The MIDWEEK Tuesday, July 2, 2013 Goodland1205 Main Avenue, Goodland, Star-News KS 67735 • Phone (785) 899-2338 $1 Volume 81, Number 53 8 Pages Goodland, Kansas 67735 weather County report enacts ban 67° 10 a.m. Monday on burns, Today • Sunset, 8:17 p.m. Wednesday fireworks • Sunrise, 5:25 a.m. • Sunset, 8:17 p.m. By Kevin Bottrell [email protected] Midday Conditions The Sherman County Commis- • Soil temperature 72 degrees sioner have put in place a burn ban, • Humidity 50 percent which includes a prohibition on • Sky mostly sunny fireworks, until further notice. • Winds south 3 mph The commissioners passed the • Barometer 30.31 inches ban at their meeting Friday, saying and steady that although conditions in some • Record High today 104° (1921) parts of the county are better than • Record Low today 46° (1924) last year, it has still be extremely dry. Last 24 Hours* The commissioners called in Ru- ral Fire Chief Brian James, who said High Sunday 82° he would be comfortable both with Low Sunday 54° or without the ban, but he prefers to Precipitation none err on the side of caution. This month none “Last year went great with the Year to date 7.40 ban,” he said. “Fire calls were way Below normal 2.33 inches down.” The Topside Forecast The commissioners voted unani- Today: Mostly sunny with a high mously to put the burn ban in place. near 82, winds out of the east at 5 They said if the county receives any to 15 mph and a low around 54. rain before the 4th of July, they will Wednesday: Mostly sunny with hold a special meeting to lift the ban. Team puts a high near 84, winds out of the The ban is only for areas out- southeast at 10 to 15 mph and a side the cities of Goodland and low around 58. Kanorado. Setting off fireworks is on home Extended Forecast prohibited, but sales of fireworks Thursday: Sunny with a high are still permitted and the profes- near 88 and a low around 64. Fri- sional fireworks display on the 4th day: Sunny with a high near 91 and of July – which is set off from the swim meet a low around 66. Saturday: Mostly county-owned fairgrounds – will sunny with a 20 percent chance go ahead as planned. The Goodland Swim Team held its of showers and thunderstorms, a home meet on Saturday at Steever high near 92 and a low around 66. See BAN, Page 5 Water Park, bringing in opposing (National Weather Service) teams from all over western Kansas Get 24-hour weather info. at 162.400 MHz. and eastern Colorado. Swimmers Hospital inlcuded Lindsey Cure (right) , racing in the girls 8 and under bracket, and Blair Linin (below), racing in the boys chief resigns; 8 and under bracket. For scores from the Swim Team’s winning performance at the Colby meet last weekend, see board to Page 8. Results from this weekend’s home meet will appear in a future edi- local tion of the Goodland Star-News. remain intact Photos by Kevin Bottrell markets The Goodland Star-News By Kevin Bottrell 10 a.m. [email protected] Wheat — $6.71 bushel After hearing the news at Friday’s Posted county price — $6.55 meeting that Goodland Regional Corn — $6.41 bushel Medical Center Chief Executive Posted county price — $7.06 Officer Jay Jolly had resigned, the Milo — $6 bushel Sherman County Commissioners Soybeans — $14.60 bushel decided to re-appoint three board Posted county price — $15.14 members rather than search for new Millet — no bid candidates. Sunflowers The terms of three members were Oil current crop — $23.75 cwt. up: Harlan House, Doug Seder- Confection — no bid strom and Faye Paxton. House is Pinto beans — $28 (new crop) currently serving as board chair- (Markets by Scoular Grain, Sun Opta, man and Sederstrom is serving as Frontier Ag and 21st Century Bean. These may not be closing figures. ) treasurer. At previous meetings, the commissioners had discussed looking for new candidates for those board seats. Board Vice Chairman Greg Cure and board member Eric Albright inside came to the meeting to ask the com- missioners to keep the board intact. today Cure said the hospital is facing a lot of issues, and the board had asked More local news, views Jolly for his resignation. However, County asks for concealed carry extension from your he said, the hospital has a cohesive Goodland board with members who have been Star-News By Kevin Bottrell “What are the rules about what we can say?” as having no support and remove it. serving long enough to have expe- [email protected] she asked. “What do we do if we see a gun?” After Hall had left, the commissioners decided rienced the learning curve. Cure On a 2-1 vote, the Sherman County Commis- Commissioner Ken Klemm said the law will to ask for the extension, if only so there is more said the board is trying to bring that sioners decided to ask the state for a six-month make the courthouse safer. time for staff training. Commissioners Klemm cohesiveness back to the rest of the extension on implementing a new law allowing “You will have good people carrying in the and Steve Evert voted yes. Commissioner Larry hospital and raise moral. people with concealed carry permits to bring building,” he said. Enfield voted no. “We need the board to see us their guns into the courthouse. Hall said she didn’t disagree with that, but she The commissioners decided to only ask for through this,” he said. The law was passed by the Legislature at this wanted more time to educate staff and the com- an extension on the courthouse. They called the Commissioner Steve Evert said year’s session. Starting Monday it requires cities, munity on the effects of the new law. She said County Health Department, but Director Donna as a former hospital board member counties and state agencies to allow concealed some people might interpret the law as allowing Terry said she had no problem with the law going he knows how difficult it is as a new weapons in their buildings unless the buildings everyone to carry a gun into a public building, into effect Monday. person to learn how the hospital have sufficient security to ensure that all guns rather than just those with concealed carry per- In other business, the commissioners: works. are kept out. mits. She said it might increase the instances of • Heard a report on the Goodland Public Li- Cure said it was the consensus of The commissioners had discussed the exten- people carrying guns illegally in the building. brary from Director Karen Gillihan and library the board that they wished to remain sion at a previous meeting. They said they all Hall said a large number of cities and counties board members Heather Evert, Sharon Gregory intact. Commissioner Ken Klemm supported the law and had taken no vote on the are asking for the six-month extension. The City and Melanie Daise. The library operates with said the county commission was in issue. Treasurer April Hall came to the meeting of Goodland voted to send the exemption letter a budget of about $230,000 and has seven em- favor of that proposal. Friday to request the commissioners ask for the at their last meeting in June. Klemm said his fear ployees, three full time and four part time, plus Group holds “We’ve been monitoring and extension, saying she needed time for her and was that if too many communities asked for the we’re seeing progress,” he said. her staff to get education on what the law means. exemption, the Legislature would look on the law See COUNTY, Page 5 “You have an opportunity now to pool party get a new outlook.” Klemm said the board should Chapter Z & Chapter ID of look at hiring someone with vision Hoxie native chosen as one of several new astronauts the P.E.O. Sisterhood – a to replace Jolly. A Hoxie man has been selected member of NASA’s 2013 Astronaut He is now deputy chief of the Joint things, they will be taught Russian, philanthropic and educa- “Those people are more difficult to train as a next-generation astro- Candidate Class earlier this month. Improvised Explosive Device De- learn to dive to prepare for under- tional organization – held a to manage,” he said. “But right now naut, possibly available for trips to He is one of eight candidates who feat Organization, organized in water space-walk training, and take pool party this weekend at a its looking like its going to be the last an asteroid or to the international NASA picked after searching for 2003 to deal with the “roadside trips in a modified jet airplane that Goodland home. man standing around here, and we space station riding a new privately a year and a half, looking through bombs” used against Americans in drops out of the sky, giving its pas- See Page 3 want that to be you.” operated rocket. 6,100 applications. Iraq by the Department of Defense. sengers the sensation of weightless- The commissioners voted unani- Tyler N. Hague, 37, son of Don Col. Hague graduated from the He and the other candidates will ness as it free falls. mously to re-appoint House, Sed- and Bev Hague, who now lives in U.S. Air Force Academy, the Massa- report to the Johnson Space Center If they pass the training, they erstrom and Paxton to the hospital Gering, Neb., is a lieutenant colonel chusetts Institute of Technology and in Houston in August for two years could be chosen for a mission to board.