a black-on-white shooting using the same defense. Two boys - among others - have been killed and their families ripped apart by gun violence. The law that is meant to protect fails them. Not only do Stand Your Ground laws institutionally legitimize racism by mostly white men carried out against mostly black men, instead of reconciliation and peace, gun violence and racial fears are allowed to win the day. Where just laws were meant to preserve the common good, unjust laws like Stand Your Ground excuse us from living out our best values. It is time to make that clear from our pulpits. Let’s tell governors to end these unjust laws. Jim Wallis is a Christian leader for social change and the author of “On God’s Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn’t Learned About Serving the Common Good”
NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report) - In what observers are calling the largest merger ever between two species of mammal capable of mauling humans to death, polar bears and grizzly bears announced on Friday that they were joining forces in a friendly acquisition.
Trickle A dire prediction is offered by Wichita State University professor H. Edward Flentje, who says taxpayers will be saddled with $400 million in debt over the next 20 years to help underwrite the income tax cuts. Bottom line is that, no matter how much trickle down kool-aid you drink, when you cut taxes two things happen:
Crisis expand Medicaid eligibility, growing numbers of the uninsured are obtaining coverage. Politically, this is terrible news for Republicans who hoped that the botched Web site launch and President Obama’s misleading “you can keep your insurance” pledge would be the gifts that kept on giving. Bashing Obamacare will always have resonance for the GOP’s conservative base. But if
NCLB periodically to avoid accidents or being ticketed for speeding. But neither is the most important or most helpful measure. A driver who looks at the speedometer and nothing else is going to crash or mow down innocent pedestrians in no time. Unfortunately, those driving the federal school policy bus clearly haven’t learned any real lessons from NCLB’s failures. To the contrary, they’re staying the course of test-driven education reform. And they’re still trying to sell Miller’s false suggestion that the problem isn’t too much testing, it’s simply that communities can’t handle the truth being delivered by the test scores.
If the merger goes through, the polar bears and grizzly bears would together be able to terrorize a much larger landmass than ever before, experts said. Speaking at a packed press conference in New York accompanied by their investment bankers
from Goldman Sachs, the jubilant bears gave their spin on the unprecedented deal. “To say that we’re excited would be an understatement,” said a spokesman for the grizzlies. “For years, we’ve admired the way polar bears have dismembered hikers who’ve encroached on their ter-
ritory. To be on the same team with talent like that - whoa. It’s a dream come true.” While critics of the merger have argued that it is anticompetitive, a spokesman for the polar bears disagreed. “I think working with the grizzlies is just going to push us to savage more
human flesh than ever before. Speaking for myself, I’m ready to start mauling,” he said, underscoring his point by eating a reporter. The merger is not expected to face regulatory hurdles.
20.2 percent reduction in base state aid. State aid to local governments has plunged by more than $1 billion between 2008-13 (adjusting for inflation), according to the Kansas Center for Economic Growth. This includes cuts in areas such as public health, community corrections, education and libraries. Counties, school districts and cities must resort
to other revenue sources (additional fees, sales tax hikes, property taxes) to offset the loss of revenue. We all continue to pay. All that changes is where the money comes from. Unfortunately, if these Chicken Little economists are correct, it will get worse . . . much worse. More kool-aid anyone?
Andy Borowitz is a comedian and author
(continued from page four)
1) You have to make up for the lost revenue elsewhere. 2) You cut services. Kansas is doing both. The state has refused to fill positions in the court system, which means the wheels of justice turn more slowly. It has closed driver’s license offices and cut personnel, which mean that people have to wait longer and drive further for the service. It
has cut funding for the arts and for programs that aid the elderly and young children. That only scratches the surface. On the flip side, Kansans are paying more property taxes to offset lost revenue. As the state has cut back on funding for education, local property taxes have increased by 44.6 percent since 2000-01. This has coincided with a
Rod Haxton can be reached at editor@screcord.com
(continued from page four)
you’re trying to win the votes of independents, it’s more profitable to target a failed program than a successful one. Critics will doubtless try to blame Obamacare for anything bad that happens to anyone’s health insurance before the November election. But all of this is just noise without the central narrative of a “failed program.” Attack ads against vulnerable Democratic senators, such as Kay Hagan of
North Carolina and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, are already trying to paint Obamacare as a character defect - the president and his supporters “lied” when they said everyone could keep their insurance. The response from Democrats should be to shift the focus to the actual program and its impact. Imperiled incumbents can point to constituents who are benefiting from the Affordable Care Act in life-changing ways.
(continued from page five)
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s Race to the Top program and NLCB waivers are increasing, not cutting back, the amount of testing. To be eligible for Race to the Top’s grant competition, states agreed to adopt “new and improved” Common Core standards and tests. When scores on the new tests plummeted in New York and Kentucky, Duncan famously claimed the problem was not the tests, but parents reacting negatively to bad news about their kids. Duncan said he found it “fascinating” that opposition has come from “white suburban moms who - all of a sudden - (learned) their child isn’t as brilliant as
they thought they were, and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were.” If our policymakers haven’t learned NCLB’s lessons, the good news is that tens of thousands of parents, teachers, students and community activists have. They’re rising up around the nation to say enough is enough, opting out and boycotting tests, demonstrating, petitioning and educating others about the need to change course. Pete Seeger, who said participation is what will save the human race, would be proud. Lisa Guisbond is a member of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, also known as FairTest
Pancake/Sausage Supper • St. Joseph Parish Center, Scott City • Sat., Feb. 22
If you assume that Affordable Care Act enrollment remains on its current trajectory, the February numbers should look even better. Polls consistently show that even if voters have mixed views about the healthcare reforms, most do not want to see them repealed. By the fall, the whole Obamacare-is-a-disaster line of attack could sound stale and irrelevant. Republicans may even have to take the drastic
step of saying what they advocate, rather than harping on what they oppose. Is there a GOP plan to cover those with preexisting conditions? To cover the working poor? Is expanding access to health insurance really such an awful thing? Sorry, I didn’t catch what you said. Eugene Robinson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and former assistant managing editor for The Washington Post
The Scott County Record • Page 7 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
eTexts
Hoax
(continued from page six)
paper scored about 10 percentage points higher . . . students using paper approached the exam with a more studious attitude than their screen-reading peers . . . .” Under both modes, students could superficially “remember” but those studying printed text “knew with certainty,” a trait likely related to the deep-reading of print. Will the next “digital generation” avoid this difference and be better adapted to screens? Even with young children, researchers found the screens got in the way. Children were distracted
into fiddling with the knobs on the device and otherwise being distracted by the technology. Despite a decade of hype, American college students appear to agree with the survey of students at the National Autonomous University of Mexico where 80 percent of students preferred print to screen in order to “understand with clarity.” You will probably agree as well. After all, you are reading this complex summary - in print. John Schrock trains biology teachers and lives in Emporia
Legislative hotline is available
Kansas residents can access information on state government, legislation, public policy issues and more by calling 1-800-432-3924. Calls are answered by experienced reference/ research librarians at the State Library of Kansas and kept confidential. Lines are open weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Callers can also leave brief messages to be delivered to legislators as well as request copies of bills, calendars, journals, committee agendas, voting records, and other legislative documents. In addition to calling the hotline, residents can also text questions to 785-256-0733 (standard text message rates may apply), instant message at www.kslib.info/ ask-a-librarian, or visit the State Library.
(continued from page five)
If conservatives were consistent and principled, they would devote far more time and effort to liberating 20 million young Americans from the socialism baked into employer-based insurance and look past the Obamacare exchanges as a puny sideshow. But, alas, conservatives are not consistent and principled, save for their consistent determination to hurt the president politically. It would be better if all those smart GOP thinkers devoted their talent and energy to the question of how they would expand coverage to the 50 million uninsured - but to raise that question is to enter the policy cul de sac in all its delicious irony. Because the answer to that question is RomneyObamacare, the only sound way (as Republicans rightly taught us) that a country can
move toward universal coverage using private health plans. The GOP could offer a tweaked version with slightly fewer regulations. Or structure it to offer universal catastrophic coverage to save money. But if Republicans were serious, they’d offer the same basic reform architecture. So Republicans choose not to be serious. And it shows. In the end, the GOP’s Obamacare youth hoax shows how silly a party can look when a political focus on one corner of a policy leads it to latch on to “insights” that utterly miss the big picture. It’s a reminder, if we needed another, of how close the connection can be between ideology and idiocy. Matt Miller is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a contributor to MSNBC. His e-mail address is mattino2@gmail.com
Have questions about the Scott Community Foundation? Call 872-3790 or e-mail: scottcf@wbsnet.org
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The Scott County Record • Page 8 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
A pteranodon is also being recommended as a candidate for official state fossil.
Fossils “The first well-known mosasaurs described in the 1860s were from Kansas fossils,” he says. “Both fossils have Kansas links, so it wouldn’t bother me if they share equal billing.”
and sending letters to their legislators. “It would be a good project for 4-Hers and others to show their support,” he suggests. E-mails in support of the state fossil designation can be sent to Rep. Ray Merrick at ray.merrick@house.ks.gov or call him at 785-296-2302 and request that he brings the bill to a vote in the house.
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are unaware of the Western Interior Sea and the huge creatures that once inhabited this area. “We need to be teaching this to elementary kids. They would be fascinated to know that dinosaurs were once here,” he says. Why two fossils? “There were good arguments that could be made for either one, so we decided to try both - a marine fossil and a flying fossil,” says Rep. Hineman. “Forty states plus the District of Columbia have an official fossil and some of those are pretty lame. Missouri’s is the sea lily,” he points out. “I’ll put the mosasaur and the pteranodon up against most any of them.” The sea lily (aka, crinoids) are marine animals which, in their adult form, are attached to the sea bottom by a stalk. Thus, the name sea lily. Rep. Hineman is optimistic the proposal will emerge from committee, but then it would be up to the Speaker of the House to allow a vote. “It’s not like we’re overwhelmed with work,” Rep. Hineman adds. “If the Speaker chooses, it’s possible we could act on it before the session ends.” In the meantime, he says others can show their support for the state fossil effort by signing petitions
1913
‘Something Different’ Having been involved in the Scott County 4-H geology program for the past 11 years, Fisher decided to devote this year to helping younger members. “I wanted to do something different, so I did some research and found that Kansas didn’t have a state fossil.” In fact, 40 states and the District of Columbia have designated official fossils. “I found that interesting and wondered, ‘Why don’t I try that?’” says Fisher. He says that deciding on the mosasaur and pteranodon were relatively easy. He had particular interest in the mosasaur because he discovered part of a vertebrate (“I literally stumbled over it”) while on a fossil hunt and it has become part of his 4-H geology display. Fisher is hopeful that having a state fossil will give people a greater appreciation for “what used to be here and why the land is the way it is.” He’s amazed at how many high school students and adults
(continued from page one)
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The Scott County Record
Youth/Education
Page 9 - Thursday, February 20, 2014
National FFA president visits Scott City chapter The national president of FFA met with local chapter members at Scott Community High School and toured NuLife Market in Scott City on Wednesday afternoon while on a tour of Western Kansas. Brian Marsh, a sophomore at Virginia Tech, will visit 12 high school FFA chapters during his six days in Kansas which also coincides with National FFA Week. According to local FFA sponsor Kevin Davis it is the first time the national president has been to Scott City. He was accompanied by two state officers and FFA adult leaders at the state level. Marsh, who is majoring in agri-business, says he is taking a year off from college in order to fulfill his responsibilities as national president. During the year he will travel about 140,000 miles and visit 35-40 states. Kansas is the 14th state he has visited since taking office. There are five other national officers who are
currently visiting with FFA chapters in California, Nebraska, Florida, Ohio and Puerto Rico. “It’s an opportunity to share the message of FFA with supporters, alumni, school board members and others,” he says. “Hopefully it’s also motivation for FFA members to help them find their role in the organization and identify opportunities they can get involved in.” The trip to the Midwest has given Marsh a different perspective on FFA. “I come from a state with about 180 chapters and many of our schools are upwards of 600800 students. Traveling through Western Kansas I’m visiting schools with 100 to 200 students,” he notes. “It’s motivating to me to see how strong these chapters can be and to see the community support.” Marsh acknowledges that FFA is continuing to change and that’s a message they convey to their members. “The agricultural in-
National FFA President Brian Marsh (front and center) with state officers and some of the local FFA chapter members during his stop at Scott Community High School on Wednesday evening. (Record Photo)
dustry is becoming more diverse and that plays into a lot of what we do. It’s not just about hands-on agriculture and the projects that are built in a shop like this one,” said Marsh while looking around the SCHS vo-ag shop. “That’s still important, but we are
also preparing students for career opportunities within the ag industry that are more leadership based. “We need leaders who have the skills to share the message of agriculture and to collaborate with other industries. While the shop is a very important
part of what we do in FFA and agriculture will always be the foundation of FFA, we’re seeing greater opportunities in agriculture that go beyond that,” he emphasizes. Marsh says that FFA is also proud of its added emphasis on service-
based programs, such as the “Feeding Our World” initiative. This is a movement to help students understand the issues and effects of hunger so that they can take action to help reduce food insecurity at home and abroad.
Tilton on Sterling honor roll
Jamie Tilton has been named to the Dean’s Honor Roll for the fall semester at Sterling College. To earn the honor, students must have a grade point average of 3.50 or better with at least 12 credit hours. She is the daughter of Russell and Linda Tilton, Scott City.
14 area students earn semester honors at KSU
More than 3,500 Kansas State University students have earned semester honors for their academic performance in the fall semester. Students had to maintain a grade point average of at leaset 3.75 for 12 credit hours, along with commendations from their deans. Area students earning semester honors include: Queen Nina (Aubrey Davis) foils the attempt by the king’s evil brother (Oscar Armendariz, far right) and his henchmen, Medulla the court magician (Chandler Janssen, center) and Shecky, the court jester (Alex Snyder) to bring harm to the royal prince. (Record Photo)
‘Worst Play’ will take to the SCHS stage Sunday, Monday “The Worst High School Play in the World” will try not to live up to its title when it’s performed by Scott Community High School students on Sunday and Monday in the high school auditorium. The comedic spoof is set in 1243 A.D. when King Isadore has gone to war in search of fine por-
celain, leaving behind the queen and his heir. Ruling the kingdom in his absence is his evil brother Viscera (Oscar Armendariz) who longs to have the power of the throne to himself. Queen Nina (Aubrey Davis) and Princess Corsicana (Emma Price) are able to escape with Prince Ivanha (Brett
Meyer) who they have to abandon in the woods as a baby. He’s raised by a family of squirrels and later by Friar Fred (Ben Wagner). Ivanha learns of his past and the misfortune that has befallen his family and kingdom. Inspired by the lovely Lenore, he sets out on his quest to
save it all, with the help of his squirrel family. Sunday’s matinee will be presented at 2:30 p.m. and Monday’s performance at 7:30 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes prior to curtain. Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for students. All tickets are sold at the door and will be general admission.
Scott City: Cailyn Chelemedos, Austin Davis, Chaston Hoeme, Shanaya Hoeme, Elizabeth Huck, Corbin Janssen, Kelsey Kuckelman, Kathryn Minnix, Justin Unruh, Kaytlin Whipple and Wyle Yeager. Leoti: Lauren Wedel, and Bethany Lear. Dighton: Taylor Barber.
Freshman honor students recognized at Washburn
For the first time, Washburn students who have completed their initial semester of college with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher are being recognized by the university. Invitations to the First Year Experience (FYE) Scholars ceremony and related events were sent to 549 Ichabods. Among those honor students were Nicole Walker, Scott City, majoring in corrections; Kalie Turley, Modoc, majoring in nursing; and Trevor
Bollinger, Dighton, a law enforcement major. “The first semester is the hardest for a student. Transition from high school to university can be very difficult,” said Alan Bearman, dean of university libraries at Washburn University. Bearman’s responsibilities include oversight of Washburn’s FYE programs. “We’re recognizing students who have done exceptionally well in that first semester and connecting them to their chosen majors,” he said.
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For the Record House proposal would triple cigarette tax The Scott County Record
$1.50/pack increase would generate $100M A bill that would triple the tax on cigarettes was introduced this week in the House Health and Human Services Committee. House Bill 2672 would raise the tax from $.79 to $2.29 per pack. It would also increase the tax on other tobacco products
The Scott County Record Page 10 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
from 10 percent to 78 percent. Rep. Don Hill (R-Emporia), who introduced the bill, said there were several compelling reasons for raising tobacco taxes. “Increasing the cost of a commodity logically leads to reduced use and the consequent health benefits,” Hill said. “There’s also the reality that Kansas is well below the national average in terms of our tax rate on
tobacco products. And then couple that with the fact that we’re broke. “The fact that we’re broke creates a plausible scenario toward the path of there being interest in the bill at some point in time,” he said. “But I have low expectation that the bill will do anything over the near term.” Kansas’ cigarette tax is among the lowest in the U.S. The national average is $1.46 per pack.
If the cigarette tax were raised by $1.50, it would add over $100 million to annual state revenue while reducing smoking and the financial impact on the health system caused by sick smokers, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Kansas has not raised its cigarette tax since 2002, and has not raised the tax on other tobacco products since the 1970s. In 2010, then-Gov. Mark Parkinson support-
Seat belt campaign near high schools
The Kansas Highway Patrol will participate in its annual seat belt enforcement campaign around high schools from Feb. 24 through March 7. The SAFE initiative (Seatbelts Are For Everyone) is a program administered by the students of the high school they attend. Currently, 54 counties totaling 124
schools participate in the program statewide. In 2012, according to Kansas Department of Transportation statistics, 43 teens were killed in vehicle crashes. Of those, 74% were not properly restrained. KDOT is hosting this two-week awareness campaign in hopes of decreasing that number and
Public Notice (First published in The Scott County Record Thurs., Feb. 6, 2014; last published Thurs., Feb. 20, 2014)3t IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF SCOTT COUNTY, KANSAS BEEF BELT FEEDERS, LLC, PLAINTIFF vs. SHALLOW WATER ALCOHOL CO., INC., J.D. Muench, Resident Agent; SHALLOW WATER GRAIN, INC., Floyd Ludowese, Resident Agent, and the unknown heirs, executors, administrators, devisees, trustees, creditors, and assigns of any deceased defendants; the unknown spouses of any defendants; the unknown officers, successors, trustees, creditors, and assigns of any defendants which are existing, dissolved, or dormant corporations; the unknown executors, administrators, devisees, trustees, creditors, successors, and assigns of any defendants who are or were partners or in partnership, the unknown guardians, conservators and trustees of any defendants who are minors or are under any legal disability; and the unknown heirs, executors, administrators, devisees, trustees, creditors, and assigns of any person alleged to be deceased. DEFENDANTS Case No. 14-CV-01 [K.S.A. 60-307] NOTICE OF SUIT The State of Kansas to the above-named Defendants, and all other persons who are or may be concerned: You are hereby notified that a Petition has been filed in the District Court of Scott County, Kansas, by Beef Belt Feeders, LLC of Scott Coun-
ty, Kansas, Plaintiff, praying for an order quieting the title to the following described real estate: Lots Eleven (11), Twelve (12), Thirteen (13), Fourteen (14), Fifteen (15), Sixteen (16) except the West Five Feet (W5’) of Lot Sixteen (16), the East One hundred Twenty-five Feet (E125’) of Lots Seventeen (17) and Eighteen (18), all in Block G, Shallow Water, Scott County, Kansas The Petition further seeks an order holding the Plaintiffs to be the owner of fee simple title to the above-described real estate, free of all right, title, and interest of the above-named Defendants, and all other persons who are or may be concerned, and that they and each of them be forever barred and foreclosed of and from all right, title, interest, lien, estate, or equity of redemption in or to the above-described real estate, or any part thereof. You are required to plead to said Petition on or before the 3rd day of March, 2014, in said Court, at Scott City, Scott County, Kansas. Should you fail therein, judgment and decree will be entered in due course upon said Petition. BEEF BELT FEEDERS, LLC, Plaintiff Submitted by: Laura L. Lewis Sup. Ct. #18788 119 N. 4th Street P.O. Box 847 Leoti, KS 67861-0847 (620) 375-2915 Attorney for Plaintiff
Friendship ‘Meals to Go’ available from the VIP Center Individual frozen/sealed trays • Good for special diets only $3.25/meal • Call 872-3501
increasing seatbelt usage. KDOT and law enforcement partners across the state have spent over 20 years educating Kansas teens on the dangers of driving without a seat belt. In 2013, the observed seat belt rate for the ages of 15-17 was 81%. In 2008-09, the rate for the same age group was 61%.
“Troopers will be working with local law enforcement partners in an aggressive campaign focused around area schools to educate and enforce seat belt laws,” said Colonel Ernest Garcia, Superintendent of the Patrol. Anyone caught not properly restrained will be issued a citation.
Public Notice (Published in The Scott County Record Thurs., Feb. 20, 2014) 1t
SCOTT COUNTY COMMISSIONER’S PROCEEDINGS JANUARY 2014 GENERAL FUND SALARIES ............................................ $ 91,497.56 COMMODITIES .................................... 6,651.85 CONTRACTUAL SERVICES ................. 121,149.74 CAPITAL OUTLAY.................................. 25.00 OTHER................................................... 136.00 COUNTY HEALTH FUND SALARIES ............................................. COMMODITIES ..................................... CONTRACTUAL SERVICES ................. CAPITAL OUTLAY ................................. OTHER...................................................
12,849.86 3,060.39 1,248.46 0.00 0.00
NOXIOUS WEED FUND SALARIES............................................... COMMODITIES ...................................... CONTRACTUAL SERVICES................... OTHER ...................................................
4,735.32 0.00 490.00 0.00
ROAD AND BRIDGE FUND SALARIES .............................................. COMMODITIES....................................... CONTRACTUAL SERVICES.................... CAPITAL OUTLAY....................................
31,676.62 2,206.78 15,157.45 32,405.00
FIRE DISTRICT FUND SALARIES .............................................. COMMODITIES ...................................... CONTRACTUAL SERVICES.................... CAPITAL OUTLAY ..................................
389.28 1,145.85 1,565.58 0.00
TREASURER’S SPECIAL FUND SALARIES ............................................... COMMODITIES ....................................... CONTRACTUAL SERVICES .................... CAPITAL OUTLAY..................................... OTHER .....................................................
4,512.50 60.05 1,211.44 0.00 491.33
JAMES M. MINNIX Chairman
ALICE BROKOFSKY Scott County Clerk
ed raising the cigarette tax by 55 cents to $1.34 per pack, which was then the national average. But the legislature left that tax alone while raising the general sales tax. Last year, a Senate committee held a hearing on a different tobacco tax increase proposal, but did not vote on the bill. Linda DeCoursey, executive director of the Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition, said a $1.50 increase in the cigarette
tax would prevent 33,500 Kansas kids from becoming smokers and 27,800 adults would quit. “When it comes to balancing budgets, voters prefer raising tobacco taxes to other tax increases or cutting crucial programs such as education,” DeCoursey said. “How many reasons do we need to raise the tobacco tax? Saving lives, helping the state’s budget deficit...it is a definite win-win-win for Kansas.”
The Scott County Record • Page 11 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
Public Notice
County Commission February 3, 2014 Scott County Commissioners met in a regular meeting with the following present: Chairman James Minnix, Commissioner Jerry Buxton; and County Clerk Alice Brokofsky. •Bids were opened for pest control of Scott County facilities: Pro Ex, Inc. $1,764/year 3-year contract MR Hudson, Inc. $2,106/year 3-year contract Pro Ex, Inc., did not include the cemetery, but it was included in Hudson, Inc., bid was for $180 per year. The bid from Pro Ex was accepted. It was further agreed that Hudson would continue with weed control for the old LEC building and the west side of the VIP building. •Bids were opened for a furnace at the VIP Center. Bids were: Faurot Heating and Cooling $1,799.68 Turner Sheet Metal $1,829.67 The Turner Sheet Metal bid included sales tax of
$145.67. Since the VIP Center is tax exempt, that put
the final bid at $1,684, which was accepted by the commission.
(Published in The Scott County Record Thurs., Feb. 20, 2014)1t BEFORE THE STATE CORPORATION COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF KANSAS NOTICE OF FILING APPLICATION RE: Lario Oil & Gas Company Application for a permit to authorize the commingling of zones in the Feiertag A #10-15, located in Scott County, Kansas. TO: All Oil and Gas Producers, Unleased Minerals Interest Owners, Landowners and all persons whomever concerned. You, and each of you, are hereby notified that Lario Oil & Gas Company has filed an application to commingle Lansing, Marmaton and Cherokee zones in the Feiertag A #10-15, located approximately SW SW SW Sec. 15-19S-33W, in Scott County, Kansas. Any persons who object to or protest this applica-
•Kurt Logan and Clif Morrison were appointed to the •Payment in the amount of $48,309 was issued for a •Spike Cossell presented the commissioners with
an oil and gas lease proposal from J. Fred Hambright,
Inc., for the Zella Carpenter land located at Section 30, Township 17, South Range 32, the E 1/2.
The proposal was accepted for 320 acres of land in
the Zella Carpenter Trust at $40 per acre on a three-year contract.
•Public Works Director Richard Cramer reported the
cemetery directory is not working properly and in need
of repair. Estimated cost of repairs was $6,900. Cramer was authorized to have it repaired as soon as possible.
•A road permit right-of-way was approved for
Berexco, LLC, located on Willow Rd. Section 35,
Township 17S, Range 31W and Section 36, Township 17S, Range 31W..
•Discussion was held on the renewal for the Blue
Cross/Blue Shield health insurance plan for county employees. The rate increased by one-half percent for the upcoming policy year from April 1, 2014 through April 1, 2015. It was renewed by the commission.
Scott Co. LEC Report Scott Co. Sheriff’s Dept. Feb. 14: Denise McLennan was served an out-ofcounty warrant while incarcerated in the Scott County Jail. Feb. 14: Landon Pister was served an out-of-county warrant while incarcerated in the Scott County Jail.
Public Notice (First published in The Scott County Record Thurs., Feb. 13, 2014; last published Thurs., Feb. 20, 2014)2t CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT HEARING Notice is hereby given that the Scott City Planning Commission will hold a special meeting on February 27, 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 a conditional use permit by Jan Huck/ PlainJans to locate a camper trailer on the following described property. South half (S/2) of Lot Six (6) and all of Lots One (1), Five (5) Seven through Thirteen (7-13) and Fifteen (15), Block Four (4), Original Town of Scott City. All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at such hearing. Dated: February 12, 2014. /s/Rodney Hogg, chairman Scott City Planning Commission
Public Notice
Scott County Indoor Arena and Activity Center board. new nurse call system at Park Lane Nursing Home.
tion shall be required to file their objections or protests with the Conservation Division of the State Corporation Commission of the State of Kansas within (15) days from the date of this publication. These protests shall be filed 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. If no protests are received, this application may be granted through a summary proceeding. If valid protests are received, this matter will be set for hearing. All persons interested or concerned shall take notice of the foregoing and shall govern themselves accordingly. Lario Oil & Gas Company 301 S. Market Wichita, KS 67202 (316) 265-5611 ATTN: Jay Schweikert
(First published in The Scott County Record, Thurs., Feb. 20, 2014; last published Thurs., March 6, 2014)3t IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF SCOTT COUNTY, KANSAS IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF ELIZABETH RINEY GRUBE, deceased Case No. 2013-PR-14 NOTICE OF HEARING THE STATE OF KANSAS TO ALL PERSONS CONCERNED: You are hereby notified that a Petition has been filed in this Court by Marsha Willard, duly appointed, qualified and acting executor of the Estate of Elizabeth Riney Grube, deceased, praying that her acts be approved; that the Will be construed and the Estate be assigned to the persons entitled thereto; that fees and expenses be allowed; that the costs
be determined and ordered paid; that the administration of the Estate be closed; that the Executor be discharged and that she be released from further liability. You are required to file your written defenses thereto on or before the 13th day of March, 2014, at 11:00 o’clock a.m., of said day, in said Court, in the City of Scott City, in Scott County, Kansas, at which time and place said cause will be heard. Should you fail therein, judgment and decree will be entered in due course upon the Petition. Marsha Willard WALLACE, BRANTLEY and SHIRLEY 325 Main - P. O. Box 605 Scott City, Kansas 67871 (620) 872-2161 Attorneys for Petitioner
Friendship ‘Meals to Go’ available from the VIP Center only $3.25/meal • Call 872-3501
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The Scott County Record • Page 12 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
DCF has $48M in carryover while cutting TANF services Dave Ranney KHI News Service
Kansas Department for Children and Families Secretary Phyllis Gilmore defended her agency against criticism that it is holding back federal grant dollars that could be used to help needy families. “I think saving for a rainy day is the prudent thing to do, but to me this looks and feels like a significant amount of money sitting on the sidelines, money that we could be using to address some critical needs,” said Rep. Melissa Rooker (R-Fairway), who said she was troubled by the idea
of mothers of monthsold infants going without quality childcare while one of the state’s lead welfare agencies held $48 million in reserve. Gilmore said the unspent money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fund was good to have. “It would be less than prudent for there not to be some carryover,” Gilmore said, testifying before the House Committee on Children and Seniors. The fund currently has about $48 million in it. Gilmore said she knew of no formula for calculating how much should be left unspent at the end of
the fiscal year, but records showed that previous administrations typically ended up with between $30 million and $40 million a year in carry over balances. She said the agency was open to discussing how much should be left unspent in the coming fiscal year. Gov. Sam Brownback has proposed - and legislators are considering - using some of the money to pay for afterschool reading programs in southeast and southwest Kansas. The governor’s Reading Roadmap initiative is expected to cost about $9 million a year for
three years. But advocates for children and the poor have criticized DCF for holding the TANF money while the number of Kansas children living in poverty is increasing. “No one is against there being a balance from one year to the next,” said Karen Wulfkuhle, executive director of United Community Services of Johnson County. “It just seems like there’s an opportunity here to invest some of these dollars in evidence-based programs that truly make a positive difference in people’s lives. But we don’t see (See TANF on page 13)
Ticker shows how much Kansas losing in Medicaid funds The Kansas Medicaid Access Coalition has launched a new website showing how much Kansas is losing in federal aid dollars by refusing to expand its Medicaid program in keeping with the Affordable Care Act. The website, HowMuchHasKSLeftOnTheTable. com, displays a continuous “ticker” showing how many dollars Kansas is “leaving on the table.” The sum was about $47 million by Thursday afternoon. “We launched this website because our state’s leadership has chosen not to accept federal funds to expand the Medicaid program,” said Sean Gatewood, a coalition spokesman. “Instead, our federal tax dollars are going to states like California and New York to provide health insurance coverage to their residents. Meanwhile, as many as 100,000 hardworking Kansans remain uninsured.” The coalition includes more than 50 social service and consumer groups. The Kansas Hospital (See TICKER on page 13)
Insurance execs rate ACA experiences ‘positive’ Mike Shields KHI News Service
Leading representatives of the Kansas health insurance industry are generally positive in their assessment of the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace, despite the problems that have plagued the new exchange’s first few months of operation.
“I’ve fought this law (Obamacare) for three years, but this is going to be our best year; a record year. It’s time to write business,” said Scott Day, president of the Kansas Association of Health Underwriters and the coowner of an agency that specializes in selling health insurance products. “I don’t like the law. I
Broken hearts are a part of love by the American Counseling Association
Despite all the happy images Valentine’s Day may bring about love, the reality is that not all romantic relationships last forever. Losing someone you possibly considered the love of your life can be a painful experience, leaving you feeling shattered, abandoned and very much alone. But there are some steps that can help get you through the pain of a lost love. 1) Recognize this as a loss, similar to the death of someone close to you. That means you will mourn. Don’t feel guilty for being sad or angry. 2) Acknowledge that with time you will get better. When you have the flu, you know it won’t last forever. Think of this pain as a flu of the heart. It’s going to go away, too. 3) Take care of yourself physically. Get lots of rest but don’t languish in bed. Exercise. Eat well and sensibly. This is not the time to junk out nor the time for stringent dieting. 4) Put structure in your life. Stick to your regular schedule as much as possible during the week. Make plans for evenings, weekends and holidays. 5) Realize you really aren’t alone. Seek the support of others. There’s nothing to be ashamed about. It’s okay to accept comforting, but don’t wallow in repeated story telling. 6) Invest your energies in life. Surround yourself with things that are alive: plants, pets, and kids. Nurturing others is a fantastic way to nurture yourself. 7) Be aware of the rebound. This is not the time to rekindle old, failed relationships, nor the time to start a new one. You need time alone to get to know yourself again. 8) Start something new, interesting and involving. Develop a new interest or rediscover an old one. Take a class at the community college . . . pick up that craft project gathering dust . . . consider some travel. 9) Forgive your ex-lover. Forgive yourself. Celebrate the good in the relationship ended, but don’t hold on to mementos from it. Accept that when something’s over, it’s over. 10) Reaffirm yourself. Be gentle with yourself. Your life is well worth living. Learn from this experience and evaluate your own growth. Take stock and make realistic adjustments where needed. These simple steps can help minimize that pain and put your life back on a positive, solid footing. And perhaps, come next Valentine’s Day, you’ll again be a participating member of the relationship celebration. “Counseling Corner” is provided by the American Counseling Association. Comments and questions to ACAcorner@counseling.org or visit the ACA website at counseling.org
don’t like where I think it’s going to take us. But on the other hand, it’s the biggest opportunity I’ve ever seen,” Day said, talking to a crowd of about 25 people gathered for a panel discussion sponsored by the Kansas Health Institute, a Topeka-based think tank that specializes in health policy issues.
Day was one of four featured panelists at the 90-minute event. Others were Linda Sheppard, a top Kansas insurance regulator; Matt All, a ranking officer of Blue Cross/ Blue Shield of Kansas, the state’s largest private health insurer; and Kevin Curry, a sales director with Coventry Health Care.
All four described the frustrations and problems they or their organizations have experienced since the marketplace was officially launched on Oct. 1, 2013. But each also said that they had seen improvements in how it is functioning. “It’s fair to say the roll-out was a debacle,” Sheppard said. “But it
was like a light switch went on about Dec. 1,” and consumers and marketplace navigators began reporting they were having greater success with the enrollment process. The panel discussion started minutes after federal officials released new numbers showing that 22,386 Kansans had (See POSITIVE on page 13)
Kansas lawmakers are still cool to Medicaid expansion Kansas policy makers are generally opposed to expanding Medicaid unless a more privatesector approach is used, according to a briefing paper written by a consulting firm headed by former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt. The 40-page paper written by Leavitt Partners for the Kansas Hospital Association finds that widespread opposition to the Affordable Care Act in Kansas extends to the issue of Medicaid expansion. It would be “extremely difficult and likely impossible” for expansion supporters to win legislative approval for any “proposals that resemble
‘Obamacare,’” the report states. But, it goes on to say that the Legislature is “much more open to market-based solutions” for extending coverage to tens of thousands of lowincome adults not eligible for Medicaid. Kansas is one of 23 states that have not chosen to expand Medicaid to include adults earning below 138 percent of the federal poverty line - $15,856 for individuals and $35,325 for a family of four. Tom Bell, president of the KHA, said the Leavitt Partners report confirms what he already knew, that opposition from Gov. Sam Brownback and Republican legislative leaders to Obamacare is the biggest barrier to
expanding Medicaid eligibility in Kansas. “The Affordable Care Act is not popular in Kansas,” Bell said. “That’s understandable. But I think you have to try to look at the benefits of this program (Medicaid expansion) on their own merits. And you also have to look at the fact that the negatives of the Affordable Care Act for hospitals are being implemented, but the positives are not.” Bell said Kansas hospitals have been forced to absorb reductions in Medicare payments without the offsetting increase in Medicaid that was supposed to result from thousands of uninsured Kansans becoming eligible for the program.
A website launched last week by the Kansas Medicaid Access Coalition uses a continuous “ticker” to display how much money Kansas has lost since Jan. 1 by not expanding Medicaid. By Monday morning the total was $51 million and climbing. “We’re wasting our Kansas taxpayer dollars on other states who are taking advantage of Medicaid expansion,” Bell said. The federal government has pledged to pay 100 percent of expansion costs for three years, after which the federal share will gradually decline to 90 percent, where it will remain. (See MEDICAID on page 13)
The Scott County Record • Page 13 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
TANF much of that happening.” Last year, the advocacy group Kansas Action for Children, released a report showing that the number of Kansas children living in poverty had increased from 21 percent in 2011 to 23 percent in 2012. The increase, according to the report, coincided with DCF enacting policies that led to thousands of families being dropped from the state’s TANF rolls. “What this means is that we have more peo-
(continued from page 12)
ple living in poverty but receiving fewer benefits,” said Christie Appelhanz, vice president for public affairs at KAC. A Bridge, Not a Garage Gilmore did not dispute the statistics, but told committee members that DCF is committed to encouraging low-income parents to find jobs so they can work their way out of poverty. The TANF program, she said, was meant to be a “bridge” out of poverty, not a “garage.”
Positive enrolled in marketplace plans as of Jan. 31, a significant increase over the 14,242 reported at the end of December. Enrollment for 2014 coverage closes the end of March, so officials are expecting at least several thousand more signed up by then. According to the numbers released last week,
An earlier analysis done for KHA by George Washington University, an economic modeling firm, concluded that expanding Medicaid eligibility would inject another $3 billion into the state economy and create 4,000 jobs by 2020. Rejecting expansion will cost Kansas an estimated $5.3 billion in federal aid between 2013 and 2022. The consultant’s report provides Kansas policy
Ticker (continued from page 12)
Association also is pushing Kansas policymakers to rethink their opposition to Medicaid expansion. Gov. Sam Brownback and Republican legislative leaders have said they fear the federal aid money would dry up in the future leaving Kansas to pick up much of the added cost. About 78,000 Kansans currently without health insurance could potentially gain it, should state leaders choose to open up the program, which serves low-income elderly, disabled and children. Kansas currently has some of the most restrictive eligibility standards in the nation.
(continued from page 12)
76 percent of Kansans enrolled through the marketplace will get federal subsidies to help them pay health plan premiums. Day said most of the people he has worked with have low incomes and have gotten plans with good coverage at relatively little personal expense.
Medicaid
Gilmore said DCF now expects mothers receiving TANF-funded public assistance to rejoin the workforce two months after giving birth. Previously, the policy allowed mothers to be at home for six months after a delivery. The policy change took effect in May 2013. The agency has not kept track of how families affected by the policy change have fared as a result of it, Gilmore said.
“They are driving off with Cadillacs and paying peanuts for them,” he said, noting that most of his customers ended up paying about $25 a month in premiums with the rest covered by federal subsidy. “We’re writing a lot of low-income business,” he said.
(continued from page 12)
makers with alternatives to traditional Medicaid expansion, Bell said. “It’s not a plan, it’s kind of a roadmap,” he said. “If you’re looking for ‘what should Kansas do,” it’s not in here. But if you’re looking for ‘what could Kansas do,’ it’s here.” The report states that a “best fit” for Kansas would be some sort of combination of marketbased approaches being taken in other states where opposition to Obamacare
is high. In those states - which include Arkansas, Iowa and Pennsylvania - policymakers have received or are requesting federal approval to use Medicaid funds to subsidize the purchase of private insurance for low-income adults. Some are requiring newly eligible recipients to share some of the cost of their care and to either have a job or demonstrate that they are actively seeking one.
But she said neither she nor Karen Beckerman, DCF’s director of strengthening families services, had received telephone calls from TANF mothers reporting difficulties. “That’s not a surprise,” said Leadell Ediger. “If you talked to these moms, they’d say, ‘What’s the use? There’s no one at DCF who’s going to help me.’ And that assumes that when they call DCF, they could actually talk to somebody.”
Ediger is executive director of Child Care Aware of Kansas, a nonprofit agency based in Salina that works to improve the quality of child care programs. TANF money is still available for the mothers to help them pay for child care so they can work, but Ediger said it can be difficult for mothers to find quality care for children younger than six months old, especially if the mothers are working evening or night shifts for low wages.
Pastime at Park Lane The First Baptist Church led services on Sunday. Pitch and dominoes were played on Monday afternoon. Volunteers helping out were Dorothy King, Joy Barnett, Madeline Murphy and Mandy Barnett. Residents played Wii bowling on Monday evening. Tuesday morning Bible study was led by Bob Artz with Doris Riner playing the piano and Elsie Nagle singing. Trivia games were played by residents on Tuesday. The First United Methodist Church youth delivered Valentine flowers to each resident. Thursday afternoon’s entertainment was provided by the Over 50 Chorus who led the singing of Valentine’s Day songs. Singers were Dorothy Milburn, Madeline Murphy, Irma McDaniel, Doris Riner and Arlene Cauthon. After the singing everyone had cookies. Thursday evening Bible study was led by Russell and Mary Webster.
Funk, Dearden celebrate birthdays
The February birthday party was hosted by the First Christian Church. Guests of honor celebrating birthdays were James Stull, Edwin Allen, Nella Funk, Verene Dearden, Arlene Cauthon, Boots Haxton and Mike Leach. Patsi Graham gave a program on the history of Valentine’s Day love songs. Madeline Murphy led singing with Marvel Hopkins-Keys playing the piano. Everyone was served cherry cheesecake. Helping at the party were Barbara Dickhut, Jane Ann McClellan, Nella Thornton and JoAnn Dirks.
Valentines are craft day project
The Immanuel Baptist Church hosted craft day on Tuesday afternoon with the residents making Valentines. Volunteers were Joy Barnett, Dana Steffens and Mandy Barnett. Cookies were furnished by Bev Nuckolls. Fr. Bernard Felix led Catholic Mass on Friday morning. The Valentine’s Day party on Friday afternoon included singing by Chet Quance from Dighton. Wanda Wright furnished the treats. On Friday afternoon there was Wii bowling. Residents watched a video, “Pikes Peak by Rail,” on Saturday.
Deaths Louis Joseph Baker Louis Joseph Baker, 89, died Feb. 18, 2014, at the Wichita County Health Center, Leoti. Louis was born July 29, 1924, at the Baker family homestead near M a r i - Louis Baker enthal, the son of Anton and Caecilia (Baier) Baker. He was a farmer/stockman and a lifetime resident of Wichita County. He was a member of St. Mary Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus, both at Marienthal. On Nov. 22, 1949, he married Betty Lou Geyer at St. Mary Catholic Church. She survives. Survivors include: four sons, Steven, and wife, Janice, and Melvin and wife, Jane, all of Marienthal, Kenneth and wife, Sherri, Scott City, and Michael and wife, Aileen, Walnut Creek, Calif.; three daughters, Maurita Koerperich, and husband, Jim, Garden City, Tamara Martin and husband, Scott, Holcomb, and Lori Graff and husband, Major, Marienthal; two brothers, Joseph, Haddam, and
Bernard, Colby; four sisters, MaryAnn Winter, Leoti, Celine Wimmer, Imelda Smith, and Inella Scheffe, all of Marienthal; 20 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; one grandson, Nathan Scott Koeperich; and seven siblings, Bernadine Pahls, Marguerite Zellner, Florence Zellner, Elizabeth Geyer, Pauline Baker, Anthony Baker and Marie Baker. Vigil services will be held Fri., Feb. 21, 7:00 p.m., at St. Mary Catholic Church, Marienthal. Funeral Mass will be held Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the church with Father Benjamin Martin officiating. Burial will be at St. Mary Cemetery. Friends may call Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Price and Sons Funeral Home, Leoti. Memorials may be given to the Leoti EMTs or St. Mary School Building Fund in care of Price and Sons Funeral Home, 202 N. 4th, Leoti, Ks. 67861. Condolences may be sent to the family through the funeral home website at priceandsons.com
Bud Berry was visited by Wayde Berry and Sandra Berry. Judy Redburn was visited by Carol Ellis, Lujauna Turley, Reba Hearson, Wendy Derstine, Mary Torson and Tina Turley. Melva Rose was visited by Tina Turley. Joyce Bohnert was visited by Janet Gallardo, and Allen and Glenda Graham.
The Scott County Record • Page 14 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
Darlene Richman was visited by Barb Hutchins, Brooke Hoeme, Alli Patton, Mike Deschner, Marilyn Waters, Mary Webster and Linda Dunagan. Verna Willman was visited by Bobo Willman, D’Ann Markel, Fred Smith and Arnold Jones. Cecile Billings was visited by Ann Beaton; Ken, Patti and Mandy Billings; Delinda Dunagan and Linda Dunagan. Edith Norman was visited by Doris Riner, Ron and Sue Riner, Nancy Holt, and Tom and Sara Shane. Visitors of Boots Haxton were her niece, Janet Collins, Jodi Moellering and Claire Williams, all of Oakley; and Rod and Kathy Haxton. Dottie Fouquet was visited by Jon and Anne Crane, Mary Stormont, Sandy Higgins, Ethan McDaniel Noll, Nicole Latta, Fritzi Rauch and Mark Fouquet. Earl Gorman was visited by Loretta Gorman, Pete Steffens, Charlene Becht and Jane McBroom.
AARP provides free tax assistance in Kansas
The AARP Foundation is again providing free tax assistance and preparation for taxpayers with low to moderate income through the AARP Foundation TaxAide program. It is the nation’s largest free tax assistance and preparation service, giving special attention those 60 and older. Persons do not need to be an AARP member or a retiree to use this service. “Thanks to the hundreds of volunteers we are able to help thousands of Kansans with free tax preparation assistance,” said AARP Kansas Director Maren Turner. In 2013, AARP Foundation Tax-Aide’s 35,000 volunteers at nearly 6,000 sites provided 2.6 million people with free tax help. Taxpayers who used AARP Foundation Tax-Aide received $1.3 billion in income tax refunds and more than $244 million in Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs). Last year in Kansas, 389 AARP Foundation TaxAide volunteers helped more than 35,500 people file their federal and state tax returns. The program is offered at approximately 76 sites in Kansas including senior centers and libraries. For more information or to locate an AARP Foundation Tax-Aide site, visit www.kstaxaide.com or www.aarp.org/findtaxhelp or call 1-888-AARPNOW (1-888-227-7669).
Support your hometown merchants!
by Jason Storm
Christine Evans was vistied by Margie Stevens and Treva McCandless. Bonnie Pickett was visited by Gloria Wright, Larry and Philene Wright; Josh, Jenny, Kylie and David Wright; Arlene Cauthon and Treva McCandless. Albert Dean was visited by Larry White, Nancy Holt and Terry and Sue Rose. Lula Dirks was visited by Darla Luebers, Floyd and Vivian Dirks, and Willetta Payne. Vivian Kreiser was visited by Sharon Lock. Jim and Yvonne Spangler were visited by Les and Mary Ann Spangler, Yvette Mills, Mona Spangler and Jagger, and Margie Stevens. Clifford Dearden was visited by Kirk and Janet Ottoway. Geraldine Graves was visited by Charlene Becht and Megan Dirks. Phyllis Trembley was visited by Carol Irwin Schwartz, Alli Patton, Brooke Hoeme and Barb Hutchins.
Ann Tedford was visited by Doris Riner, Mary Plum and Arlene Cauthon. Harriet Jones was vistied by Larry Wright, Nancy Holt, Rev. Don Martin, Annabelle McDaniel and Travis Jones. Mike Leach was visited by Rev. Don Martin and Linda Dunagan. Dona Dee Carpenter was visited by Roger and Jackie John, Gloria O’Blenness, Bill John and Thelma Miller. Loyd Eitel was visited by Vick and Sandy Eitel, and Connie Ramsey. Delores Brooks was visited by Nancy Holt, Dave and Cheryl Brooks, Charlie Brooks and Beth Tuck. Jake Leatherman was visited by Jerry and Margaret Snyder, Rod Leatherman, Carol Ellis, and Floyd and Vivian Dirks. Jim Jeffery was visited by Wade Jeffery and Libbie Joles. Lorena Turley was visited by Rex Turley, Phyllis See, LaCinda Griffin and Gary Turley.
Sr. Citizen Lunch Menu Week of February 24-28 Monday: Meat loaf, au gratin potatoes, oriental vegetable mix, whole wheat bread, strawberries. Tuesday: Pork cutlets, sweet potatoes, peas and carrots, whole wheat roll, ambrosia. Wednesday: Roast turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, winter mix, whole wheat roll, fruit gelatin. Thursday: Chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, spinach salad, whole wheat roll, apple crisp. Friday: Taco salad, corn O’Brien, tortilla chips, fruit mix with mandarine oranges and marshmallows. meals are $3.25 • call 872-3501
The Scott County Record • Page 15 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
Deere Dynasty
Members of the Deere Dynasty crew who won “Best Booth” at the Scott City Lions Club chili cookoff last Sunday were (from left) Tim Graff, Cody Kennedy, Tyler Kough and Fred Kuntzsch. Top chili teams (as determined by the judges) were the Scott Co-op, first; Chamber of Commerce, second; and First National Bank, third. The “People’s Choice” award for best chili went to the First National Bank. Winning the grand prize of $1,000 in Chamber Bucks was Steve Compton. (Record Photo)
Deaths
Attend the Church of Your Choice
Robert Wilson ‘Bob’ Greer Robert Wilson “Bob” Greer, 88, died Feb. 15, 2014, at the Comanche County Hospital, Coldwater. B o b was born Jan. 20, 1 9 2 6 , in Fort Wo r t h , T e x . Bob Greer He was the son of Curtis Oliver and Annie (Wilson) Greer. By age 4-5, he had decided journalism would be his career choice. As he sat in the crowd at a professional wrestling match, young Bob saw reporters around the ring with their typewriters. This was great, he thought, they get paid to write and go to sports events. Growing up during the Great Depression, Bob and his brother, Curtis, shined shoes and sold newspapers as children. In 1937, as a fifth grader, Bob won a contest to name his grade school newspaper - “The Broadcast” - winning him a seat as assistant editor saying, “I only wanted to write sports.” At age 18, Bob joined the US Navy, being discharged two years later. Earning his GED in 1950, Bob enrolled at the University of Boulder in Colorado, his dad being there at that time as the university’s baker. Bob became a reporter, covering sports for the college paper for a $15 paycheck. During a bridge construction job in 1951, Bob suffered head injuries as lightning triggered a dynamite explosion. Bob’s first full-time job was for the Alliance Daily News in Nebraska in 1955. He worked at several different papers in Colorado and Nebraska, landing at the Garden City Telegram in 1959. Bob stayed at the Telegram for 18 years before working for the Scott City News Chronicle, and later working for the Dodge City Daily Globe as the sports editor. In 1976, Greer received the Oscar Stauffer Sportswriter Award from the Kansas High School
Activities Association, becoming only the second person to win the award. Bob first went to Protection as a reporter for the newspaper chain that owned The Protection Post. Townspeople asked Bob to start up his own paper in Protection. The first edition of the Protection Press was issued on Jan. 9, 1986. After a month of passing out free papers, his paid subscription list was growing strong. From that time until September of 2013, Bob was actively involved in his weekly paper as publisher, editor, sportswriter, weather reporter, Democrat enthusiast and always “bobbing along Broadway.” Last year, Greer received the Clyde M. Reed, Jr., Master Editor Award from the Kansas Press Association. He was a member of the Kansas Press Association and Protection Lions Club. He served on numerous recreation commission boards. He married Wilma Brasher on July 17, 1965, in Scott City. She survives. Other survivors include: two sons, Gene Greer, and wife, Linda, Garden City, and Donnie Greer, Raymore, Mo.; two grandchildren, Timothy Haunschild, and wife, Brittany, and Kaitlin Woods and husband, Brandon; 10 greatgrandchildren; one sisterin-law, LaVaughn Greer; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Curtis; one halfbrother, Clayton Collins; one sister, Pauline Grace; and an infant sister. Funeral service will be Fri., Feb. 21, 11:00 a.m., at the South Central Middle School gymnasium, Protection, with Pastor Brandon Hagins presiding. Burial will be at the Protection Cemetery. Memorials may be sent to Protection Township Library in care of Hatfield-Prusa Funeral Home, Box 417, Coldwater, Ks. 67029.
Pray Together to Stay Together
My reading today challenged me to study and understand Proverbs 5:15-20, “Drink water from your own
cistern” and I find it referring to fidelity in marriage. Foundational to the home is a right and strong relationship of a man and his wife. The marriage vow usually promises to be faithful and true to one another as long as we live.
The righteousness of any relationship is established in obedience to God’s Word. We are commanded to love
God and our neighbor. Our fellowship with God is hindered if we do not love our neighbor. We remain faithful to our spouses because we love them only, and because God says, “Do not commit adultery “.
The strength of any relationship is prayer. We need God’s help and guidance. Every relationship is tested. But
we have such promises from the Bible as Philippians 4:19, “my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus”. I Corinthians 13:10 says, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is com-
mon to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it” (HCSB).
The problem we have is a lack of communication with God our provider. James 4:2 says, “You do not have
because you do not ask” (HCSB).
Husbands and wives are urged to live together in understanding and honor so as to have a great prayer life
together as one (1Peter 3:1-7). Here is a challenge and opportunity. Proverbs 5:15-20 is a very intimate passage of scripture that every married couple should read together. The couple that prays together stays together.
Rev. Robert Nuckolls Immanuel Southern Baptist Church, Scott City
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, February 20, 2014 Youngsters who have reached 300 through 900 book milestones in the Scott County Library’s “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” reading program are:
Colborn Trout • 900
Piper Jessup • 900
Brogan Dirks • 900
Storm spotter classes in area towns during March The annual Severe Weather Awareness Week (March 3-7) is gearing up for March with storm spotter classes scheduled for the area. This week also coincides with National Severe Storm Preparedness Week, a nationwide campaign. During the week the National Weather Service will be sponsoring a statewide tornado warning test which will take place on Tues., March 4, 1:30 p.m. (CST). It will air on all radio and television broadcast stations as well as NOAA Weather Radio. “Everyone is encouraged to treat the test warning as if it were an actual emergency and review preparedness procedures,” says David Floyd, warning coordination meteorologist for northwest Kansas.
Chase Dearden • 600
Addison Dearden • 600
Lily Lightner • 300
Elegance You Deserve
Storm Spotter Classes
Date March 3
Time 6:30 p.m. (CST)
City Location Leoti Firehouse 2 blks. north of K96/K25
March 17
6:30 p.m. (MDT)
Tribune
4-H Bldg.
March 20
6:30 p.m. (CDT)
Oakley
Courthouse
March 28
6:30 p.m. (CDT)
Colby
Comm. Bldg. 285 E. 5th
Municipalities throughout the state are encouraged to sound their tornado sirens, and school officials are encouraged to send students to their designated tornado shelter and provide a review of safety information. Storm spotter training classes in the Tri-State area will begin March 3 and wrap up on March 28. Classes are open to people of all ages with an interest in learning more about High Plains’ storms, weather safety or storm
4-H Club News
spotting. Classes are free and there are no prerequisites. One class will be held in each county on a weekday evening between 6:30 and 8:45 p.m. Topics will include an update on wireless emergency alerts, impact-based warnings, thunderstorm organization and evolution, clouds associated with thunderstorms and their meaning for spotters, thunderstorm hazards, safety, severe weather elements to report and how to report.
•Tub Replacement •Lavatories •Tub Surround •Tub Decks •Show Accessories •Trim and more!
USD 466 Lunch Menu Week of February 24-28 Monday: Pizza mozzarella sticks, *chef boyardee ravioli, marinara sauce, winter blend, baked apples. Tuesday: Steak fingers, *chicken strips, potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, dinner roll, strawberries and pears. Wednesday: Pizza quesadilla, *fish sandwich, green peas, tropical fruit. Thursday: Egg rolls, *burrito, fried rice, capri blend, pineapple. Friday: Pigs in a blanket, *mighty rib, baked beans, tri-tator, fresh fruit. *Second choice for SCMS and SCHS
Made in Kansas
All the elegance you need in your bathroom remodel or update
Available at
Scott County Lumber “Helping You Get it Done with Excellence”
Club members busy with winter trips The Manning Jayhawkers 4-H Club meeting was called to order on Jan. 13 by President Macy Davis. Roll call was answered by “Name a county in Kansas.” There were 13 members and one leader present. Eddie Tilton gave the treasurer’s report. For the program, Rachel Fisher taught us about the different parts of a bow. Jacob Fisher was looking forward to a big adventure for his program and Aiden Frederick showed us his motor detector. We played the game “Gossip” for recreation. There was a community report which announced that there will be a judge’s meeting and adults can attend if they are interested. In new business there was a donation to the Faurot family. Megan Smith, reporter
Large choice of colors
1510 S. Main, Scott City • 872-5334 www.scottcountylumber.com Like us on Facebook! facebook.com/scottcountylumberinc
Wellness Connections Your resource for complementary and integrative services
Public Forum Free Admission
Saturday, March 1 • 1:00-5:00 p.m. St. Catherine’s Hospital, Meeting Room B 401 E. Spruce St., Garden City
Attend one program or all 8. Learn how Wellness Connections connects mind, body and spirit, by offering education, training, support and comfort for those looking to improve their health and well-being. 1:15 p.m. •History of Reiki by Jerry Ellis - Jerry is a Reiki Master with over 25 years experience. He will lead you through the history, impact and benefits of the healing powers of Reiki. 1:45 p.m. •Cranial Sacral Therapy by Kriz Retsema - Kriz is a nationally certified therapeutic massage and bodywork professional with over 1,000 hours of training. She specializes in working with cancer survivors during or after treatment therapies. 2:15 p.m. •Chronic Pain Relief Through Massage by Amy Cain - Amy is a nationally certified massage therapist with over 1,000 hours of training, specializing in deep tissue/treatment work for chronic pain related issues. 2:45 p.m. •Art Expression by AvNell Mayfield - Over a period of 40 years of teaching art to at-risk Head Starters, elementary, middle, high school, college, adults, senior citizens, and inmates in prison, she has observed the positive healing effects that art had on the lives of these individuals. 3:15 p.m. •Hydroponics Brings Nutrition to the Table by Larry Caldwell - With over 25 years experience in growing nutritious food through the hydroponic system Larry, has researched and discovered many practical ways anyone can grow their own food from anywhere. 3:45 p.m. •Unlocking the Door to the Soul by Lori Carter - Lori is a Usui and Karuna Reiki Master/Teacher, Seichim Reiki II practitioner and a certified Akashic Records practitioner. Have you ever wondered what your purpose is? Are you stuck in unproductive patterns in your life? We’ll discuss some of the tools available to unlock the door to your potential. 4:15 p.m. •Massage and Lymphedema Care for Cancer Patients and Survivors by Kriz Retsema - With 135 hours specialty training and over 200 hours of practical work in all aspects of treatment, management and education she will present warning signs and approach to care. 4:45 p.m. •Using Your Intuition by Kat Haxton - Since childhood Kat has learned to appreciate and develop the gift of intuition and she will share with you how to recognize your gift through a group demonstration. 5:15 p.m. •Yoga by Katherine White - Kathy has completed all 5 levels of teacher training, plus additional training in prenatal yoga, yoga for seniors, yoga for back health, “hot” (Bikram) yoga, and “power” (Ashtanga) yoga as well as restorative and therapeutic yoga. She will share the benefits of yoga and how it can meet physical, mental and psychosocial needs.
Your health, your decision
Sports The Scott County Record
Pinned SC grapplers make medal haul in junior varsity tourney • Page 20
www.scottcountyrecord.com
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Page 17
gouged by Horns
Holcomb ends Scott City’s reign as GWAC champions
SCHS senior Brayden Strine drives the paint against Holcomb’s Conner VanCleave during Tuesday’s league contest. (Record Photo)
Figure skaters feeling pressure from NFL
The announcement by University of Missouri defensive end Michael Sam that he is gay has created an unexpected backlash in the sports world. It’s not NFL players who may be his teammate or lining up against Sam who are complaining. It’s male figure skaters. “Until now, we’ve had a lock on the gay community,” said an Olympic male figure skater during
Rod Haxton, sports editor
a break in the competition at Sochi. “When it comes to sports, where else are gay men going to turn for athletes they can relate to? It hasn’t been football or
hockey. Given the fashion statement made by some golfers on the PGA tour, we have held out hope that someone will eventually step forward and acknowledge they are gay, but until then we can’t be sure,” said the skater who asked to remain anonymous. “So, are you saying that the male figure skaters are all gay?” I wondered. (See SKATERS on page 19)
Scott City finally found its offense. Unfortunately, Holcomb had a little bit more as the Beavers had no answer for the hot-shooting Longhorns in a 66-57 loss on Tuesday night. The loss snapped Scott City’s 11 game win streak over the LongScott City 57 horns and also ended the Holcomb 66 Beavers three-year reign as the Great West Activities Association champions. “We knew going into the game it would be tough to come away with a win at Holcomb. They’ve been playing very well of late and we haven’t been,” says head coach Glenn O’Neil. The outcome of the game may well have been dictated late in the first quarter after the Beavers committed several turnovers that contributed to a 9-0 scoring run by the Longhorns. “We made some terrible passes. We didn’t fake anything and we were lobbing passes which (Holcomb) was able to get a hand on with their length,” O’Neil says. “It was a bad five to six minute stretch for us.” The game started out well for the Beavers when junior guard Trey O’Neil drilled an opening three-pointer and they built on that to take a 9-3 lead with 4:22 left in the first quarter. However, Scott City was unable to take care of the ball late in the first quarter, (See GOUGED on page 24)
Kropp leads short list of 4A state hopefuls It’s been a tough season for the Scott Community High School wrestling team, so there’s no reason to expect the Class 4A regional tournament to be any different. The Beavers will be traveling to Colby on Friday and Saturday where they will compete in arguably the toughest of the four regional tourna-
ments being held across the state. The tournament will feature stateranked Goodland (No. 4), Smoky Valley (No. 6), Colby (No. 8) and Abilene (No. 9). Among the SCHS wrestlers, senior Warren Kropp (170) would appear to have the clearest shot to earning a (See KROPP on page 23)
oh, so close
Dighton erases 21 point deficit, still not enough As the Dighton High School girls were preparing to break their huddle to start the second half of play, the entire squad was in tears. It wasn’t because of the scoreboard, though that might have Hoxie 69 been a good Dighton 63 reason with the Lady Hornets staring at a 20 point deficit. It was because their team leader, senior center Leslie Speer, had been informed she wouldn’t be playing anymore because of a possible ACL injury. “These girls are like a family and they were crushed. I told the girls they had to pull together and stay tough,” says Felker. That’s a pretty tall order
when you’re playing a Hoxie team that is the No. 1 ranked team in Class 1A-Division I and hasn’t lost a game in nearly three years. Not only did the Lady Hornets regroup, but they pulled off one of the great comebacks in high school women’s basketball before losing, 69-63, on the home floor in Northwest Kansas League play on Friday. “I can’t say enough about how much heart these girls showed,” says Felker. “It would have been easy to quit when you’re down by 20 against a team like Hoxie, but they wanted this game and they wanted to prove how good they can be.” That determination saw the Lady Hornets turn what had once been a 21 point deficit (See DIGHTON on page 21)
Dighton freshman Sara Cramer shoots a baseline jumper during Friday’s action against Hoxie. (Record Photo)
grinding it out
The Scott County Record • Page 18 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
Outdoors in Kansas
by Steve Gilliland
Studying the signs of nature
On TV cop shows an often-used way to collect information about someone is by going through their trash. That’s certainly one way to learn a lot about a person. For those of us who work in buildings on concrete floors, just imagine the miles of footprints we would leave each day if every step somehow left a visible track. Each person’s shoeprint would be a little different and we would all walk a little differently, so you could tell where every moment of a person’s day was spent by simply following their tracks. The same thing is true of nature. Early Saturday morning, while the ground was still slightly frozen, Joyce and I went for a sightseeing drive. Our first stop was a sinkhole just outside town where I have permission to trap but where I had not gotten traps set this year. A large, raised dike runs around the perimeter of this small, marshy body of water that’s now grown full of weeds because of the drought. I climbed up onto the dike and started walking. What first caught my eye were bare spots on numerous small saplings where the bark had been chewed off, probably by rabbits when everything else edible to them was covered by the snow. A worn trail runs around the very top of the dike and critter tracks trailed down from there into the snow-covered ice on the marsh. One side of the dike is pockmarked with old washed-out beaver dens that are marked by big open holes that disappear back into the dike. The snow in front of all those holes was covered with coon’ (See SIGNS on page 23)
Beavers go down to the wire in win over Panthers Winning doesn’t have to be pretty and it certainly hasn’t been for the Scott Community High School boys over the past three weeks. B u t the Beavers (152) were able to Great Bend 47 Scott City 51 grind out a hard-fought 51-47 win over Class 5A Great Bend (6-10) on the home floor Saturday night giving them much needed backto-back wins on consecutive nights following their upset loss at Goodland. It was a game that saw the Beavers shooting 80 percent from two-point range (12-of-15), but still deadlocked at 41-41 with 5:22 remaining. “It was a slow-paced game which is what everyone in the WAC (Western Athletic Conference) likes to play except for Hays,” says head coach Glenn O’Neil. “It becomes a game of who can force their will over the other team.” And it was the Beavers who were able to force their will with strong defensive play down the stretch, despite playing their fourth game in six days. After Great Bend had pulled even with SCHS, they were limited to just six free throws the remainder of the night. Only seven seconds after the game was tied, junior guard Trey O’Neil was standing at the free throw line after being fouled while driving coast-to-coast against the Panthers defense which had yet to get set. O’Neil, who was 6-of-8 at the line, hit both free throws
and senior pivot Brayden Strine followed with a field goal that stretched the lead to four points, 4541. Strine, who finished with 12 points on 6-of-6 from the field, added another basket for a 47-43 advantage which set up a free throw contest during the final minute. Great Bend was able to convert all four charity opportunities on two trips to the line, cutting the lead to 48-47 with 25.5 seconds remaining. O’Neil, who finished with a game high 23 points, again gave SCHS a three point edge when he hit a pair of free throws with 18.9 seconds on the clock. Following a missed field goal by the Panthers, senior guard Chris Pounds was quickly fouled and he put the game on ice when he connected on the second of two free throws with just 5.9 seconds to play. While the limited number of two-point attempts was partly dictated by the deliberate pace of the game, and Great Bend’s zone defense, the Beavers also took more time off the clock with each possession. “One thing we wanted to correct from the first three games in the week was a tendency to shoot off the first pass,” says O’Neil. “We put an emphasis on making the extra passes and getting others involved. I think that was evident late in the Great Bend game when we shared the ball better.”
SCHS junior Sloan Baker scores on a putback against Great Bend during Friday’s non-league contest. (Record Photo)
Saturday on a hot streak, winning five of their previous six games, but it was the Beavers who led from start to finish. The game was tied briefly at 3-3 before the Beavers opened a 14-5 lead following a putback by Pounds. Scott City would eventually stretch that advantage to 22-11 after a floater by junior guard Brett Meyer hit the front of the rim and bounced in. Despite the early lead, O’Neil felt the team had missed opportunities to build on their early advantage. “If we take care of business early it doesn’t come down to free throws at the end of the game. Great Bend had six turnovers in the first quarter and we held a 9-2 edge in field SC Never Trails Great Bend entered goal attempts. If we’re
knocking down shots we could have been up by more than seven points (14-7),” O’Neil says. The Panthers trimmed the deficit to 27-23 by the half and cut the deficit to 30-29 with 5:13 left in the third period. A minute later it was still a one point lead, 33-32, following a three-point basket by Great Bend before the Beavers created a little breathing room with a 7-0 run that was capped by O’Neil’s final trey of the game. While Strine was back in double figures after scoring just three points the previous night against Hays-TMP, his biggest contribution was probably on the defensive side where he limited six-foot-three freshman Kody Crosby to just eight points. Crosby entered
the game with the hot shooting hand, scoring 29 against Buhler and 28 the previous night in a win over Garden City. “Brayden played very good defense and battled him well in the post despite giving up some size,” says Coach O’Neil. However, the head coach was also glad to see Strine once again making a big contribution on offense. “We need for Brayden to start shooting again. In the three previous games he was getting the ball in good position, but would either take one too many dribbles or just wouldn’t shoot. That hurts the effectiveness of our offense when he isn’t aggressive,” says O’Neil. Baker, who was 3-of-4 in the paint, added seven points and four rebounds.
Tough loss for Indians at Stanton County A late r a l l y wasn’t enough for the Wichita Co. 67 Wi c h i t a Stanton Co. 72 County High School boys in a
tough 72-67 road loss to Stanton County on Tuesday. The game may have been a preview of substate when the two teams could possibly meet again. The game was decid-
ed in the first and third quarters when the Trojans outscored WCHS 36-24. Trailing 52-38 entering the last period, the Indians (6-10) put together a strong 27 point scoring barrage only to come up
short. Senior guard Jantz Budde poured in a game high 31 points (7-of19 FG) which included 17-of-18 at the charity stripe. The only other Indian
in double figures was senior guard Chris Wilson with 15 points (6-of-10 FG) along with a team high nine rebounds. WCHS struggled from two-point range where they hit 37% (19-of-52).
The Scott County Record • Page 19 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
King advances in FT contest
A steady diet of fundamentals for SC during next 2 weeks Scott Community High School head coach Glenn O’Neil has made no secret what practices will be like for the Beavers over the next couple of weeks. Fundamentals . . . a steady diet of fundamentals. The SCHS boys are coming off a grueling stretch in which they played five games in nine days. That would have been enough for Lebron James to petition the Great West Activities Conference commissioner (if we had one) for a couple of additional days of rest. The Beavers didn’t have that luxury and there were times it showed. We won’t make excuses for the loss at Goodland. That was during the early part of the stretch when the Beavers should have had their legs and been mentally sharp. They weren’t . . . and they got beat. As they reached the tail end of this nine-game period it was evident that fatigue was beginning to take its toll. The defense wasn’t as sharp and neither was the overall shooting. Credit the Beavers for finding a way to battle through it and collect wins against Hays-TMP and Great Bend. “That’s a long stretch for the kids five games in nine days - when you don’t have a deep bench so the boys are getting a lot of minutes. They were feeling fatigue mentally and physically. When your mind isn’t there your skills - especially your shooting - will suffer,” notes O’Neil. During the last five games, O’Neil points out that the free throw shooting spiraled downward, along with the three-point shooting. The latter should be no surprise when a team has tired legs. Thanks to the team’s 80 percent shooting night against Great Bend, the two-point field goal percentage held steady overall during this stretch. Neither has Scott City been as effective on defense, though the Beavers were able to close out TMP and Great Bend down the stretch.
Skaters “There are two who claim they aren’t, but I’m not naming names,” he said. “I don’t want to ruin their reputations.” “Do you really feel that an openly gay player in the NFL will hurt your sport?” “There’s a fear that viewership will plummet,” says the Olympian. “Right now, the gay community only gets to watch figure skaters every four years
Harrison King, Scott City, has qualified for the Knights of Columbus state free throw shooting competition. The 11-year-old was a first place finisher in district competition held at Dighton and followed that up with a championship at the regional level in Ulysses. Dexter Gooden, 14, also of Scott City, was first in his age division at the district contest and was the regional runner-up. The state contest will be held in Salina on March 2.
Pheasants Forever banquet here Sat.
“We committed nearly as many fouls in four games last week as we saw in the previous 13 games,” says O’Neil. That’s a lack of foot speed. Lack of Practice Time But the big issue for O’Neil has been the lack of practice time. The consummate stickler for details, O’Neil hasn’t had the time he likes to iron out flaws he sees on the court. It was literally a perfect storm working against the Beavers - snow days combined with parent-teacher conferences - which limited practice time along with so many games squeezed into a short time frame. “We saw things on film but, because of back-to-back games, we didn’t have a chance to go over with the boys during a practice,” said O’Neil. “Instead of reviewing things we saw from the previous game we’re preparing for the next game without the benefit of a practice.” That will change this week when the Beavers have a little more time on their hands - perhaps too much time when one considers they have just two games during the next two weeks prior to the start of sub-state play. Once again, it’s not an ideal schedule. But it will allow the Beavers to get back into a more normal practice routine, which O’Neil is anxious to do. This past Wednesday was devoted to fundamentals on defense and offense. That was followed by one day to prepare for Colby. After the Colby game, it will be a
return to fundamentals as the Beavers prepare for an important message game against Goodland. Then it will be a return to the fundamentals in preparation for the sub-state tournament. The Beavers are stinging a lot from their loss to Goodland and a little more from their loss to Holcomb which cost them a fourth consecutive league championship. O’Neil is a competitor. Losing isn’t in his vocabulary. But he also keeps things in perspective as the Beavers near the end of the regular season. “When you look at things realistically and consider the expectations at the start of the season and where we are now, I don’t think anyone can complain about a 15-3 record at this point,” he says. “The hard part is that we’ve played so poorly the past couple of weeks. It’s not that the boys haven’t played hard, but we haven’t played as well as we were earlier and that’s been disturbing.” And, even then, it’s not as though the Beavers haven’t been competitive. Playing one of their poorest offensive games of the season they only lost to Goodland by four points. And even with Holcomb hitting 5-of-5 from three-point range in the third period, the Beavers still had their chances if they could have found just a little offense. Those are lessons to be learned and motivation to be drawn up. Now it’s back to the fundamentals and time to focus on the bigger picture.
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or when the NFL goes on strike and the networks are desperate for something to show on a Sunday afternoon. “But if gay athletes suddenly become accepted in the major sports then why would gay viewers feel the need to watch us skaters?” he says. “They’ll be able to watch those big, massive, muscular, sweaty bodies on the football field at least
three days a week during the NFL season. I get excited just thinking about it.” “So you’re against gay athletes playing in the NFL?” “Heavens no,” says the Olympian. “I think we’re all better off by not knowing. The homophobes don’t have to worry about being less masculine by watching a sport in which there are gay athletes and gays
don’t have to feel pressured into watching a sport in which they have no interest, but tune it in anyway to show support for gays.” “And what about figure skating?” I asked. “We can continue our policy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’,” he said. “We won’t ask if you’re straight and you don’t have to tell us otherwise.”
The annual Pheasants Forever banquet will be held on Sat., Feb. 22, at the Wm. Carpenter 4-H Building, Scott City. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the meal served at 7:00 p.m. Admission is by advanced tickets only. Tickets are available by contacting Brett Jennison (8741672), Cody Wells (214-3432) or any Pheasants Forever committee member.
The Scott County Record • Page 20 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
KC could have a formidable rotation The Kansas City Royals’ pitchers and catchers reported for spring training in Surprise, Ariz., last Friday (Feb. 14) and were welcomed with temperatures that ranged from 70-90 degrees. The full squad begins workouts on February 20. Four Kanby sas City RoyMac als pitchers Stevenson have seemingly secured their spots on the starting rotation: James Shields (13-9, 3.15 ERA) is the ace of the staff; he’s coming off a superb 2013 season. He pitched much better than his record indicates because the Royals gave him very poor run support. Shields pitched 228.2 innings and was, by far, KC’s best starting pitcher. Jeremy Guthrie (15-12, 4.04 ERA) will be second in the starting rotation. Manager Ned Yost has declared that left-hander Bruce Chen (9-4, 3.27 ERA) is assured of a starting slot. Chen is a 36-year-old veteran who always seems to pitch well for the Royals. KC signed left-hander Jason Vargas (9-8, 4.02 ERA), who pitched 150 innings with the Los Angeles Angels last season. Yost is going to have a difficult decision in trying to decide who KC’s fifth starting pitcher will be, but he has a number of promising prospects to choose from. It appears that the three most likely contenders for the fifth starting spot are Luke Hochevar, Danny Duffy, and Yordano Ventura. Hochevar (5-2, 1.92 ERA) had a sensational 2013 in the bullpen. Duffy was coming off elbow surgery in 2013 and had to be shut down early. In five starts with the Royals he was 2-0 and had a 1.85 ERA. Duffy’s elbow condition is the main issue Yost will have to watch. Yordano Ventura (0-1, 3.52 ERA) is a 22-year-old right-hander who started three games. Ventura has an eye-popping fast ball, a snapping curve and an efficient change up. Hochevar will move back to the bullpen if he isn’t a starter, while Duffy or Ventura would probably start the season in Omaha. (See ROTATION on page 24)
SC grapplers claim 7 medals at Colby tourney Scott City’s young wrestlers have struggled this season when they’ve been tossed into varsity competition. But given the chance to compete with others wrestlers of their caliber the Beavers had a solid outing at the Colby JV Invitational on Saturday when they brought home seven medals. Freshman Tre Stewart (182) was the only gold medalist. After
claiming his opening match by a 7-0 decision, Stewart was able to pin his next two opponents on his way to the tournament title. Claiming silver medals were freshman Kevin Aguilera (138), sophomore Abe Wiebe (152) and freshman Trey Loftis (160). Finishing in fourth place were sophomore Irvin Lozano (120), freshman Morgen Roberts (126) and freshman Kevin Lozano (145).
Scott City’s Morgen Roberts (top) works for a takedown. (Record Photo)
Cure hits game winner against GB Last second wins are becoming the norm for the Scott Community High School junior varsity boys. Trailing by a point with just 39.2 seconds remaining in the game, the Beavers scored the go-ahead basket with just 10.5 seconds remaining to defeat Great Bend, 36-34, on the home floor Saturday night. The only time that Scott City trailed in the game, other than 2-0, was following a pair of Great Bend free throws that put them on top, 34-33. Until then, the Beavers were in control, leading 15-12 at the half and extending that advantage to 12 points, 33-21, entering the final period. However, Scott City’s offense ground to a halt while the Panthers were slowly climbing back into the game with 13 unanswered points. After Great Bend had taken the lead with 39.2 seconds to play, the Beavers missed their opportunity to retake the lead. But Scott City was able to tie up the loose ball and with the possession arrow pointing in their direction they had a second opportunity. Freshman Bo Hess fed a
Freshman Matthew Jenkins drives past a Great Bend defender during Friday’s junior varsity action. (Record Photo)
nice assist to freshman Kyle Cure under the basket and he laid it off the glass while drawing the foul. Cure added the
Lady Hornets roll over Tribune, 55-10 The Dighton High School girls put on a defensive clinic at Tribune on Tuesday, limiting the Lady Jackrabbits to just a single basket in the first half on their way to a 55-10 romp. This game was over almost as soon as it started as the Lady Hornets (13-4) jumped out to a 16-2 lead and were on top at halftime, 32-2. They didn’t miss their leading scorer, Leslie Speer, who is recovering from a knee injury. Senior Liz Heath and junior Jordan Speer led the team with 12 and 10 points, respectively, in limited playing time. Heath and Shambrey Budd led the team with seven rebounds each.
free throw to provide the final two point margin. Hess led the Beavers with 11 points - nine of those in the
third period. Justin Faurot and Drake McRae each added five points and Heath Briggs finished with four.
Dighton into a three point lead with 2:18 left in the game. Hoxie, however, was able to regroup down the stretch - benefitting from a couple of fortunate bounces of the ball - to escape the DHS gym with a 6963 win in Northwest Kansas League play. It was a crushing loss for the Lady Hornets who had seemingly played themselves out of the game in the first half when they fell behind 29-8 with 6:08 left in the second period. “I think we wanted it so bad and the girls were trying so hard . . . maybe too hard,” says Felker. “Hoxie was on fire and then we started pointing fingers and getting uptight because nothing was going right. I called a timeout and reminded the girls we are a team and we have to remain a team no matter what’s happening. We have to build each other up.” Trailing by 17 points with just over five minutes left in the third period, senior guard/forward Shambrey Budd put the Lady Hornets on her back with an impressive scoring run that saw her close out the game by scoring 22 of her game high 29 points. Dighton put together a 19-4 scoring blitz during which they drilled five treys - three by S. Budd.
The Scott County Record • Page 21 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
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Her three-pointer with 7:31 left in the game cut the lead to a lone basket, 50-48. “Shambrey told me before the game while she was shooting baskets that ‘I feel it coach.’ I told her, ‘Then show it.’” And she did,” says Felker. She noted that Hoxie seemed more focused on eliminating sophomore guard Kiara Budd as a three-point threat. The younger Budd still managed to shoot 3-of-8 from the three-point arc and finish with 12 points, but it was Shambrey’s 5-of-5 from long range that led the second half comeback. “Hoxie kept keying on Kiara (Budd), and she made a couple of nice baskets, but the girls kept kicking the ball back around to Shambrey and (Hoxie) wouldn’t get out on her, so I told her to go for it and take us on a ride,” Felker says. Dighton maintained their momentum into the fourth quarter, eventually tying the game at 54-54 on a three-point basket by K. Budd with 4:58 to play. A free throw by senior guard Diamond Brown and two charity tosses by freshman guard Sara Cramer gave the Lady Hornets a 57-54 advantage. Protecting a one point lead, Dighton went into a spread offense with just under three minutes to
Dighton head coach Amy Felker has high-fives for team members as they come to the bench during a timeout while making a second half comeback against Hoxie. (Record Photo)
play and S. Budd was able to get another basket that put her team back on top, 59-56, with 2:18 on the clock. Hoxie cut the lead to a point and then stepped to the charity stripe for a pair of free throws with 1:28 to play. The Lady Indians made the first free throw to tie the game and then caught perhaps the key break of the night when they were able to rebound the missed free throw and follow with a quick putback that gave them a 6159 edge.
Hornets slip by Rabbits
After building an eight point halftime cushion, the Dighton High School boys had to hold off a stubborn Greeley County squad for a 46-43 win on Tuesday night in Northwest Kansas League action. Leading 28-20 at the half, the Hornets were unable to shake loose of the Jackrabbits in the second half. Senior Mathew Barnett led the team with 13 points and seven rebounds. Whipped by Indians The Hornets fell behind 19-3 in the opening period and never recovered in a 65-27 home loss to Hoxie. Isaac Alinor and Barnett scored nine and eight points, respectively.
DHS senior Isaac Alinor collides with a Hoxie defender during Friday’s home game. (Record Photo)
After the Lady Hornets failed to make a basket on their next trip down the floor it became a free throw shooting contest with Hoxie scoring their final seven points at the stripe. The Lady Hornets tried to pressure Hoxie into a turnover on their next trip down the floor and were called for a foul, which was quickly followed by a technical on the bench. The Lady Indians made all four free throws. S. Budd added a pair of free throws and K. Budd’s
basket with just nine seconds to play cut the deficit to 67-63. A quick foul and two more Hoxie free throws provided the final six point spread. “They also switched to a man-to-man and that was a problem for us with the personnel we had on the court,” says Felker. “We had four guards and a post. That meant we had Shambrey playing the post position and things just weren’t clicking for us. We didn’t have the right personnel to run our
offense the way we wanted to.” Dighton’s inside game produced just 10 points, with six of those from senior Liz Heath. Because of her injury, L. Speer didn’t provide any scoring and Jordan Speer contributed just four points due to foul trouble. Heath added eight rebounds and S. Budd pulled down six. Without a post presence, DHS was limited to 12-of-36 from two-point range, but offset that by hitting 9-of-15 from beyond the arc.
The Scott County Record • Page 22 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
Takedown Kids Club Oakley Invitational Feb. 15, 2014 6-Years and under 40: Hunter Wells pinned Christian Guzman (Ulysses) 0:40; pinned Garrett Beckley (Colby) 2:34; dec. by Easton Colborn (Southwest Grapplers) 14-7; dec. Kayden Davis (Colby) 139. First place 40B: Kasey Rohrbough pinned by Gunner Wente (Hoxie) 0:41; tech fall by Rowdy Grubb (Tribune) 21-5. 40B: Kirbey Rohrbough dec. Brody Schmitt (Colby) 9-2; tech fall Rowdy Grubb (Tribune) 18-2; pinned by Jason Noriss (Colby) 1:58. Second place 43: Kade Kingston dec. Sean Wederski (Colby) 10-4; pinned Aaron Samuelson (Oakley) 2:29; pinned Tony Jaeger (Colby) 0:15; pinned by Madison Bennett (Southwest Grapplers) 1:32. Second place 43B: Trenton Frank dec. by Nathan Cates (Colby) 4-2; dec. Kaleigh Fuller (Lakin) 4-1; pinned Tate Mcgreer (Colby) 2:59. Third place 43B: Eli Lisenby maj. dec. by Tate Mcgreer (Colby) 14-6; maj. dec. by Kaleigh Fuller (Lakin) 16-4. 46: Dominic Allen pinned by Deegan Knox (Goodland) 0:24; tech fall by Asher Robbin (St. Francis) 19-2. 49: Matthew Wheeler dec. by Jacob Gonzales (Ulysses) 6-5; pinned Gage Eberle (Oakley) 0:19; pinned Kasten Wren (Scott City) 2:41; pinned Dominic Conde (Goodland) 0:16. Third place 49: Kaston Wren pinned Laken Lindberg (Colby) 1:08; pinned by Carter Krier (Oakley) 2:30; pinned by Matthew Wheeler (Scott City) 2:41. 49B: Waylon Ricker maj. dec. Braxton Withington (Norton) 16-3; pinned Quinton Hernandez (Goodland) 0:48; pinned Brodey Rohrbough (Scott City) 1:38. First place 49B: Brodey Rohrbough maj. dec. Mathew Bretz (Hoxie) 9-0; pinned Tucker Matzek (Oakley) 0:16; pinned by Waylon Ricker (Scott City) 1:38. 52: Alexander Rodriguez maj. dec. Tyson Ryburn (Oakley) 8-0; maj. dec. by Jack Delzeit (Colby) 12-1. Second place 55: Kade John pinned by Israel Pulido (Leoti) 2:34; tech fall Jaiden Porter (Leoti) 16-0; dec. by Jaxson Carney (Colby) 9-6; pinned by Max Kersenbrock (Colby) 1:23. Fourth place 55B: Brodie Holstein pinned Alex Singhateh (Atwood) 0:40; pinned by Aaron Samson (WaKeeney) 1:23. Second place 7-8-Years-Old 61: Houston Frank dec. Tucker Wark (Colby) 8-5; dec. Miguel Hernandez (Southwest Grapplers) 8-1; maj. dec. by Brady Collins (Wray) 10-0. Second place 61B: Max Tuttle pinned by Kane Rosales (Hoxie) 0:17; pinned by Kooper Wright (Scott City) 0:08. 61B: Kooper Wright pinned by Mason Urban (Oberlin) 2:21; pinned Tavin McDaniel (Atwood) 0:59; pinned Max Tuttle (Scott City) 0:08; pinned Jarek Crow (Goodland) 0:46. Third place 64: Collin McDaniel maj. dec. Ace Plummer (Oakley) 130; pinned Baylei Kraft (Colby) 0:18. First place 73: Bryton Gregory pinned by Kyan Ensign (Goodland) 0:26; pinned by Isaiah Shinett (Goodland) 2:47. 88: Izak Venegas pinned Coy Dodd (Oakley) 0:29; maj. dec. Coy Dodd (Oakley) 11-2. First place 9-10-Years-Old 67: Zachery Rohrbough pinned Brody Kaup (Goodland) 0:46; pinned Jacob Schwarz (Oakley) 0:17; pinned Tristan Ryburn (Oalkey) 0:36. First place 70: Conner Armendariz dec. Steven Sellers (Southwest Grapplers) 2-0; pinned Jace Woodrow (Lakin) 2:55; dec. by Aiden Amrein (Ellis) 2-0. Second place 82: Leightyn Heim dec. Xavier Diaz (Ulysses) 5-1; dec. Eric Cain (Oakley) 4-0; fall Steele Brown (Colby) 0:52; dec. by Tyler Collins (Wray) 7-1. Second place 85: Kale Wheeler pinned Kaleigh McFee (Atwood) 0:42; dec. by Joaquin Castillo (Leoti) 11-5; pinned Rojelio Loya (Colby) 0:35; pinned Cade Mitchek (Goodland) 0:15. Third place 120-130: Jarron Gregory maj. dec. by Hagan Booi (Colby) 12-0; pinned Jackson Harris (Lakin) 0:27; dec. by Lance Miller (Scott City) 4-2. Third place 120-130: Lance Miller dec. Jackson Harris (Lakin) 5-4; pinned by Hagan Booi (Colby) 0:37; dec. Jarron Gregory (Scott City) 4-2. Second place 11-12-Years-Old 88: Justus McDaniel pinned Manten Crow (Goodland) 0:27; pinned Dawson Kempt (Oberlin) 0:42. First place 88: Theron Tucker pinned Dawson Kempt (Oberlin) 0:35; pinned Manten Crow (Goodland) 2:23. Second place 92: Braylin Heim pinned by Mason Wright (Colby) 1:29; pinned Kade Lovelady (Lakin) 1:24; pinned by Kaden Wren (Scott City) 0:48. Third place 92: Kaden Wren pinned Kade Lovelady (Lakin) 1:50; pinned Mason Wright (Colby) 1:17; pinned Braylin Heim (Scott City) 0:48. First place 96: Jordan Wagner maj. dec. by Logan Douglas (Tribune) 11-1; pinned Logan Douglas (Tribune) 1:16; pinned Logan Douglas (Tribune) 0:55. First place 105: Jeffrey Nix pinned by Christian Valles (Liberal) 1:10. Second place
Scott City Stars Swim Club Western Ks. Swim Club Intra-Squad Sweetheart Splash Feb. 8, 2014 Girl’s Division 50 yd. Freestyle 8-years and under: Megan Trout, 2nd, 1:07.62. 9-10 years: Hope Wiechman, 5th, 41.43. 13-14 years: Kylee Trout, 1st, 28.20; Hallie Wiechman, 4th, 33.00. 15-years and over: Reagan Smyth, 1st, 28.59. 100 yd. Freestyle 9-10 years: Hope Wiechman, 1st, 1:34.27. 13-14 years: Kylee Trout, 1st, 1:03.99; Hallie Wiechman, 5th, 1:19.00. 15-years and over: Reagan Smyth, 2nd, 1:09.75. 200 yd. Freestyle 13-14 years: Kylee Trout, 1st, 2:30.26. 100 yd. Backstroke 13-14 years: Kylee Trout, 2nd, 1:23.14; Halie Wiechman, 6th, 1:33.33. 50 yd. Breaststroke 9-10 years: Hope Wiechman, 2nd, 57.26. 100 yd. Breaststroke 13-14 years: Kylee Trout, 1st, 1:26.91. 15-years and over: Reagan Smyth, 2nd, 1:36.21. 50 yd. Butterfly 9-10 years: Hope Wiechman, 2nd, 50.97. 100 yd. Butterfly 13-14 years: Hallie Wiechman, 1st, 1:24.98. 100 yd. Individual Medley 9-10 years: Hope Wiechman, 3rd, 1:50.90. 200m Individual Medley 13-14 years: Hallie Wiechman, 3rd, 3:05.62. Boy’s Division 50 yd. Freestyle 9-10 years: Wyatt Ricker, 4th, 45.04. 50 yd. Backstroke 8-years and under: Waylon Ricker, 2nd, 1:16.78. 9-10 years: Wyatt Ricker, 4th, 59.69. 50 yd. Breaststroke 9-10 years: Wyatt Ricker, 5th, 1:24.25. 50 yd. Butterfly 9-10 years: Wyatt Ricker, 5th, 1:14.21. 100 yd. Individual Medley 9-10 years: Wyatt Ricker, 2nd, 2:33.97. Mixed Division 25 yd. Mixed Freestyle 8-years and under: Megan Trout, 4th, 27.06; Waylon Ricker, 6th, 28.46 . 100 yd. Mixed Freestyle Relay 12-years and over: Wyatt Ricker, Megan Trout, Waylon Ricker, Hope Wiechman, 5th, 1:33.28. 25 yd. Mixed Backstroke 8-years and under: Megan Trout, 7th, 30.78. 100 yd. Mixed Medley Relay 12-years and over: Waylon Ricker, Wyatt Ricker, Hope Wiechman, Megan Trout, 6th, 2:06.43.
Kropp trip to the state tournament in Salina. Others on that short list include Zach Tucker (106), James Jurgens (126) and Wyatt Kropp (145). Kropp (16-2) is the topranked wrestlers in his weight division, but that may not earn him a No. 1 seed this weekend. Smoky Valley’s Austin Cook (ranked No. 2) may nudge him because of a better record, according to head coach Jon Lippelmann. The weight class also includes Goodland’s Colton Cooper (ranked No. 4). Kropp missed the early part of the season
Signs On TV cop shows an often-used way to collect information about someone is by going through their trash. That’s certainly one way to learn a lot about a person. For those of us who work in buildings on concrete floors, just imagine the miles of footprints we would leave each day if every step somehow left a visible track. Each person’s shoeprint would be a little different and we would all walk a little differently, so you could tell where every moment of a person’s day was spent by simply following their tracks. The same thing is true of nature. Early Saturday morning, while the ground was still slightly frozen, Joyce and I went for a sightseeing drive. Our first stop was a sinkhole just outside town where I have permission to trap but where I had not gotten traps set this year. A large, raised dike runs around the perimeter of this small, marshy body of water that’s now grown full of weeds because of the drought. I climbed up onto the dike and started walking. What first caught my eye were bare spots on numerous small saplings where the bark had been chewed off, probably by rabbits when everything else edible to them was covered by the snow. A worn trail runs around the very top of the dike and critter tracks trailed down from there into the snow-covered ice on the marsh. One side of the dike is pock-marked with old washed-out beaver dens that are marked by big open holes that disappear back into the dike. The snow in front of all those holes was covered with coon’ tracks left by raccoons using the old dens as winter shelter. Raccoon droppings littered the ground around
The Scott County Record • Page 23 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
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Class 4A Regional Colby Comm. Bldg. February 21-22 Friday: 1:00 p.m. Saturday: 11:00 a.m. Teams: Abilene, Buhler, Chapman, Clay Center Community, Colby, Concordia, Goodland, Hugoton, Larned, Lindsborg-Smoky Valley, McPherson, Nickerson, Russell, Scott Community, Ulysses
with a shoulder injury and couldn’t compete in the Great West Activities Conference tournament because of a staph infection. “Warren’s healthy now and we’re looking for big things from him the next two weekends,” says Lippelmann.
Perhaps the biggest question mark is Jurgens (18-10), a two-time state finalist and a returning state champion in Class 3A. However, he suffered a shoulder injury just before Christmas and has struggled since his return to the mat. In the GWAC tournament he dropped matches to Hugoton’s Pedro Ordonez (No. 6) and to Travis Finley (Colby) which dropped him out of the state rankings and down the list of tournament seeds. “James didn’t do himself any favors at league,” notes Lippelmann. “If he’s healthy by this weekend, or close to it,
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that entire area. Between the droppings and the tracks, it became very apparent where the raccoons spent a goodly amount of their time. Piles of bright green hedge apple husks were also everywhere. They’re inedible to humans, and squirrels are the only animals I know that eat any part of the hedge apples. They gnaw off the outer shells to get to the fruit inside, leaving piles of small green chips everywhere. I clambered down off the top of the dike and walked back to the truck by way of the crop field surrounding the sinkhole. I’d walked only a short distance when a muddy set of tracks in the snow caught my eye. They were nearly round with the pads evenly divided around the print and with no claws showing, telling me they were tracks left by a marauding bobcat. Had the cat not stepped in the mud somewhere along the line, the tracks would have been very hard to see, but the muddy prints showed every move the cat had made as it silently stalked around through the brush and trees along the marsh. I followed them for a long ways as they showed where the cat had weaved in and out of cover and stopped to investigate and paw around at things under the snow on its way to who-knows-where. My point to all this is that our lifestyle as humans just naturally hides most evidence of our dayto-day lives. We don’t leave footprints unless our shoes are muddy, we don’t leave handprints unless our hands are dirty, we throw out our trash, we wash our dishes, and of course there’s the whole flushing toilet thing. Critters of all kinds, both wild and domestic don’t have those ways of concealing the evidence of their daily activities. Thus, with a little time
and study we can learn a lot about how the local wildlife lives their lives. Learning this skill is very helpful in becoming an efficient hunter or trapper. Wildlife photographers can also benefit from learning how to read and understand wildlife signs. Even if I ever get to the point in my life where I choose to neither hunt or trap, I’ll always be glad I learned this skill just to know I could look at tracks and other signs left by various critters and be able to explain to someone what that animal was doing and why. Like the song by the old rock and roll group the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band says, “Signs, signs, everywhere are signs.” Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors! Steve can be contacted by email at stevegilliland@idkcom.net
then he has a great chance of getting back to state. Another week of recovery time and healing up from his injuries will do him a lot of good for the state tournament, but first of all we have to get there,” says the head coach. Among those grapplers sitting on the bubble for a state berth is sophomore Wyatt Kropp (20-15). There are no state-ranked opponents in his weight class this weekend. “Wyatt’s probably the biggest mystery on this team. He can look so good and be right in a match and the next thing you know he gets caught in something and he’s in trouble,” says Lippelmann. “If he
can avoid the big mistakes he’s very capable of getting through this regional field.” Tucker (20-17) is also on the bubble and with no room for error. His weight class includes three state-ranked opponents - Logan McDowell (Abilene, No. 2), Tate Carney (Colby, No. 4) and Austin Lustifield (Smoky Valley, No. 6). “There’s a good chance that Zach will have to beat someone he’s not beaten before this season or knock off a kid who’s seeded higher than him,” Lippelmann. “If he can do that then he’ll give himself a chance at getting to state.”
Lady Beavers continue to search for offense, wins Typically, it’s Holcomb’s full-court press that’s a problem for the Scott Community High School girls. T h e L a d y Longh o r n s were able Scott City 25 Holcomb 57 to force enough turnovers in the half-court game to jump on top of SCHS 18-0 in the opening period on their way to a 57-25 win on Tuesday in Great West Activities Conference play. Scott City (2-16) came out in a spread offense but were unable to attack the Holcomb defense with any effectiveness. It wasn’t until 3:36 remaining in the first quarter that senior guard Holly Wilcoxson finally got Scott City on the scoreboard with a three-point basket. The Lady Beavers were able to keep pace with Holcomb, maintaining an 18 point spread through most of the second quarter when Kelly Wycoff’s bas-
ket made it a 32-14 game. After that, SCHS added just one more field goal over the next 11 minutes as Holcomb opened up a 51-17 lead heading into the final period. Bailey Nickel led Scott City with eight points and Wycoff added seven. Clawed by Panthers After staying within striking distance for the first half, the Lady Beavers were outscored 34-3 in the second half of their 66-19 non-league loss against Great Bend on the home floor Saturday. “I felt in the first half we competed well to stay with this team,” says head coach Shelby Crawford. “We had a couple of opportunities that we could have cut the lead to 10 points. I felt good at halftime about the way we were competing on defense, the way we were closing out and learning from our mistakes.” Trailing 32-16 at halftime, three points by sophomore Madison Orr
The Scott County Record • Page 24 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
were all the Lady Beavers could add in the second half. “We were a different team. It’s frustration,” says Crawford. “It’s been a long season with a lot of losses - a lot of big losses. We’ve been in one singledigit game all year and we’ve only won two, so that gives you a sense of the frustration these girls are feeling.” Nickel led the team with six points followed by Wycoff and Nicole Latta with four each. Fall at TMP-Marian TMP-Marian took advantage of a 10-0 scoring run to open the game and another 18-0 run at the start of the second half to defeat the Lady Beavers, 58-25, in Hays on Friday. “To start the game we didn’t handle their pressure on the press,” says Crawford. “I need to have my girls better prepared to play a physical game.” Crawford was also frustrated by the inability to get into their offense.
SCHS freshman Kiana Yager splits two Great Bend defenders during Saturday’s action on the home floor. (Record Photo)
“I would say we didn’t set up our offense more than three times in the second half. We’re just doing a lot of running around,”
he said. “Every girl on the team knows the offense and it’s not happening. I don’t know if they’re not trusting it or what, but
they aren’t running it.” Wycoff and Nickel led the Lady Beavers with nine and eight points, respectively.
SC relies on second half defense for comeback win Limiting Hays-TMP to just 20 second half points, the Scott Community High School boys rallied for a 55-48 non-league win on the road last Friday. D e spite a strong t h i r d Scott City 55 Hays-TMP 48 quarter effort that saw the Beavers (14-2) erase a three point halftime deficit and open up a 42-38 lead, they still had to battle from beyond one final time in the final period when TMP was able to take a 46-45 lead with 3:38 remaining. Following a pair of free throws by junior guard
Trey O’Neil that put Scott City back on top, the Beavers then followed with a pair of defensive gems. In the span of just 17 seconds, O’Neil and junior pivot Sloan Baker each had steals and layups that extended the lead to 5146. On Scott City’s next possession, junior guard Brett Meyer connected on a turnaround jumper in the lane as part of his 11 point night that finished off the 8-0 scoring burst and gave the Beavers a 53-46 cushion with 1:41 left in the game. Scott City’s defense limited the Monarchs to
Gouged committing four consecutive turnovers during one stretch that led to back-toback layups by the Longhorns to close out the period. Holcomb senior Heath Tucker turned another turnover into a pair of free throws to open the second quarter and the Longhorns added a three-point play that increased their lead to 17-9. Senior pivot Sloan Baker’s free throw at the 6:30 mark ended a nearly six minute scoring drought for the Beavers and when junior guard Brett Meyer followed with a basket at the 4:51 mark it was Scott
All three have great potential and more than one could become starting pitchers this season. Shields can take the pressure off the rest of the pitching staff with another solid year. With better run support he can turn that 13-9 record into something like 18-20 wins against fewer losses. Kansas City’s starting pitching is the key factor
was 3-of-7 from beyond the arc to account for all of the team’s long-range points. O’Neil had a team high 17 points on 6-of-11 from two-point range, in addition to six rebounds, five steals and five assists. Meyer was 5-of-8 from two-point distance and Baker finished with a double-double - 11 points and 10 rebounds. Despite their slow start to the game, SCHS was able to take a 14-12 lead at the end of the opening period following Hutchins’ first three-pointer of the night. The game was tied three times in the second period - the last at 18-18 - before TMP was able to
open up their largest lead of the half, 26-22. Scott City still trailed by four, 34-30, early in the second half when they put together a 7-0 scoring burst that included baskets by O’Neil and Meyer before Hutchins drilled his final trey of the night that put Scott City back on top, 37-34, with 2:43 on the clock. Even with four players in double figures, Coach O’Neil is looking for more offense in the post. Senior center Brayden Strine was limited to just three points and attempted only two field goals. “We need Brayden to start shooting the ball.
There are a lot of times that he’ll get the ball in great shape (in the post), but he won’t look at the basket,” says O’Neil. “If he’ll take the ball up strong, if he doesn’t score there’s a good chance he’ll at least draw a foul.” The head coach said there were mental breakdowns at both ends of the floor. “We gave up an out-ofbounds layup and we gave up a set play layup, even after we told the boys what to look for,” notes O’Neil. “We also had too many turnovers that led to transition points for TMP.”
The only Scott City score during that stretch was a three-pointer by sophomore guard Dylan Hutchins. “They made the shots when they had to,” says O’Neil. Scott City put together six unanswered points to start the final period, cutting the deficit to 53-46, but that was as close as they would get until just 17.5 seconds remaining when Hutchins’ third three-pointer of the night cut the lead to five points, 62-57. Holcomb was able to protect their lead at the charity stripe where they
scored nine of their final 13 points. Baker had a big night, repeatedly grabbing key rebounds or drawing fouls when he drove to the basket. “Sloan competed hard under the boards and he hit his free throws,” O’Neil says. “He was aggressive and played with confidence. He’s probably been our steadiest player for the last week and a half.” Meyer and O’Neil each finished in double figures with 12 points, though O’Neil struggled from the field and was held to 10.5 points below his season
average. “There were some good things that happened, but also some disappointing things,” O’Neil says. “We didn’t shoot the ball very well, though we did have boys who made shots at crucial moments. “Since the mid-season tournaments Holcomb has been playing very well and we’ve been playing very average. We saw that again on Tuesday. We play well for a couple of minutes and then things will break down again. It’s something we have to fix if we want to go very far in the post-season,” he added.
(continued from page 17)
City’s first score from the field in 7-1/2 minutes. SCHS trailed by as many as 11 points, 25-14, before closing out the first half with a strong run, including a three-point play by Baker with only a halfsecond left on the clock that cut the lead to 28-23. It was Holcomb’s three-point shooting that allowed the Longhorns to protect their halftime lead. Holcomb was 7-of14 from beyond the threepoint line, including 5-of5 in the third quarter. Holcomb junior Calen Rupp, who entered the game with only four treys through 17 games, was
Rotation
only a pair of free throws over the final 3:38. “We saw the boys playing mentally tough down the stretch, which is hard to do when you are physically tired,” says head coach Glenn O’Neil. “It was our third game in five days and there were times when that was evident.” Fatigue was likely a factor in their field goal shooting with the Beavers hitting just one of their first five shots from the field and finishing 21-of48 (44%) - including just 3-of-13 from three-point range. Sophomore guard Dylan Hutchins, who finished with 11 points,
3-of-4 on the night with all of those coming in the third period. He hit backto-back threes that put the Longhorns on top, 34-25, but the Beavers continued to battle back, led by Baker who scored eight of his team high 18 points during the third quarter. Trailing 40-32 with just over 2-1/2 minutes left in the period, SCHS quickly cut the gap to a single basket following a trey from Meyer and a three-point play by Baker. Just as quickly, Holcomb closed out the final 1:50 of the quarter with a 13-3 scoring run that included three treys.
(continued from page 20)
as to how the Royals will do this season. On paper the rotation is promising indeed. Need More Playing Time The clock is ticking on the regular season and Coach Bill Self has a good problem. Guard Conner Frankamp and center Landen Lucas are vying for more playing time. Frankamp is KU’s best
ball handler and outside shooter. Lucas is a better rebounder and quicker on his feet than Tarik Black, though neither of them is an effective inside scorer. If Self doesn’t give Frankamp and Lucas significant minutes during the rest of the season, they won’t be prepared for the tension of the NCAA Tournament.
The Scott County Record
Business
Page 25 - Thursday, February 20, 2014
Perfect Auto Detailing has found a home
Auto detailing is nothing new to Armando Tarango. He’s built up quite a clientele since moving to Scott City in 2003. The most difficult thing for Tarango’s customers has been keeping track of him. Over the years he’s operated his business out of the garage at his home, at Spangler’s Car and Truck Center (where he was employed), at the old Helmer’s Motors garage and out of Cesar’s Repair Shop. Tarango is hoping the uncertainty of where he will be next is over with the opening of Perfect Auto Detailing at 512 Main Street, Scott City. He’s back in the old Helmer’s Motors garage where he had operated his business for a brief time prior to the fire which claimed the Helmer’s car dealership on North Main in 2006. When Greg Helmers needed a temporary place to relocate his business after the fire, Tarango was once again on the move. “But I told Linda (Helmers)
that if the building ever became available again I’d like to have first chance at it,” says Tarango. He’s glad to be in a familiar location and operating his own business on a full-time basis. Until now, Tarnago had been operating his detailing business while working full-time as a car salesman for Spangler and, most recently, J&R Car and Truck Center. “It’s always been my dream to have my own business,” says the native of Pampa, Tex. “It seemed that it was the right time for me to move on and do my own thing.” While he had originally pursued a career as an electrician, and even had a journeyman’s license, his first love has always been cars. “I was always particular about my cars and kept them spotless. While I was in high school a friend once told me I should do this as a business,” recalls Tarango. “When I came to Scott City I could see that the
Armanda Tarnago, owner of Perfect Auto Detailing, waxes a customer’s vehicle on Tuesday afternoon. (Record Photo)
people here really take pride in their cars and like to keep them clean. People are very particular and I like that.” Through his many years in car sales and auto detailing, Tarango says he has built a pretty strong customer base. “People know me and they
know that I do quality work,” he says. “Detailing takes hours of work and a lot of elbow grease if you’re going to do it right.” In addition, Tarango expects to have a dealer’s license within the next month so he can begin selling used cars.
Area roofers are registered with state
WKCAC dedication
Western Kansas Child Advocacy Center staff and supporters were on hand for dedication of the therapy suite additions to the Scott City facility. Conducting a ribbon cutting during last Friday’s 10th anniversary open house were (from left) Vicki Hubin, WKCAC program coordinator; David Fyler, WKCAC program director; Kelly Robbins, executive director; Kay and Steve Schmitt, Scott City; Caverly Hart, executive director of the Finnup Foundation; Amy Heinemann, executive assistant with the Finnup Foundation; and Betty Greer, WKCAC board member. (Record Photo)
Economic disaster loans to small businesses
Small, non-farm businesses in Scott, Wichita, Lane, Greeley, Finney, Gove and Logan counties are among those in 45 Kansas counties who are eligible to apply for low-interest federal disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The program also extends to counties in Colorado, Nebraska and Oklahoma. These loans offset economic losses because of reduced revenues caused by the drought that began November 15, 2013, in the following primary counties.
SBA eligibility covers both the economic impacts on businesses dependent on farmers and ranchers that have suffered agricultural production losses caused by the disaster and businesses directly impacted by the disaster. Small, nonfarm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private, nonprofit organizations of any size may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and oper-
ating expenses which could have been met had the disaster not occurred. Eligibility for these loans is based on the financial impact of the disaster only and not on any actual property damage. These loans have an interest rate of four percent for businesses and 2.625 percent for private, nonprofit organizations, with a maximum term of 30 years. Businesses primarily engaged in farming or ranching are not eligible for SBA disaster assistance. Agricultural
“I have a lot of loyal customers I’ve sold to over the years who have said they’re waiting for me to get my license,” says Tarango. Business hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to noon.
enterprises should contact the Farm Services Agency (FSA) about assistance programs. Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s website at https://disasterloan. sba.gov/ela. Disaster loan information and application forms are also available from SBA’s Customer Service Center by calling (800) 659-2955 or e-mailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Deadline to apply for these loans is September 15, 2014.
Chambless Roofing and American Roofing of Kansas, both in Scott City, are among more than 500 roofers who are now registered and have received certification to operate in Kansas. Roofing companies are now required to register with the Kansas Attorney General’s office. “As the home improvement season approaches in the spring, consumers should also be aware of this requirement and request a copy of the registration certificate from any roofer before signing any contract,” says AG Derek Schmidt. The new Kansas Roofing Contractor Registration Act is aimed at helping consumers avoid doing business with unscrupulous or flyby-night operators who do not comply with registration requirements. The law requires every roofing contractor to obtain a registration certificate from the Kansas Attorney General in order to legally provide commercial or residential roofing services for a fee in Kansas. Schmidt said his office is continuing to work with trade associations and local government construction permitting offices to help contractors comply with the new law. Roofing contractors who have not already registered may do so by visiting www. InYourCornerKansas.org. Consumers may also visit that website to check the registration status of a roofing contractor.
The Scott County Record
Farm
Page 26 - Thursday, February 20, 2014
KSU specialist: looking ahead to farm succession
Dwindling cattle supplies pulling at at beef production
Beef production improved compared to the last month of 2013, but shrinking cattle supplies and more interest in heifer retention are evident in the totals compared to a year earlier. The livestock slaughter report released by the USDA on Thursday show cattle-specific categories are lower than the same month in 2013. Beef production totaled 2.14 billion pounds in January 2014, down 120 million pounds compared to a year earlier, but 90 million pounds higher than a month ago. The January production levels are five percent lower than the previous year. Year-to-year production figures took a hit as fewer cattle were slaughtered. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.68 million head, a five percent decrease from the same month a year ago, but five percent higher than December 2013. Increasing live weights tried to limit production losses compared to last month and last year. Live weights averaged 1,334 pounds in January, up a pound over the previous month’s average and seven pounds higher than a year earlier. Falling production numbers weren’t limited to cattle, veal production also declined. Fewer calves were slaughtered last month, pulling veal production 500,000 pounds lower than just a month ago and 1.2 million pounds lower than January 2013. Calf slaughter totaled 62,800 head, a decrease of 3,700 pounds and 8,100 pounds from last month and last year respectively.
The average age of a farm operator in the United States is 57 years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest census of agriculture. The majority of farm operators are between 45- and 64-years-old, but the fastest growing group is 65 years and older. The many farmers in their 50s and 60s remember what it was like when the farm was handed to
them initially, and in earlier times, maybe not much planning had gone into the transition, said Gregg Hadley, a farm management specialist and current assistant director for agriculture, natural resources and community development for K-State Extension. “Today, a lot of farmers and ranchers are realizing, especially with the dollar amounts that the farms
and ranches are worth now, that there needs to be more of a business approach to passing on the family farm or ranch,” Hadley said. Passing down the farm successfully requires much planning, Hadley said, and it’s never too early to begin the planning process. Hadley said that while every farm or ranch situation is different, all should
have a succession plan in place. Through his career in dealing with farm management and succession issues, he identified 10 common succession beliefs, some of which are true, while others bring forth misconceptions. The 10 common beliefs include: 1) We don’t need a detailed succession plan. (See SUCCESSION on page 28)
The world’s most reliable wheat U.S. wheat is the world’s most reliable choice. This is the message U.S. Wheat Associates takes to our foreign markets through its 17 offices all over the world. Shannon Schlecht, vice president of policy, spoke to the Kansas Wheat boards and at the Kansas Commodity Classic. He told growers that Kansas
Wheat Scoop Bill Spiegel
communications director
Kansas Wheat
is very important to overseas buyers. “Kansas is the biggest hard red winter producing state so customers do want to know what’s happening in Kansas so they’re always interested to stop
and see what’s going on here in Kansas. And the impact that it might have on their purchasing decisions or on the wheat market in general.” U.S. Wheat Associates focuses on value, rather than price. Although buyers might be able to source cheaper wheat from elsewhere, U.S. wheat can
provide our customers with a better quality product. “One of the main focuses of our work is really to look at value. We do a lot of work, especially in Latin America, as to how can hard red winter perform better and be a greater value to our customers than Canadian (See RELIABLE on page 27)
Good news hard to find in 10-year outlook
If you’re a crop farmer looking for good news in USDA’s recently released 10-year outlook, you are simply out of luck. If you’re a corn grower, you’d better get used to low prices. For the 2013-14 crop, USDA projects a corn price of $4.50/bu. However, pric-
Wheat and more . . . or less by Vance Ehmke
es continue to decline and won’t bottom out until the 2015 crop when prices hit $3.30/bu. Dan Basse with
AgResource in Chicago says that price would assume a harvest low of under $3/bu. “During this timeframe, U.S. planted corn acreage will drop from 97 million acres to 88 million in 2017 which would allow prices to recover to a season average of $4.10
Legal debate ahead for drone, drone on the range Dan Murphy Drovers CattleNetwork
“Look - up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane - No, it’s a . . . Predator drone, which nailed you because you wouldn’t return your neighbor’s cattle after they wandered onto your property.” That’s the lead of a report in Forbes magazine concerning the first person caught for cattle rustling after being identified by drone. Rodney Brossart, a North Dakota cattle rancher, was sentenced last month to three years in prison for terrorizing police officers who tried to arrest him, with all but six months of his sentence suspended. Back in June 2011, according to news reports, police attempted to arrest Brossart because he wouldn’t return six head of cattle that had wandered onto his property from that of his Grand Forks, N.D., neighbor. This resulted in what a US News and World Report story called “an armed standoff between Brossart, his three sons and a SWAT team,” which ended only after the family was located by a Predator drone borrowed from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Brossart’s family was allegedly armed with high-powered rifles, and neither party denied that Brossart told police that if they set foot on his property, they would “not [be] walking away.” Thus, Brossart became not only the first American to be arrested with the help of an unmanned aerial vehicle, he’s now the first man going to jail thanks to the assistance of a drone. At the time of his arrest, Brossart argued that the use of the drone was illegal, and his attorney, Bruce
Quick, told U.S. News that the use of the drone and Brossart’s subsequent tasing constituted “guerrilla-like police tactics” and that the drone was “dispatched without judicial approval or a warrant. “The whole thing is full of constitutional violations,” Quick said. “The drone use is a secondary concern.” A U.S. District Court judge denied his motion, saying that, “There was no improper use of an unmanned aerial vehicle,” and that the drone “appears to have had no bearing on these charges being contested here.” Testing the limits He may be the first, but Brossart certainly won’t be the last guy busted by a drone. The use of drones may be in its infancy, but there will surely be many more cases in the years ahead, as the increasingly sophisticated vehicles find new applications. Some of them will be tied to military operations (or combat missions), others for law enforcement or surveillance of border crossings. But with the recent “60 Minutes” segment featuring Amazon’s plans to use minidrones to deliver packages, civilian uses of drones have also emerged. For instance: Here’s an example that actually appears to have some merit. At MIT’s sprawling campus in Cambridge, Mass., a quadcopter named SkyCall is being used on an experimental basis to lead lost visitors to their intended destinations. A smartphone call by the visitor summons the drone, which then leads the way, while a digital voice track acts as a tour guide, pointing out interesting campus features en route. If perfected, that technology could spell trouble for the careers of all (See DRONE on page 27)
by 2022. In short, we’re looking at an eight-year period of U.S. farmgate prices below $4 a bushel!” he says. With corn carryover climbing to almost three billion bushels in some of these years, prices will clearly suffer. USDA also projects a
Kansas ag census data available Preliminary data from the 2012 Census of Agriculture shows the average number of farms in Kansas during 2012 was 61,773, down six percent from the 2007 Census of Agriculture, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Land in farms, at 46.1 million acres, remained about the same as that reported five years prior. The size of the average farm was 747 acres, up six percent or 40 acres from 2007. During 2012, the average age of the principal operator remained unchanged from 2007’s average age of 58 years. The number of operators under the age of 34 was 4,327, nearly unchanged from 2007, while the number of operators over the age of 65 totaled 20,497, down three percent from 2007. These data, along with other state- and nationallevel data, can be found at: www.agcensus.usda.gov
continuing drop in wheat acreage - a trend which started in the early ‘80s. And with prices hitting bottom at $4.30 by 2015, there’s no incentive to grow wheat. We planted 56 million acres of wheat for the 2013-14 crop, but by 2023, we’ll plant only 52 million acres.
Finally, 8-10 years from now, wheat will make it back above $5/bu. Also over this time frame, our share of the world wheat market will continue to shrink because of rising imports and increased global competition. As expected, the sharp (See OUTLOOK on page 28)
Market Report Closing prices on February 18, 2014 Winona Feed and Grain Bartlett Grain Wheat..................
$ 6.61
Milo ....................
$ 4.26
White Wheat ....... Corn ...................
Soybeans ...........
$ 6.76 $ 4.54 $ 12.81
Scott City Cooperative Wheat..................
$ 6.71
Milo (bu.).............
$ 4.27
White Wheat ....... Corn....................
Soybeans ...........
Sunflowers.......... ADM Grain
$ 4.27
Corn....................
$ N/A
$ 4.57
Weather H
L
34
12
$ 4.55
February 13
57
23
February 14
51
30
$ 12.80 $ 16.40
Corn....................
$ 4.62
Sunflowers..........
Milo (bu.).............
White Wheat .......
February 11
$ 6.71
Soybeans............
$ 6.71
$ 6.86
Wheat.................. Milo (bu.).............
Wheat..................
$ 4.32 $ 12.84 $ 16.95
P
February 12 43 19
February 15 57 29 February 16
57
25
February 17
63
32
Moisture Totals February
.42
2014 Total
.65
The Scott County Record • Page 27 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
Reliable
(continued from page 26)
or Argentinean wheat.” Schlecht also discussed the impact of the passage of The Agriculture Act of 2014 on the work of U.S. Wheat Associates. “With the farm bill being passed, in the trade title, there is funding for the market access program and the foreign market development programs. These are cooperator programs that U.S. Wheat Associates uses to do our
overseas market development work in addition to the checkoff funds from the 19 state wheat commission members.” He said the work that U.S. Wheat does on behalf of producers is essential. “We have competition around the world. Wheat is grown in many different countries. Buyers have opportunities to go and source their wheat from different regions. Having
K-State Cattlemen’s Day March 7
Drone
Kansas State University will host the 101st annual Cattlemen’s Day on Fri., March 7, in Weber Hall in Manhattan. The day starts at 8:00 a.m. in Weber Arena with a commercial trade show and educational exhibits, and the program beginning at 10:00 a.m. in 123 Weber Hall. In the keynote address, “The Future of Beef Export Demand,” Paul Clayton, senior vice president of export services for the U.S. Meat Export Federation, will discuss the changing landscape of beef exportation, including barriers to foreign trade, maintaining current markets, the creation of new marketing channels, and the importance of beef exports for the future of the U.S. beef cattle industry. “The Cattle Industry Outlook,” presented by K-State agricultural economists Glynn Tonsor and Ted Schroeder, will focus on the cattle and beef market outlook and the economic implications of production and animal health technologies. Tonsor and Schroeder will address evolving regulations and the expectations of customers and consumers, as well as economic issues related to the reintroduction of zilpaterol, as well as impending antibiotic restrictions. Lunch and commercial exhibitors will be followed by breakout sessions, including: •Sunflower Supreme: Riding the Expansion Wave - Jaymelynn Farney, K-State beef systems specialist; • A v o i d i n g Catastrophic Disease - Bill Brown, Kansas Commissioner of Animal Health; •Methods for Heat Stress Abatement - Lindsey Hulbert, K-State animal wellbeing specialist; •Salmonella in Beef Lymph Nodes - Sarah Gragg, K-State assistant professor of food science; and •Control and Management of Genetic Defects in Commercial Beef Herds - Bob Weaber, K-State Extension cowcalf specialist. Registration is available online at www. ksubeef.org. Cost is $20 per attendee (if registered by Feb. 28) to Cattlemen’s Day. The fee after Feb. 28 and at the door is $30.
lived overseas, I can tell you that it is critical for us to maintain those relationships and to go visit our customers on their home turf and to build that relationship and to have a name and a face for the U.S. wheat producer around the world so that our customers know who they can reach out to if they have a question, if they need education, or need some help as to how (continued from page 26)
those ultra-chirpy tour guides at Disney World and similar theme parks. But more important than buzzing people around a campus somewhere is the potential of drones to advance agricultural productivity — and not just for catching thievin’ rustlers, either. Thanks to their camera guidance systems, drones are already proving useful to farmers checking soil and crop conditions to precisely monitor irrigation or harvesting activities, as well as in fighting brush fires and forest fires that could threaten grazing lands. There’s one problem, though: drone technology is racing ahead of both the legal system and our social norms. Brossart’s was probably not the test case any lawyer would choose in an attempt to force a judicial review of the legality of drone use. Yet that is exactly what is needed to establish parameters for law enforcement to ensure that legitimate surveillance doesn’t turn into indiscriminate snooping. Catching thieves stealing cattle or illegals crossing the border seems right and proper. But spying on neighbors, competitors or even enemies with drones may soon be the basis of litigation a lot more challenging than the hapless defense of Randy Brossart.
DCP
(continued from page 26)
•Changes in the producer’s share of the crop(s) that were originally approved on the contract. Failure to report a succession-in-interest can result in contract termination and a loss of program benefits for all producers involved. Further information on DCP is available at local FSA offices or on FSA’s DCP website at: www.fsa. usda.gov/dcp.
County Plat Maps Scott
Logan
Ness
Wichita
Gove
Wallace
Lane
Greeley
Finney
Kearney
406 Main • Scott City 620 872-2090
to purchase U.S. wheat. They know exactly who to turn to, and we can assist and make sure that we keep U.S. wheat in front of them as the most reliable choice and the best value for the products they need to produce.” Kansas wheat producers, through their twopenny per bushel checkoff, are able to maintain these relationships all over the world.
Outlook drop in corn and wheat prices, for instance, lead to sharp drops in net farm income - starting this year. However, the decline in net farm income continues and gets even worse between 2014 and 2023. Basse says U.S. farmers will see nothing to cheer about in the Baseline Report. “Farm profitability will be severely compressed in future years without adverse weather.” To make matters worse, the report, which came out on Feb. 13, is already out of date. The report was written late last year and early this year - and with no new Farm Bill on the horizon, the authors had to assume the old farm bill would be continued.
The Scott County Record • Page 28 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
(continued from page 26)
Well, we have a new farm bill - and in that legislation, there are no more direct payments. And, guys, this is really going to hurt. Time will tell if replacement programs, including a new version of the old target price concept, will make up for these shortfalls. While the wheat target price is set at $5.50, you’re paid on 85% of your base acres so it’s actually only $4.67/bu. For sure, with much lower grain prices, all payments, as well as insurance coverage, will go down sharply. With a continuation of the old farm bill, it was projected we’d see a sharp increase in payments,
Succession The current farm owner likely doesn’t have the same business and management philosophies as the next generation’s owner, Hadley said. The same is often true that the next generation’s owner often has different opinions. Detail is essential in making a smooth transition. “When you disagree about a family business that could be worth millions of dollars, you need to start planning how you’re going to transfer the farm, the assets, the decision-making process and the responsibilities to the next generation,” he said. 2) Most successions fail due to the lack of a good estate plan. There are subtle differences between estate planning and succession planning. “The truth is that other issues contribute to the failure of farm succession, other than the estate plan,” he said. “In fact, 85 percent of the time by some research estimates, it’s not the estate plan. It has to do with family communication, relationships and business philosophy issues.” 3) Estate planning is succession planning. Estate planning is about how assets and wealth of the farm or ranch will be transferred to the heirs, while succession planning involves discussing the estate plan in addition to establishing business
especially in years 2015, 2016 and 2017 - when grain prices are the lowest and when we’d need that source of income the worst. These are the years we need to look out for. Basse goes on to say that if we were to have two normal growing seasons in a row, spot CBOT corn futures could drop to $2.50 to $2.75 for harvest lows. “We cannot rule out sub $3 spot CBOT corn by late summer or early fall of 2015. The market has to reduce US major crop planted acreage with lower prices,” Basse says. USDA agrees. Outside of nine million acres of corn simply vanishing, another four million acres
of wheat will also disappear. Where will those acres go? USDA says some will go back into CRP. Currently at 26 million acres, CRP is expected to swing back up to 32 million acres over the coming years. Further, Basse says while it’s quite profitable to make corn ethanol, the problem isn’t the profitability, but the blend wall which EPA and AgResource calculate to be about 13 billion gallons - and still dropping. “US ethanol is virtually capped at about five billion bushels no matter how profitable US ethanol is. Our ethanol industry is now mature.”
We’ll also see a slight increase in soybean acres and maybe the same with minor crops like canola. We could also see more wheat grazed out. And why not? The only good news out there is for people in the livestock industry. If you’re losing money on wheat and making money on cattle, graze it out. And believe you me, our friends in the cattle industry have paid their dues. I talked with a feedlot manager recently and he said he went an entire 18 months with not a single pen making money. But that is changing - and fast. The beef-corn ratio jumps from 18 this year
to over double that for the rest of the 10 years in the USDA projections. These low corn prices are what those guys have been praying for. But what’s more is that the prices for beef, pork and poultry are all going up at the same time that cost of production is going down. In the literature, this is referred to as a positive profit margin . . . times two. So at the end of the day, what does this mean? For the crops people out there, I am reminded of the old Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times. I have a feeling we’re getting ready to find out what that means.
takes to plan a succession,” he said. 7) Only blood relatives should be involved in succession planning. This subject is controversial, but Hadley said it is better to be inclusive, as it eliminates emotional roadblocks. Possible participants might include the current owner or manager, the next generation owners and managers, non-farming heirs and spouses. “If you exclude people from the planning process, you might be making the front-end of the discussions easier, but you’re building a bigger roadblock down the road,” he said. “What I tell people is, bring everybody together that you think may need to be involved at the beginning. I encourage people to have the in-laws present, and have the blood relatives who aren’t interested and those who are interested in the farm present. They are all going to be affected by this, and they can always elect not to participate down the road.” 8) Our farm won’t have to change.
It is rare that a farm won’t have to change, Hadley said. The farm or ranch has to pay for itself, its investment, the current owner’s labor and management, and the next generation owner’s labor and management. The farm or ranch might have to grow, perhaps not in size but usually economically. “In reality, every time you come in with a new family unit to be paid, the farm needs to change in some ways,” he said. “(Everyone involved) needs to be getting a competitive wage with the industry, taking into consideration that they are also building ownership equity along the way.” 9) Farm succession planning sessions can be stressful. Succession planning can be stressful, and it helps to have rules that govern the planning process. Farm families, Hadley said, do a lot of things great, such as getting work done and taking care of the animals and the land. Communication among family members might not be as effec-
tive, especially if there are emotional roadblocks, past disagreements, or perceptions that parents favor one sibling over another. “One example might be that one son drove an old model pickup, while the daughter who is also going into the farm got to drive a brand new pickup,” he said. “Most people looking at that might not see it as a big issue, but it could be something that really disgruntles the people who are trying to succeed the farm.” 10) All we need to make this work is a good lawyer. “To think that an attorney is going to be able to cover all of the issues is really short-sided,” Hadley said. “It’s important to get the best human resources to use at your disposal.” In addition to a lawyer or lawyers present, he said families should use experts that might include communication specialists, conflict management experts, counselors, mediators, financial analysts and succession planning facilitators.
(continued from page 26)
philosophy rights, management and workload transference, partnership details and succession feasibility. “Farm succession planning does take into consideration the estate planning, but it’s really about the overall business,” he said. “How are we going to transfer this big thing called a farm or ranch and that philosophy behind that farm or ranch to the next generation?” 4) Estate planning is the first step of the process. Hadley said most people he talks to about farm succession planning believe they are finished with the process because they have an estate plan in place. He recommends estate planning as the last step. Learning how to communicate should be the first step in farm succession, followed by dealing with emotional roadblocks, and developing a business plan, financial plan and estate plan. “Go to the estate planner with a succession and business plan, and that person can develop a synchronistic estate plan that transfers the assets in a way that fits your farm succession needs, rather than coming up with the one that fits most farms,” Hadley said. 5) Succession planning should be conducted when the owner wants to retire. It’s not too early to start, and it’s an on-going
process, as the plan should be reassessed frequently, Hadley said. “A good point in time (to start) is when son or daughter are considering coming back to the farm as a significant part of their professional career, but really it is something that you should start as soon as possible,” he said. “You never know when the five Ds - unexpected death, disease, disability, disagreements or divorce - are going to haunt you.” 6) Developing a succession plan is a lengthy process. Developing a succession plan usually takes at minimum one year. Several meetings should take place that involve team building, conflict management, business philosophy and strategy issues, operations, finances, decision making, transitioning work responsibility, estate planning and plan finalization. “Even in a time when there’s not a huge work demand (on the farm), carving out a half a day or so each month is a major undertaking for many farms, but that’s what it
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The Scott County Record • Page 29 • Thursday, February 20, 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
t Paint i
Red
1602 S. Main • Scott City • 872-2232 Toll Free : 1-866-672-2232 Specializing in all coatings
Pro Health Chiropractic Wellness Center
or any other color 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
Pro Ex II
Over 20 Years Experience
Professional Extermination Commercial & Residential
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 Tree Service
Sandy Cauthon RN
David Berning • Marienthal
620-379-4430
105 1/2 W. 11th St. Scott City 620-874-1813
Tree Trimming and Removal Hedge and Evergreen Trimming Stump Removal
Call me to schedule your Myofascial Release
Fully Insured
SPENCER PEST CONTROL RESIDENTIAL – COMMERCIAL
Call today for a Greener Healthier Lawn
Dr. Jeffrey A. Heyd Optometrist 20/20 Optometry
Termite Baiting Systems • Rodents Weed Control • Structural Insects Termite Control
Treatment of Ocular Disease • Glaucoma Detection Children’s Vision • Glasses • Contact Lenses
Box 258, Scott City • (620) 872-2870
106 W. 4th • Scott City • 872-2020 • Emergencies: 872-2736
Complete family eye center!
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 30 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
Call 872-2090 today!
Per Week
Professional Directory Continued
Fur-Fection
Retail
Gene’s Appliance Over 200 appliances in stock! COMPARE OUR PRICES!
We have Reverse Osmosis units in stock. Remember us for parts in stock for all brands of all appliances. Sales and Service Days • Mon. - Sat. Deliveries • Mon.-Sat.
Largest Frigidaire appliance dealer in Western Ks. 508 Madison • Scott City • 872-3686
Computer Sales, Service and Repair Custom computers! Networking solutions!
Brent Rogers
Sales Consultant b.rogers@officesolutionsinc.biz
Northend Disposal A garbologist company.
Office (620) 276-3131 Toll Free 1-800-794-9052 Cell (620) 874-0014 Fax (620) 276-8876 1007 N. 8th, Garden City, KS 67846 www.officesolutionsinc.biz
Help Wanted
Truck Driving
S O F T W A R E DEVELOPMENT manager: Valley Hope Association, Norton, Ks.. Software/web development background, experience w/ object oriented programming. Relocation available. Salary DOE. Email resume: Employment@ ValleyHope.ORG ––––––––––––––––––––– DRIVERS WANTED immediately. Haul railroad crews throughout Kansas 21+, valid DL, clean MVR, drug and B/G checks. Apply online at: www.Renzenberger.com
TRAINING. Class ACDL. Train and work for us. Professional and focused CDL training available. Choose between company driver, owner/ operator, lease operator or lease trainer. (877) 3697885. www.centraltruckdrivingjobs.com. ––––––––––––––––––––– EXPERIENCED FLATBED drivers. Regional opportunities now open with plenty of freight and great pay. 800-277-0212 or primeinc.com. ––––––––––––––––––––– PARTNERS IN EXCELLENCE. OTR drivers. APU equipped PrePass EZ-pass passenger policy. 2012 and newer equipment. 100% notouch. Butler Transport, 1-800-528-7825. www. butlertransport.com ––––––––––––––––––––– TANKER DRIVERS. Up to $5,000 sign-on bonus! Up to 51 cpm plus additional pay for HazMat loads, pump offs, mileage bonuses. One-year OTR. Call 877-882-6537. www. oakleytransport.com ––––––––––––––––––––– OTR DRIVERS needed for solo and team positions. Midwest and west coast traffic lanes, competitive pay.Assigned 2013 and 2014 Kenworths. Safety/productivity incentives. Consistent miles. Call 800-645-3748. ––––––––––––––––––––– MORE MONEY and hometime $$. Regional runs. Owner/operator and company drivers. Earn great benefits. Call Kevin at 877-325-4996, ext. 211. Central Transportation Services, Inc. www.ctsco. com. ––––––––––––––––––––– TRANSFER DRIVERS. Need CDL A or B contract drivers, to relocate vehicles from local body plants to various locations throughout U.S. No forced dispatch. 1-800-501-3783 or www.mamotransportation.com under Careers.
For Sale
Networktronic, Inc.
Mon. - Fri. 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. 402 S. Main, Scott City • 872-1300
Kansas Classifieds Ad Network
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.
Scott City • 872-1223 • 1-800-303-3371
PC Cleaning Services, Inc. We'll clean your home, business or do remodeling clean-up Available seven days a week! Paul Cramer, Owner
620-290-2410
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
DISH TV RETAILER. Starting $19.99/mo. (for 12 mos.) Broadband Internet starting $14.95/ mo. (where available.) Ask about same day installation! Call now. 1-800-7237142. ––––––––––––––––––––– HAPPY JACK SKIN BALM. Stops scratching and gnawing. Promotes healing and hair growth on dogs and cats suffering from grass and flea allergies without steroids. Orscheln Farm and Home. www.happyjackinc.com.
Education HEAVY EQUIPMENT operator training. Bulldozers, backhoes, excavators. Three weeks handson program. Local job placement assistance. National certifications. GI Bill benefits eligible. 1-866-362-6497. –––––––––––––––––––– $2,000 BETTER Business Bureau Foundation Student of Integrity Award Scholarships. Application deadline 3-7-14.http:// kansasplains.bbb.org/studentaward/ or 316-2633146/800-856-2417 #4208
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 “Don’t Trust Your Auction to Just Anyone”
Scott City
Unity and Hope Mon., Wed. and Fri. • 8:00 p.m.
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
807 Kingsley Last Sat., Birthday Night, 6:30 p.m. All open meetings, 874-8207 • 874-8118
Dighton
Thursday • 8:30 p.m. 535 Wichita St. All open meetings, 397-5679 • 397-2647
The Scott County Record • Page 31 • Thursday, February 20, 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.
Agriculture
Classified advertising must be paid in advance unless business account is established.
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. Call for contracting information. Lane County Feeders. 397-5341. 44tfc
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.
If not paid in advance, there will be a $1 billing charge. Tear sheet for classified ad will be $1 extra.
Card of Thanks A big thank you for all the prayers and support while we were at MD Anderson/Houston. We have been so blessed! Kris and Ken Bollinger
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. 19tfc
DRYLAND QUARTER
Nice, level quarter of dryland farm ground in the Pence area! Access to paved road and close to an elevator! Also has a producing oil well at the present time. CALL FOR DETAILS!
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
Garage Sales Saturday, Feb. 22
Moving Sale 707 Monroe Ct. Sat. 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Some furniture, tools, garden tools, lots of misc. items.
Help Wanted
Services
PART-TIME COOK WANTED: Yards to mow wanted. Apply in person and clean up, etc. Trim at The Broiler, 102 Main. smaller trees and bushes 25tfc too. Call Dean Riedl, ––––––––––––––––––––– ATTENDANT CARE (620) 872-5112 or 87434tfc GIVER to provide part- 4135. ––––––––––––––––––––– time in home care for elderly women. For more FURNITURE REPAIR information contact Caro- and refinishing. Lawn lyn West 620-214-1238 or mower tune-up and blade Call Vern 620-872-2506. 28t2p sharpening. ––––––––––––––––––––– Soodsma, 872-2277 or NEWS PAPER CARRI- 874-1412. 36tfc ER needed. Approximate- ––––––––––––––––––––– ly 130 papers. Must have MOWER REPAIR, tunereliable vehicle. Seven up and blade sharpening. days a week for Hutchin- Call Rob Vsetecka at 620son paper and six days a 214-1730. 36tfc week for Garden City pa––––––––––––––––––––– per. Contact Artie METAL ROOFING, 620-655-1197. 28t6c SIDING and TRIMS at direct-to-the-public pricBusiness es. Call Metal King Mfg., 620-872-5464. Our prices INDIVIDUAL OFFICE 37tfc SUITES from one to will not be beat! 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. 27tfc
Rentals HIDE AND SEEK STORAGE SYSTEMS. Various sizes available. Virgil and LeAnn Kuntz, (620)874-2120. 41tfc ––––––––––––––––––––– 1 AND 3 BEDROOM houses available and storage units. Come fill out an application at PlainJans or call 620-872-5777. 18tfc ––––––––––––––––––––– 1 AND 2 BEDROOM apartments for rent. Please call 620-874-8353. 26tfc
Lost Rentals
√ Check us out at
www.scottcountyrecord.com
Completely Remodeled!
LOST RING IN SCOTT CITY. Near or around Dollar General or Heartland Foods. Reward for return. Call 872-5257. 28t2p
Real Estate 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 ––––––––––––––––––––– 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 620-2141456. 24tfc –––––––––––––––––––––
HOUSE FOR SALE IN SCOTT CITY. Well built home on double corner lot. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. Lots of built-in storage. Over 2,400 square feet, plus 3 season screened porch, double attached garage. Established yard with underground sprinklers. 42eow 620-353-9933.
5 bedrooms, ready to move into, insolated and stucco exterior. 1 + 1 baths, office, fenced yard and 1 1/2 garage. 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 • 872-7396 Cell: (620)-874-1753 or Cell: (620)-874-5002
28tfc
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
Commercial building for sale. Located at 1317 Main St., Scott City. Call 872-5387, 874-1033 or 620-521-4313. 25t4c
PARK LANE NURSING HOME Has openings for the following positions: Part-time CNA (night shift) Part-time CMA (evening shift) Part-time Nursing-LPN/RN Full-time Dietary Aide Shift differential pay offered for evening and night shifts! Please apply in person at:
Park Lane Nursing Home
210 E. Parklane Scott City, KS 67871 Or visit us at our website: www.parklanenursinghome.org “Quality Care Because We Care”
28tfc
SCOTT COUNTY HOSPITAL HAS OPENINGS FOR THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL STAFF Clinic Physician’s Assistant or Nurse Practitioner PATIENT CARE Acute Care RNs Medical Lab Technician Applicants for these positions are required to be able to read, speak and understand English. Pre-employment physical, drug/alcohol screening, immunization titer, physical assessment and TB skin test required. We are a tobacco free campus. We offer competitive pay and great benefits. Due to our recent expansion of services and rapid growth, we are in need of Acute Care RNs and are offering financial incentives. Applications are available through Human Resources at Scott County Hospital 201 Albert Ave. Scott City, Ks. 67871 620-872-7772 or online at www.scotthospital.net
28t1c
The Scott County Record • Page 32 • Thursday, February 20, 2014
House committee debates climate action plan Trevor Graff KHI News Service
A resolution asking Congress to oppose President Obama’s climate action plan was under consideration in a Kansas House committee last week where oil and gas lobbyists squared off against environmentalists. The human role in climate change was questioned by conservative GOP lawmakers unimpressed by the overwhelming consensus among scientists on that point. Supporters of House Resolution 6043 said that the information used to draft the White House’s Climate Action Plan was unscientific and that some doubt still surrounds the human involvement in climate change and increased carbon dioxide emissions.
The leading scientific bodies in the U.S. and the world have issued reports showing broad consensus that climate change is real and influenced by human activities such as the burning of carbon-based fuels. Debate over the human role is now largely being played out in political forums rather than in academia or laboratories. ‘Substantially muted’ “This is a long-term discussion over many decades and we’ve already enacted policies in the country that are trying to relate to emissions and so forth,” said Rep. Dennis Hedke (R-Wichita), who chairs the House Energy and Environment Committee and supports the resolution. “I would say the debate has been substantially muted. I think that
needs to change and that’s why we’re doing this.” The Obama administration has said its plan would cut carbon pollution in the U.S., prepare the nation for the impact of climate change and add to international efforts to mitigate the problems related to it. Wichita-based Koch Industries has been at the forefront of the efforts to stop federal action on climate change. Americans for Prosperity, a lobbying group launched by the Kochs, has strong influence at the Kansas Statehouse, especially among conservative GOP lawmakers. The president’s plan does not rely on action by Congress because climate change policies have been effectively blocked there by conservative Republicans.
‘Spinning our wheels’ The resolution heard today met resistance from some committee members who said it would create undue work while resulting in no real action. “I can’t help but feel like we’re just spinning our wheels here,” said Rep. Julie Menghini (D-Pittsburg). “When I spend as much time and effort as you have spent on your presentations, I expect a positive outcome and I just can’t wrap my arms around what positive outcome you think is going to come from passing this legislation.” But supporters said the resolution would promote discussion of the climate issue and the federal government’s role in regulating emissions and the energy industry. They said the process used in drafting the White
(Above) Demonstrating the Chicken Dance in front of the student body are Healy staff members Tammi Deines (left) and Kari Spencer with help from Pulmonary Man. (Right) Dr. Art Attack shows what five pounds of fat looks like in the human body. (Record Photos)
Healy rally promotes heart health Healy students and faculty kicked off their fourth annual “Hoops for Heart” event with a school-wide pep rally on Tuesday afternoon. The fun event featured visits from Dr. Art Attack, Cardio and Pulmonary Man and Miss CPR.
Students were told that their fundraising efforts support research through the American Heart Association. “You can make a difference in the lives of people who have heart diseases and strokes,” said Jennifer
Thompson, youth marketing director with the AHA in Colby. She advised everyone to eat healthy, exercise and never smoke - and if they are smoking to quit. The short talk was followed by dance contests for the students and staff.
The “Hoops for Heart” fundraising event will conclude on March 13 with basketball activities in the high school gym. The day will also include healthy snacks provided by parents in the lunch room.
House climate plan was unscientific and left out key data that would lead to a better picture of climate change. “The concept of the “social cost of carbon” is not objective or scientific,” said Ed Cross, president of Kansas Independent Oil and Gas Association. “It is based on subjective human decisions on what to include in the model, the discount rate to apply to future costs and benefits and how to deal with uncertainty.” Cross said the plan would hurt innovation in the energy industry. Control Light Bulbs Cross’ criticisms seemed to resonate with Rep. Ken Corbet (R-Topeka) who said federal regulations could increase energy prices.
“Will my people be able to afford to flip the light switch or heat their homes?” he asked. “It seems like a power grab. They (federal officials) want to control your light bulbs and your toilet bowls.” The resolution’s opponents cited a list of weather-related events and circumstances as obvious evidence that climate change is underway, including nationwide drought in the U.S., warmer than average temperatures in Alaska and the warm weather on display at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. “Putting your fingers in your ears and humming is not an option,” Rabbi Moti Rieber, director of Kansas Interfaith Power and Light, told committee members. “I’d encourage you to stop doing it.”