Kansas Around the State
Briefs
Local official reappointed to state 911 board Michael Leiker, Hays, has been reappointed to a three-year term on the Kansas 911 Coordinating Council, Gov. Sam Brownback’s office announced Tuesday. Leiker, director of information technology for Ellis County, is a graduate of Fort Hays State University and received his credentials as a national certified government chief information officer from the University of North Carolina. The 911 Coordinating Council monitors the delivery of 911 services in Kansas, develops strategies for future enhancements to the 911 system and distributes grants to public safety answering points.
Four-legged visitors
Dorthy Wolberd sits with rescue dogs brought to
EaRetirement Community this week in Salina. Emily DeShazer Special to the HDN visit residents of glecrest
‘Lucky’ winner ready to swoon for swine Downtown also bracing for Burnt Butt
Burnt Butt 5K. She also came up with the idea for the kiss-the-pig contest. during annual barbecue festival There already was a fun run By RANDY GONZALES planned for after the 5K, but Lonny Claycamp of rgonzales@dailynews.net that wasn’t enough to make it Insurance Planning, which memorable. Somebody will be kissing a is a sponsor of the barbecue “We were thinking about pig Saturday. event, was leading the early having pigs there anyway,” No word if there will be voting. Also in the running lipstick on it. to kiss the pig are Steve Sed- Bloom said. “If we have the pigs there, we might as well As part of the fifth annual brook, president of Cancer do something with them. I Blues, BBQ and Bargains Council of Ellis County, did some research, stumbled on Friday through Sunday, Traci Stanford, director of across a kissing the pig raffle.” the Cancer Council of Ellis Downtown Hays DevelopThe fifth annual barbecue County will sponsor a 5K ment Corp., and the mystery contest is from 8 a.m. to 11 run. After the run, which kisser. Leading the write-ins p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. to 2 starts at 8 a.m., one of four for the mystery kisser is p.m. Saturday at Municipal lucky people will be kissing a Trisha Sauer of Nex-Tech. pig from the Fort Hays State Voting will continue through Park. In addition at Municipal Park, there will be live University farm. The winner Saturday morning. music by Jimmie Lewin and will kiss the pig at 10th and Stanford was ready to the Fabulous Kingtones from Fort at approximately 9:30 pucker up, if need be. 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Friday. a.m. “I’ll take one for the From 7:30 to 11 p.m. that Voting already has started team, if I have to,” she said. for which person will be se“Whatever it (takes) to benefit day, music will be provided by the Brandon Miller band. lected to kiss the pig. It’s $1 a the Cancer Council.” From 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, vote, or six votes for $5, with Sara Bloom, secretary there will be the opportunity proceeds going to the Cancer for Cancer Council of Ellis to buy BBQ Bucks to purCouncil of Ellis County. County, is organizing the
Water main break affects downtown market The 100 block of West 10th between Main and Fort will be closed due to a water main break and street repairs. The south parking lot (near the railroad tracks, the Downtown Hays Market location) will remain open. Market hours still will be from 5 to 7 p.m. today and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. The Downtown Hays Market ribbon-cutting, hosted by the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce, will be at 4:30 p.m. today.
chase food from participating contestants and vendors. A beer garden will be open from 5 to 11 p.m. that day at Municipal Park. Also Friday, there will be a kids’ barbecue contest from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at NCK Tech Big Creek campus. At 7 p.m., there will be a cruise-in and car show registration at American Legion. At 2 p.m. Saturday at the The Mall, there will be a live blues performance by Pennington Benish. Barbecue contest winners will be announced at 3:30
Big Creek Mud Run scheduled for Aug. 24
By ROXANA HEGEMAN Associated Press
Colby man hospitalized after pickup rolls
FYI
• Hays city commissioners will meet for a work session at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at city hall. Agenda items include awarding a bid for interior painting of the north water tower; review of a letter to be sent to residents regarding a second water conservation tier; consideration of oil and gas lease of property adjacent to Fort Hays Memorial Gardens; and a presentation of proposed 2014 budget.
Lotteries
TOPEKA (AP) — These Kansas lotteries were drawn Tuesday: Daily Pick 3 6-3-8
Kansas 2 By 2 Red Balls: 3-20 White Balls: 10-13 Mega Millions 10-14-21-40-53 Mega Ball: 20 Megaplier: 2
Corrections Readers who find an error should (785) 628-1081 or email rfields@dailynews.net.
p.m. at the National Guard Armory. Merchants will have sales throughout the weekend, and there will be discounted admission to the Ellis County Historical Society Museum and Hays Aquatic Park. “I’m really excited and humbled to be a part of this event,” Stanford said. “One of the exciting things, it grows every year. There will be tons of sales and events and food and music going on downtown as well.” Visit www.haysbluesandbbq.com for a complete list of events.
Offender registry is ‘punitive,’ judge rules
Hays Medical Center’s Center for Health Improvement and Fort Hays State University will have the third annual Big Creek Mud Run on Aug. 24. The mud run is a 2-mile obstacle course that winds through the FHSU campus, beginning at 8:30 a.m. “This has been a great event for the region.” said Kelly Flaska, Fitness/ Aquatics Supervisor of the Center for Health Improvement. “People from all over the state come to participate.” Registration deadline is Aug. 21. The fee is $25 for participants, who must be 18 years and older. For more, visit www. thecenter.haysmed.com/ mudrun or call (785) 6235900.
REXFORD — A Colby man was hurt in a single-vehicle accident at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday on U.S. Highway 83, approximately 1 mile west of Rexford. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, Joshua James Niemi, 22, was eastbound driving a 2005 Dodge pickup when he swerved to avoid a rear-end collision with another vehicle waiting to turn on to a county road. The pickup left the roadway to the south, over-corrected, crossed the road again and rolled into the north ditch. Niemi was transported to Citizens Medical Center in Colby for treatment of possible injuries. The KHP said he was not wearing a seat belt.
A3
Wednesday July 17, 2013
JOLIE GREEN • Hays Daily News
Jian Sun helps his daughter Carissa, 3, put on a bracelet last week at their Hays home. Sun was one of 10 Kansas fathers recently named a Strong Dad of the Year by Kansas Early Head Start.
Sun shines strong for precious family
F
From left, Kejun Zhang, Kiana, 2, Carissa, 3, and Jian Sun are pictured recently at their home.
By JUDY SHERARD jsherard@dailynews.net
atherhood is more than a word for Jian Sun. “Parents are the best teachers for kids,” he said. “It’s not just mom. Although I work, I spend time after work with them.” Sun and his wife, Kejun Zhang, have been in the Early Childhood Connections Parents as Teachers program since their oldest daughter, Carissa, now almost 4, was 3 months old. They also have another daughter, Kiana, 2. “They are the most precious thing in my life,” Sun said of his children. The couple grew up in China and have been in the U.S. for 12 years and Hays six years. Sun is an assistant professor in the political science department at Fort Hays State University. “We were the only child in our families, and we never worked with (or) played with siblings when we grew up, so parenting is very new to us,” Sun said. “That’s why we wanted to catch every opportunity to learn.” “They are sisters,” Zhang said of her daughters. “We never got sisters in our family.” Having two children who, like most siblings, don’t always share is a new experience for the couple. “When we grew up, everything in our house was ours. This program is teaching us a lot,” Zhang said. Unlike many Chinese households, Sun’s and Zhang’s mothers both had
jobs, and their fathers helped with child care. The couple had an unspoken agreement even before their first child was born that Sun would be involved. “Our fathers took an active role in our families,” Sun said. “It just naturally came from the environment we grew up in.” Their participation in PATHS led them to attend the Strong Dads program, where Sun was named a Strong Dad of the Year at a summit in Wichita in June. The Kansas Early Head Start Strong Dads program is a component of the fatherhood initiative, said Karla Bixenman, ECC social service family involvement coordinator. Strong Dads was designed to enhance the fatherhood programs across the state. It encourages strong healthy connections between a father figure and children through play, reading, talking
and caring for a child’s well-being and success, she said. “We felt like with community we serve, we just needed more activities that encouraged fathers to come and do fun things with their kids — to be active parents with their children,” said Bixenman, who leads the local fatherhood initiative along with Lila Montgomery, Early Head Start coordinator. The fatherhood initiative also led to Daddy and Me Day and TGI Family Night Out, open to mothers, fathers and other caregivers. TGI Family Night Out is once a month. It includes a meal and a speaker on topics of interest. Child care and the meal are provided at no cost. “It’s one night the parents can eat their meal while it’s hot,” Bixenman said. “They don’t have to feed their child and cut up somebody else’s food.”
WICHITA — A Kansas judge ordered law enforcement agencies to remove a man’s name from the state’s offender registry, saying a law ostracizes offenders and requires them to remain registered longer than necessary. Tuesday’s decision by Shawnee County Judge Larry Hendricks addressed only the case of the man who sued to end his registering requirement, but it could extend to others in his situation if the state Supreme Court upholds it upon appeal. High courts in other states have struck down similar laws. The Kansas law requires sex, drug and violent offenders to register with law enforcement. It applies retroactively, and offenders must register for 15 years to life, depending on the crime. Chris Joseph, the plaintiff ’s attorney, said if the ruling stands, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation might have to relieve thousands of convicted offenders of the requirement to stay on the registry. “It means he has a chance to live a normal life and, frankly, I think this is the right thing to do,” Joseph said. “He is not a danger and he has served his sentence.” The plaintiff pleaded guilty in 2003 to having taken indecent liberties with a child/touching in Johnson County. At the time, he was required to remain on the registry for 10 years, until this year. But in 2011, the Legislature extended the length of time offenders have to remain registered to 25 years. “It is punishment, it is punitive and to suddenly extend it to 25 years or life is not constitutional,” Joseph said.
Manager charged with stealing from bank GARDEN CITY (AP) — Federal prosecutors said Tuesday a former branch manager of Landmark National Bank in Garden City has been charged with embezzling more than $99,999 from the bank. U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said Sheri L. Green, 52, was charged with one count of misapplication of bank funds. The indictment alleges she stole the money between August and December. If convicted, Green faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.