SEDGWICK COUNTY—A <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20035776">Kansas felon&nbsp;</a>convicted in the fatal stabbing of a Kansas woman is going to prison

On Monday&nbsp;&nbsp;District Judge Christopher Magana followed the plea agreement in the case and sentenced Goldy Metcalfe, 39 of Wichita, to 467 months on a charge of 2nd degree murder and 59 months on a charge of attempted 2nd degree murder with 36 months post release, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

Judge ordered the prison sentences run concurrently for a controlling sentence of 467 months. Judge also ordered $3,900 in restitution.&nbsp; 

In November, Metcalfe pled guilty to<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20035776">&nbsp;charges of 1st&nbsp;degree</a> murder and attempted 1st&nbsp;degree murder, according to the district attorney's office.

Just after 8 a.m. Dec. 4, 2021, police responded to a disturbance with a weapon at a home in the 600 block of South Green in Wichita, according to Officer Charley Davidson.

 Upon arrival, officers located a 64-year-old woman and a 73-year-old man with multiple stab wounds. 

EMS transported both victims to an area hospital where the 64-year-old woman died, according to Davidson. The 73-year-old man had serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The investigation revealed at approximately 5 a.m. on Dec. 4, officers responded to a call in the 1800 block of North Kansas regarding a citizen who had Metcalf at gunpoint for unlawfully entering his vehicle.&nbsp; 

Metcalfe was cooperative with officers, cited for misdemeanor tampering with an automobile, and given a courtesy transport to St. Francis Hospital for medical treatment due to a previous injury to his mouth, according to Davidson.

Metcalfe left St. Francis Hospital against medical advice and at approximately 8 a.m. stole a blue Ford pick-up in the 600 block of North Waco that was left running.

Metcalf fled in the truck and crashed it into a building in the 600 block of South Green. He then fled the scene and forced his way into the residence on South Green, where he stabbed the two victims. Metcalf fled from that residence and entered an unoccupied residence in 600 block of South Erie, and attempted to gain access to a church in the same block. Thanks to information provided by citizens, police responded quickly, located&nbsp; Metcalf and arrested him.

Metcalf was paroled from prison in July 2021 and has prior convictions for aggravated battery, criminal possession of a firearm, burglary, flee law enforcement, and aggravated robbery, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1638721469657.png" alt="Metcalfe -photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Metcalfe -photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—A <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20035776">Kansas felon&nbsp;</a>convicted in the fatal stabbing of a Kansas woman is going to prisonOn Monday&nbsp;&nbsp;District Judge Christopher Magana followed the plea agreement in the case and sentenced Goldy Metcalfe, 39 of Wichita, to 467 months on a charge of 2nd degree murder and 59 months on a charge of attempted 2nd degree murder with 36 months post release, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.Judge ordered the prison sentences run concurrently for a controlling sentence of 467 months. Judge also ordered $3,900 in restitution.&nbsp; In November, Metcalfe pled guilty to<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20035776">&nbsp;charges of 1st&nbsp;degree</a> murder and attempted 1st&nbsp;degree murder, according to the district attorney's office.Just after 8 a.m. Dec. 4, 2021, police responded to a disturbance with a weapon at a home in the 600 block of South Green in Wichita, according to Officer Charley Davidson. Upon arrival, officers located a 64-year-old woman and a 73-year-old man with multiple stab wounds. EMS transported both victims to an area hospital where the 64-year-old woman died, according to Davidson. The 73-year-old man had serious but non-life-threatening injuries.The investigation revealed at approximately 5 a.m. on Dec. 4, officers responded to a call in the 1800 block of North Kansas regarding a citizen who had Metcalf at gunpoint for unlawfully entering his vehicle.&nbsp; Metcalfe was cooperative with officers, cited for misdemeanor tampering with an automobile, and given a courtesy transport to St. Francis Hospital for medical treatment due to a previous injury to his mouth, according to Davidson.Metcalfe left St. Francis Hospital against medical advice and at approximately 8 a.m. stole a blue Ford pick-up in the 600 block of North Waco that was left running.Metcalf fled in the truck and crashed it into a building in the 600 block of South Green. He then fled the scene and forced his way into the residence on South Green, where he stabbed the two victims. Metcalf fled from that residence and entered an unoccupied residence in 600 block of South Erie, and attempted to gain access to a church in the same block. Thanks to information provided by citizens, police responded quickly, located&nbsp; Metcalf and arrested him.Metcalf was paroled from prison in July 2021 and has prior convictions for aggravated battery, criminal possession of a firearm, burglary, flee law enforcement, and aggravated robbery, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Felon who left hospital, killed Kan. woman in her home is going to prison

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MATT%20O%27BRIEN%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MATT O'BRIEN &nbsp;AP Technology Writer</a>

A frenzy over an artificial intelligence chatbot made by Chinese tech startup DeepSeek was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stocks-markets-tariffs-trump-rates-52c54e361616509280bd2775674b6b4b">upending stock markets</a>&nbsp;Monday and fueling debates over the economic and geopolitical competition between the U.S. and China in developing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/artificial-intelligence">AI technology</a>.

DeepSeek's AI assistant became the No. 1 downloaded free app on Apple's iPhone store Monday, propelled by curiosity about the ChatGPT competitor. Part of what's worrying some U.S. tech industry observers is the idea that the Chinese startup has caught up with the American companies at the forefront of generative AI at a fraction of the cost.

That, if true, calls into question the huge amounts of money U.S. tech companies say they plan to spend on the data centers and computer chips needed to power further AI advancements.

But hype and misconceptions about DeepSeek's technological advancements also sowed confusion.

"The models they built are fantastic, but they aren't miracles either," said Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon, who follows the semiconductor industry and was one of several stock analysts describing Wall Street's reaction as overblown.

“They’re not using any innovations that are unknown or secret or anything like that," Rasgon said. "These are things that everybody’s experimenting with.”

The startup DeepSeek was founded in 2023 in Hangzhou, China and released its first AI large language model later that year. Its CEO Liang Wenfeng previously co-founded one of China's top hedge funds, High-Flyer, which focuses on AI-driven quantitative trading. The fund, by 2022, had amassed a cluster of 10,000 of California-based Nvidia's high-performance A100 graphics processor chips that are used to build and run AI systems, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=Mzk0MjE3MzQ5Mg%3D%3D&amp;mid=2247484702&amp;idx=1&amp;sn=5157e2c6564c41171ad7973f861e3a12&amp;chksm=c2c67945f5b1f053a997f8213dee6284e9c1ecedaf13fd4f6165a6aaea77eee92ed3320da163&amp;token=1745415996&amp;lang=zh_CN&amp;fbclid=IwY2xjawIE55lleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHSgJsH2e-5vS6WZVhiZxX4w6lG7HsWy5IOt5Sgx1AAp7Z1-lzkWk4ZN0rw_aem_wRijzkBSGrULAdTk9RvZSw#rd">post that summer</a>&nbsp;on Chinese social media platform WeChat. The U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-china-global-trade-nvidia-corp-5b5f7476a427182229f620ae82ddb939">soon after restricted sales</a>&nbsp;of those chips to China.

DeepSeek has said its recent models were built with Nvidia’s lower-performing H800 chips, which are not banned in China, sending a message that the fanciest hardware might not be needed for cutting-edge AI research.

DeepSeek began attracting more attention in the AI industry last month when it released a new AI model that it boasted was on par with similar models from U.S. companies such as ChatGPT maker OpenAI, and was more cost-effective in its use of expensive Nvidia chips to train the system on troves of data. The chatbot became more widely accessible when it appeared on Apple and Google app stores early this year.

But it was a follow-up research paper published last week — on the same day as President Donald Trump's inauguration — that set in motion the panic that followed. That paper was about another DeepSeek AI model called R1 that showed advanced “reasoning” skills — such as the ability to rethink its approach to a math problem — and was significantly cheaper than a similar model sold by OpenAI called o1.

“What their economics look like, I have no idea,” Rasgon said. “But I think the price points freaked people out.”

Behind the drama over DeepSeek's technical capabilities is a debate within the U.S. over how best to compete with China on AI.

“Deepseek R1 is AI’s Sputnik moment,” said venture capitalist Marc Andreessen in a Sunday post on social platform X, referencing the 1957 satellite launch that set off a Cold War space exploration race between the Soviet Union and the U.S.

Andreessen, who has advised Trump on tech policy, has warned that overregulation of the AI industry by the U.S. government will hinder American companies and enable China to get ahead.

But the attention on DeepSeek also threatens to undermine a key strategy of U.S. foreign policy in recent years to restrict the sale of American-designed AI semiconductors to China. Some experts on U.S.-China relations don't think that is an accident.

“The technology innovation is real, but the timing of the release is political in nature,” said Gregory Allen, director of the Wadhwani AI Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Allen compared DeepSeek's announcement last week to U.S.-sanctioned Chinese company Huawei's release of a new phone during diplomatic discussions over Biden administration export controls in 2023.

“Trying to show that the export controls are futile or counterproductive is a really important goal of Chinese foreign policy right now,” Allen said.

On Monday, Trump said DeepSeek’s breakthrough was “good because you don’t have to spend this much money.”

Speaking Monday to House Republicans in Miami, Trump called the DeepSeek news “positive” if it is accurate because “you won’t be spending as much and you’ll get the same result.” He called the development a “wakeup call for our industries that we need to be laser focused on competing to win.”

Trump signed an order on his first day in office last week that said his administration would “identify and eliminate loopholes in existing export controls,” signaling that he is likely to continue and harden Biden’s approach.

DeepSeek’s progress on AI without the same amount of spending could possibly undermine the potentially $500 billion AI investment by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank that Trump touted at the White House.

Nvidia’s stock dropped 17% Monday, but the company in a statement commended DeepSeek’s work as “an excellent AI advancement” that leveraged “widely-available models and compute that is fully export control compliant.”

One thing that distinguishes DeepSeek from competitors such as OpenAI is that its models are “open source” — meaning key components are free for anyone to access and modify, though the company hasn’t disclosed the data it used for training.

But what's attracted the most admiration about DeepSeek's R1 model is what Nvidia calls a "perfect example of Test Time Scaling" — or when AI models effectively show their train of thought, and then use that for further training without having to feed them new sources of data.

“It’s just thinking out loud, basically,” said Lennart Heim, a researcher at Rand Corp.

OpenAI's reasoning models, starting with o1, do the same, and it's likely that other U.S.-based competitors such as Anthropic and Google have similar capabilities that haven't been released, Heim said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738002758127.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MATT%20O%27BRIEN%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MATT O'BRIEN &nbsp;AP Technology Writer</a>A frenzy over an artificial intelligence chatbot made by Chinese tech startup DeepSeek was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/stocks-markets-tariffs-trump-rates-52c54e361616509280bd2775674b6b4b">upending stock markets</a>&nbsp;Monday and fueling debates over the economic and geopolitical competition between the U.S. and China in developing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/artificial-intelligence">AI technology</a>.DeepSeek's AI assistant became the No. 1 downloaded free app on Apple's iPhone store Monday, propelled by curiosity about the ChatGPT competitor. Part of what's worrying some U.S. tech industry observers is the idea that the Chinese startup has caught up with the American companies at the forefront of generative AI at a fraction of the cost.That, if true, calls into question the huge amounts of money U.S. tech companies say they plan to spend on the data centers and computer chips needed to power further AI advancements.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Trump: &quot;The release of DeepSeek AI from a Chinese company should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser focused on competing to win.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/5UNC8Md8wM">pic.twitter.com/5UNC8Md8wM</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1884048772574884080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>But hype and misconceptions about DeepSeek's technological advancements also sowed confusion."The models they built are fantastic, but they aren't miracles either," said Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon, who follows the semiconductor industry and was one of several stock analysts describing Wall Street's reaction as overblown.“They’re not using any innovations that are unknown or secret or anything like that," Rasgon said. "These are things that everybody’s experimenting with.”<h2>What is DeepSeek?</h2>The startup DeepSeek was founded in 2023 in Hangzhou, China and released its first AI large language model later that year. Its CEO Liang Wenfeng previously co-founded one of China's top hedge funds, High-Flyer, which focuses on AI-driven quantitative trading. The fund, by 2022, had amassed a cluster of 10,000 of California-based Nvidia's high-performance A100 graphics processor chips that are used to build and run AI systems, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=Mzk0MjE3MzQ5Mg%3D%3D&amp;mid=2247484702&amp;idx=1&amp;sn=5157e2c6564c41171ad7973f861e3a12&amp;chksm=c2c67945f5b1f053a997f8213dee6284e9c1ecedaf13fd4f6165a6aaea77eee92ed3320da163&amp;token=1745415996&amp;lang=zh_CN&amp;fbclid=IwY2xjawIE55lleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHSgJsH2e-5vS6WZVhiZxX4w6lG7HsWy5IOt5Sgx1AAp7Z1-lzkWk4ZN0rw_aem_wRijzkBSGrULAdTk9RvZSw#rd">post that summer</a>&nbsp;on Chinese social media platform WeChat. The U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-china-global-trade-nvidia-corp-5b5f7476a427182229f620ae82ddb939">soon after restricted sales</a>&nbsp;of those chips to China.DeepSeek has said its recent models were built with Nvidia’s lower-performing H800 chips, which are not banned in China, sending a message that the fanciest hardware might not be needed for cutting-edge AI research.DeepSeek began attracting more attention in the AI industry last month when it released a new AI model that it boasted was on par with similar models from U.S. companies such as ChatGPT maker OpenAI, and was more cost-effective in its use of expensive Nvidia chips to train the system on troves of data. The chatbot became more widely accessible when it appeared on Apple and Google app stores early this year.But it was a follow-up research paper published last week — on the same day as President Donald Trump's inauguration — that set in motion the panic that followed. That paper was about another DeepSeek AI model called R1 that showed advanced “reasoning” skills — such as the ability to rethink its approach to a math problem — and was significantly cheaper than a similar model sold by OpenAI called o1.“What their economics look like, I have no idea,” Rasgon said. “But I think the price points freaked people out.”<h2>The ‘Sputnik’ backdrop</h2>Behind the drama over DeepSeek's technical capabilities is a debate within the U.S. over how best to compete with China on AI.“Deepseek R1 is AI’s Sputnik moment,” said venture capitalist Marc Andreessen in a Sunday post on social platform X, referencing the 1957 satellite launch that set off a Cold War space exploration race between the Soviet Union and the U.S.Andreessen, who has advised Trump on tech policy, has warned that overregulation of the AI industry by the U.S. government will hinder American companies and enable China to get ahead.But the attention on DeepSeek also threatens to undermine a key strategy of U.S. foreign policy in recent years to restrict the sale of American-designed AI semiconductors to China. Some experts on U.S.-China relations don't think that is an accident.“The technology innovation is real, but the timing of the release is political in nature,” said Gregory Allen, director of the Wadhwani AI Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Allen compared DeepSeek's announcement last week to U.S.-sanctioned Chinese company Huawei's release of a new phone during diplomatic discussions over Biden administration export controls in 2023.“Trying to show that the export controls are futile or counterproductive is a really important goal of Chinese foreign policy right now,” Allen said.On Monday, Trump said DeepSeek’s breakthrough was “good because you don’t have to spend this much money.”Speaking Monday to House Republicans in Miami, Trump called the DeepSeek news “positive” if it is accurate because “you won’t be spending as much and you’ll get the same result.” He called the development a “wakeup call for our industries that we need to be laser focused on competing to win.”Trump signed an order on his first day in office last week that said his administration would “identify and eliminate loopholes in existing export controls,” signaling that he is likely to continue and harden Biden’s approach.DeepSeek’s progress on AI without the same amount of spending could possibly undermine the potentially $500 billion AI investment by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank that Trump touted at the White House.Nvidia’s stock dropped 17% Monday, but the company in a statement commended DeepSeek’s work as “an excellent AI advancement” that leveraged “widely-available models and compute that is fully export control compliant.”<h2>What makes DeepSeek different?</h2>One thing that distinguishes DeepSeek from competitors such as OpenAI is that its models are “open source” — meaning key components are free for anyone to access and modify, though the company hasn’t disclosed the data it used for training.But what's attracted the most admiration about DeepSeek's R1 model is what Nvidia calls a "perfect example of Test Time Scaling" — or when AI models effectively show their train of thought, and then use that for further training without having to feed them new sources of data.“It’s just thinking out loud, basically,” said Lennart Heim, a researcher at Rand Corp.OpenAI's reasoning models, starting with o1, do the same, and it's likely that other U.S.-based competitors such as Anthropic and Google have similar capabilities that haven't been released, Heim said.

What is DeepSeek, the Chinese AI company upending the stock market?

By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post

The Child Care Task Force of Ellis County is taking steps to help providers be better prepared in cases of emergency.

The state of Kansas has recently updated its licensing requirements for in-home child care providers. The providers must have updated first-aid kits and detailed written crisis plans.

The task force was awarded a $30,000 grant from Child Care Aware of Kansas to, among other things, support the purchase of new first-aid kits for in-home child care providers in Ellis County.

The grant will also fund the task force's professional development events, a provider appreciation event, some support for the annual child care training conference and paying someone a small stipend to keep the group's social media updated.&nbsp;

The Child Care Capacity Grant must be spent by May 1, but Sarah Wasinger, task force facilitator, said at the last child care task force meeting on Jan. 14 that the task force would pay for some of its professional development and training expenses.

Tori Ruder, in-home child care provider and task force member, has worked to create a template for the crisis plan based on her child care's plan.

"For current and new providers, it's one less step for them to say, 'How do I get that? How do I make that?'" Ruder said.&nbsp;

Ruder said she is working to develop a flip book for the crisis plan. Instead of shuffling through pages, she could flip to the section on fire or off-site evacuation to quickly find the plan notes.

Schools in the community provide local emergency responders with pre-emergency plans, which include information about their structures. This ensures that first responders have key information in case of fire, evacuation or an intruder.

Wasinger said copies of the forms are kept in all the local fire engines.

Hays has 72 in-home child care providers.

Wasinger has discussed with Lyle Pantle, Ellis County emergency manager, making those forms available to child care providers on a voluntary basis.

Wasinger said she saw members of the task force volunteering time to work with child care providers to fill out the forms.

Wasigner gave the example of a question on the form. She said a truss in a house's construction can affect how long firefighters have to evacuate a home.

A provider could indicate the home's tornado shelter or shelter-in-place location in case of an evacuation or rescue.

"It just gives emergency services a little more data to use," Wasinger said. "Not only to get the kiddos out safe but the provider out safe and to keep their people safe, as well."

Wasinger anticipated inviting Pantle to present at a future child care professional development event.

At its meeting on Jan. 14, the task force also revised its goals for 2025.

• Updated survey – The task force will use a sub-committee to review survey questions before its February meeting. • Funding crisis kits • Crisis handbook generation • Connecting more families with providers • Shared services through the task force • Resources for providers to continue their development with programs like Level Up Kansas. They have a navigator tool. • Communicating and marketing what resources are available to providers for professional development offered outside of the task force • Advancing quality of care through continued education and professional development offered by the task force and&nbsp;Northwest Kansas Economic Innovation Center • Develop pay-to-play for businesses • Adding Child Development Associate Credential track for high school students • Host a provider resource fair and provider in-service • Share documentation that outlines the requirements of being a provider and the rules and regulations that need followed • Share resources from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment that outline good questions for caregivers to ask prospective providers for their children • Update resources on the Chamber in Hays website for the task force

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737585359699.jpg" alt="Photo courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostThe Child Care Task Force of Ellis County is taking steps to help providers be better prepared in cases of emergency.The state of Kansas has recently updated its licensing requirements for in-home child care providers. The providers must have updated first-aid kits and detailed written crisis plans.The task force was awarded a $30,000 grant from Child Care Aware of Kansas to, among other things, support the purchase of new first-aid kits for in-home child care providers in Ellis County.The grant will also fund the task force's professional development events, a provider appreciation event, some support for the annual child care training conference and paying someone a small stipend to keep the group's social media updated.&nbsp;The Child Care Capacity Grant must be spent by May 1, but Sarah Wasinger, task force facilitator, said at the last child care task force meeting on Jan. 14 that the task force would pay for some of its professional development and training expenses.Tori Ruder, in-home child care provider and task force member, has worked to create a template for the crisis plan based on her child care's plan."For current and new providers, it's one less step for them to say, 'How do I get that? How do I make that?'" Ruder said.&nbsp;Ruder said she is working to develop a flip book for the crisis plan. Instead of shuffling through pages, she could flip to the section on fire or off-site evacuation to quickly find the plan notes.Schools in the community provide local emergency responders with pre-emergency plans, which include information about their structures. This ensures that first responders have key information in case of fire, evacuation or an intruder.Wasinger said copies of the forms are kept in all the local fire engines.Hays has 72 in-home child care providers.Wasinger has discussed with Lyle Pantle, Ellis County emergency manager, making those forms available to child care providers on a voluntary basis.Wasinger said she saw members of the task force volunteering time to work with child care providers to fill out the forms.Wasigner gave the example of a question on the form. She said a truss in a house's construction can affect how long firefighters have to evacuate a home.A provider could indicate the home's tornado shelter or shelter-in-place location in case of an evacuation or rescue."It just gives emergency services a little more data to use," Wasinger said. "Not only to get the kiddos out safe but the provider out safe and to keep their people safe, as well."Wasinger anticipated inviting Pantle to present at a future child care professional development event.<h2>Task force goals</h2>At its meeting on Jan. 14, the task force also revised its goals for 2025.The task force set the following goals:• Updated survey – The task force will use a sub-committee to review survey questions before its February meeting. • Funding crisis kits • Crisis handbook generation • Connecting more families with providers • Shared services through the task force • Resources for providers to continue their development with programs like Level Up Kansas. They have a navigator tool. • Communicating and marketing what resources are available to providers for professional development offered outside of the task force • Advancing quality of care through continued education and professional development offered by the task force and&nbsp;Northwest Kansas Economic Innovation Center • Develop pay-to-play for businesses • Adding Child Development Associate Credential track for high school students • Host a provider resource fair and provider in-service • Share documentation that outlines the requirements of being a provider and the rules and regulations that need followed • Share resources from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment that outline good questions for caregivers to ask prospective providers for their children • Update resources on the Chamber in Hays website for the task force

Ellis County Child Care Task Force receives grant for first-aid kits, other needs

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating after three bodies were found in a rural Kansas home.

Just before 6p.m. Monday, the Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call reporting a disturbance at a home in the 7800 Block of Ratner Road, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

First responders found three individuals who were deceased.&nbsp; Authorities have not released details on how the victims died or other information. Check the Post for additional details as it becomes available.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738063965850.png" alt="Sheriff's deputies on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Sheriff's deputies on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating after three bodies were found in a rural Kansas home.Just before 6p.m. Monday, the Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call reporting a disturbance at a home in the 7800 Block of Ratner Road, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.First responders found three individuals who were deceased.&nbsp; Authorities have not released details on how the victims died or other information. Check the Post for additional details as it becomes available.

Sheriff: 3 found dead at rural Kansas home

&nbsp;Robert D. VonLintel – age 89 of Victoria, Kansas passed away on Wednesday,
January 22, 2025, at Hays Medical Center, Hays, Kansas. 

He was born July 11, 1935, on the family farm south of Victoria to Robert J.
and Amelia (Wasinger) VonLintel.&nbsp; He married Gloria Ann (Schmeidler) on
May 13, 1961, in Severin, Kansas.

He was a farmer, and a cattleman in the Vincent community.&nbsp; He worked for
the Victoria CO-OP, the USD #432 School District until retiring in 1995, and
served in the U S Army.

Robert was a member of Saint Boniface Catholic Church, Vincent, attended
Hope Valley Grade School near Vincent, and was a 1953 graduate of Victoria High
School. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Victoria Alumni Association.&nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Robert was a member of Saint Boniface Catholic Church, the Victoria 3rd
Degree Knights of Columbus, served on the Victoria Rural Ellis County Fire
Department, a past member of the Saint Boniface Church Committee, and past
board member of the Victoria Credit Union.&nbsp; He was devoted and loved his
family, passionate about farming, and really enjoyed listening to Big Joe and Mollie
B Polka Show.

Robert is survived by his wife, Gloria Ann VonLintel, of the home; his
children, Luane Brungardt, Hays, KS; Clyde VonLintel and wife, Jenny, Salina,
KS; Karla Roth and husband, Greg, Victoria, KS; Deanne Thomas and husband,
Darron, Weatherford, TX; his grandchildren, Eddie Brungardt; Lauren Turner
(Jeff); Nick Brungardt (Kiara); Colten VonLintel (Hannah); Austin Roth; Clayton
Roth (Katie); Alyvia Thomas; Ayden Thomas; Alexandria Thomas; his great
grandchildren, Grayson Brungardt; River Brungardt; Amelia Turner; Maddox
Turner; Luca Brungardt; Augustin VonLintel; and Henry Roth; his brothers, Roger
VonLintel and wife, Sylvia, Erie, CO; Regis VonLintel, Victoria, KS; his
sister, Judy Murphy and husband, John, Gorham, KS; his sisters-in-law, Lillian
Fisher, Hays, KS; Elsie Schmeidler, Hays, KS; Dolores Schmeidler, Hays, KS;
Anna Marie Lessor and husband, Laverne, Great Bend, KS.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert J. and Amelia VonLintel; his
brothers, Gary and Rita VonLintel; Dennis and Kay VonLintel; his sister-in-law,
Wilma Wellbrock-VonLintel; his father-in-law and mother in-law, Anton and Anna
(Sander) Schmeidler; his in-laws, Sophia and Ralph Walter; Edwin and Alfreda
Schmeidler; Irene and Fred Dreiling; Victor Fisher; Ralph Schmeidler; Lawrence
Schmeidler; Anton Schmeidler Jr. &nbsp;&nbsp;

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 A.M. Saturday, February
1, 2025, at The Basilica of Saint Fidelis, 900 Cathedral Ave., Victoria with
Celebrant, Father John Schmeidler. 

Burial will be in Saint Fidelis Cemetery, Victoria with Military Honors by the
Victoria V.F.W. Post #1751.

A vigil service will be at 6:30 P.M. Friday, followed by a Knights of Columbus
and V.F.W. rosary at The Basilica of Saint Fidelis.

Visitation will be from 5:00 to 8:00 P.M. Friday, and from 9:00 to 10:00 A.M.
Saturday, all at The Basilica of Saint Fidelis.

The family suggests memorials to Saint Boniface Catholic Church or Saint
Fidelis Cemetery in care of Cline’s-Keithley Mortuary, 412 Main Street,
Victoria, Kansas
67671.

Condolences can be emailed to <a href="mailto:clineschapels@gmail.com">clineschapels@gmail.com</a> or left by
guestbook at <a href="http://www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com">www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737742839920.jpeg" alt="Robert D. VonLintel" />
 <figcaption>Robert D. VonLintel</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;Robert D. VonLintel – age 89 of Victoria, Kansas passed away on Wednesday,
January 22, 2025, at Hays Medical Center, Hays, Kansas. He was born July 11, 1935, on the family farm south of Victoria to Robert J.
and Amelia (Wasinger) VonLintel.&nbsp; He married Gloria Ann (Schmeidler) on
May 13, 1961, in Severin, Kansas.He was a farmer, and a cattleman in the Vincent community.&nbsp; He worked for
the Victoria CO-OP, the USD #432 School District until retiring in 1995, and
served in the U S Army.Robert was a member of Saint Boniface Catholic Church, Vincent, attended
Hope Valley Grade School near Vincent, and was a 1953 graduate of Victoria High
School. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Victoria Alumni Association.&nbsp;
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Robert was a member of Saint Boniface Catholic Church, the Victoria 3rd
Degree Knights of Columbus, served on the Victoria Rural Ellis County Fire
Department, a past member of the Saint Boniface Church Committee, and past
board member of the Victoria Credit Union.&nbsp; He was devoted and loved his
family, passionate about farming, and really enjoyed listening to Big Joe and Mollie
B Polka Show.Robert is survived by his wife, Gloria Ann VonLintel, of the home; his
children, Luane Brungardt, Hays, KS; Clyde VonLintel and wife, Jenny, Salina,
KS; Karla Roth and husband, Greg, Victoria, KS; Deanne Thomas and husband,
Darron, Weatherford, TX; his grandchildren, Eddie Brungardt; Lauren Turner
(Jeff); Nick Brungardt (Kiara); Colten VonLintel (Hannah); Austin Roth; Clayton
Roth (Katie); Alyvia Thomas; Ayden Thomas; Alexandria Thomas; his great
grandchildren, Grayson Brungardt; River Brungardt; Amelia Turner; Maddox
Turner; Luca Brungardt; Augustin VonLintel; and Henry Roth; his brothers, Roger
VonLintel and wife, Sylvia, Erie, CO; Regis VonLintel, Victoria, KS; his
sister, Judy Murphy and husband, John, Gorham, KS; his sisters-in-law, Lillian
Fisher, Hays, KS; Elsie Schmeidler, Hays, KS; Dolores Schmeidler, Hays, KS;
Anna Marie Lessor and husband, Laverne, Great Bend, KS.He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert J. and Amelia VonLintel; his
brothers, Gary and Rita VonLintel; Dennis and Kay VonLintel; his sister-in-law,
Wilma Wellbrock-VonLintel; his father-in-law and mother in-law, Anton and Anna
(Sander) Schmeidler; his in-laws, Sophia and Ralph Walter; Edwin and Alfreda
Schmeidler; Irene and Fred Dreiling; Victor Fisher; Ralph Schmeidler; Lawrence
Schmeidler; Anton Schmeidler Jr. &nbsp;&nbsp;A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 A.M. Saturday, February
1, 2025, at The Basilica of Saint Fidelis, 900 Cathedral Ave., Victoria with
Celebrant, Father John Schmeidler. Burial will be in Saint Fidelis Cemetery, Victoria with Military Honors by the
Victoria V.F.W. Post #1751.A vigil service will be at 6:30 P.M. Friday, followed by a Knights of Columbus
and V.F.W. rosary at The Basilica of Saint Fidelis.Visitation will be from 5:00 to 8:00 P.M. Friday, and from 9:00 to 10:00 A.M.
Saturday, all at The Basilica of Saint Fidelis.The family suggests memorials to Saint Boniface Catholic Church or Saint
Fidelis Cemetery in care of Cline’s-Keithley Mortuary, 412 Main Street,
Victoria, Kansas
67671.Condolences can be emailed to <a href="mailto:clineschapels@gmail.com">clineschapels@gmail.com</a> or left by
guestbook at <a href="http://www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com">www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com</a>

Robert D. VonLintel

GOSHEN, Ind. (AP) — A man accused of using TikTok to urge attacks on the government and death to President Donald Trump has been arrested, the FBI said.

Douglas Thrams, 23, of Goshen, Indiana, made a series of threats in videos posted to the social media site last week, authorities said.

Thrams is in custody awaiting an appearance Monday in federal court in South Bend. He does not have an attorney yet who could respond to the charge of using interstate commerce to make threats.

In one TikTok video, Thrams said Trump needed to be killed “and this time don’t ... miss,” FBI agent Taylor Pletz said in a court filing. It was an apparent reference to an assassination attempt last July in Pennsylvania.

“In all videos, he is visible, audible and identifiable,” Pletz said of Thrams.

TikTok was supposed to be banned in the U.S., effective last Sunday. But&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tiktok-ban-executive-order-50df1f96c25576762b65e24b63ce61eb">Trump paused it for 75 days</a>&nbsp;to allow his new administration to assess national security concerns and seek a potential American buyer for the popular digital platform.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737767640964.png" alt="Thrams photo -St. Joseph County Jail" />
 <figcaption>Thrams photo -St. Joseph County Jail</figcaption>
 </figure>GOSHEN, Ind. (AP) — A man accused of using TikTok to urge attacks on the government and death to President Donald Trump has been arrested, the FBI said.Douglas Thrams, 23, of Goshen, Indiana, made a series of threats in videos posted to the social media site last week, authorities said.Thrams is in custody awaiting an appearance Monday in federal court in South Bend. He does not have an attorney yet who could respond to the charge of using interstate commerce to make threats.In one TikTok video, Thrams said Trump needed to be killed “and this time don’t ... miss,” FBI agent Taylor Pletz said in a court filing. It was an apparent reference to an assassination attempt last July in Pennsylvania.“In all videos, he is visible, audible and identifiable,” Pletz said of Thrams.TikTok was supposed to be banned in the U.S., effective last Sunday. But&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-tiktok-ban-executive-order-50df1f96c25576762b65e24b63ce61eb">Trump paused it for 75 days</a>&nbsp;to allow his new administration to assess national security concerns and seek a potential American buyer for the popular digital platform.

Man accused of threats against Trump on TikTok due in court

Brayden Smith, Hays USD 489 orchestra teacher, has been recognized as a Kansas Horizon Award winner. 

This award recognizes exemplary first-year teachers who perform in a way that distinguishes them as outstanding teachers in their first year.&nbsp;

Smith was one of 32 teachers honored this year with the award.&nbsp;<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/0f1c505e-3b29-48f8-8d4a-b03f592ca83e">Dalton Kraus of Victoria was also honored this year.</a>

Superintendent Ron Wilson said students were complimentary of&nbsp;Smith when he was presented the award during class at HHS.

Hays High Principal Shawn Henderson said Smith does a fantastic job, and the district is blessed to have him as a teacher.

Henderson said Smith is organizing a full symphonic orchestra at the high school.&nbsp;

"He continues to add things that are really neat and set us apart," Henderson said. "We are lucky to have him."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737563864021.jpeg" alt="Brayden Smith, Hays USD 489 orchestra teacher, with Hays High Principal Shawn Henderson as Smith is recognized at Monday's school board meeting as a&nbsp;Kansas Horizon Award winner." />
 <figcaption>Brayden Smith, Hays USD 489 orchestra teacher, with Hays High Principal Shawn Henderson as Smith is recognized at Monday's school board meeting as a&nbsp;Kansas Horizon Award winner.</figcaption>
 </figure>By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays PostBrayden Smith, Hays USD 489 orchestra teacher, has been recognized as a Kansas Horizon Award winner. This award recognizes exemplary first-year teachers who perform in a way that distinguishes them as outstanding teachers in their first year.&nbsp;Smith was one of 32 teachers honored this year with the award.&nbsp;<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/0f1c505e-3b29-48f8-8d4a-b03f592ca83e">Dalton Kraus of Victoria was also honored this year.</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737566683819.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Superintendent Ron Wilson said students were complimentary of&nbsp;Smith when he was presented the award during class at HHS.Hays High Principal Shawn Henderson said Smith does a fantastic job, and the district is blessed to have him as a teacher.Henderson said Smith is organizing a full symphonic orchestra at the high school.&nbsp;"He continues to add things that are really neat and set us apart," Henderson said. "We are lucky to have him."

Hays teacher honored with Kansas Horizon Award

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The White House claimed victory in a showdown with Colombia over accepting flights of deported migrants from the U.S. on Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump threatened steep tariffs on imports and other sanctions on the longtime U.S. partner.

Long close partners in anti-narcotics efforts, the U.S. and Colombia clashed Sunday over the deportation of migrants and imposed tariffs on each other’s goods in a show of what other countries could face if they intervene in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-detention-trump-costs-5c6c59afdb8fa79a7ca74848bd3b7cc8">Trump administration’s crackdown</a>&nbsp;on illegal immigration. The White House held up the episode as a warning to other nations who might seek to impede his plans.

Earlier, the U.S. president had ordered visa restrictions, 25% tariffs on all Colombian incoming goods, which would be raised to 50% in one week, and other retaliatory measures sparked by President Gustavo Petro's decision to reject two Colombia-bound U.S. military aircraft carrying migrants after Petro accused&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/deportation-trump-immigration-ice-border-ba586dc760a5ffab73c0611fbf924df9">Trump</a>&nbsp;of not treating immigrants with dignity during deportation. Petro also announced a retaliatory 25% increase in Colombian tariffs on U.S. goods.

Trump said the measures were necessary because Petro’s decision “jeopardized” national security in the U.S. by blocking the deportation flights.

“These measures are just the beginning,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States.”

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a late Sunday statement that the “Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay.”

Leavitt said the tariff orders will be “held in reserve, and not signed." But Leavitt said Trump would maintain visa restrictions on Colombian officials and enhanced customs inspections of goods from the country, “until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.”

The Colombian government late Sunday said it considered as “overcome” the episode with the Trump administration and Petro reposted the statement from the White House on X.

“We have overcome the impasse with the United States government,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo. “We will continue to receive Colombians who return as deportees, guaranteeing them decent conditions as citizens subject to rights.”

Murillo added that the South American country’s presidential aircraft is available to facilitate the return of migrants who were to arrive hours earlier on the U.S. military airplanes.

Earlier Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he was authorizing the visa restrictions on Colombian government officials and their families “who were responsible for the interference of U.S. repatriation flight operations." They were being imposed on top of the State Department's move to suspend the processing of visas at the U.S. Embassy in Colombia’s capital, Bogota.

Petro had said earlier that his government would not accept flights carrying migrants deported from the U.S. until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with “dignity.” Petro made the announcement in two X posts, one of which included a news video of migrants reportedly deported to Brazil walking on a tarmac with restraints on their hands and feet.

“A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves,” Petro said. “That is why I returned the U.S. military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants... In civilian planes, without being treated like criminals, we will receive our fellow citizens."

After Trump's earlier tariff threat, Petro said in a post on X that he had ordered the “foreign trade minister to raise import tariffs from the U.S. by 25%.”

Colombia has traditionally been the U.S.’s top ally in Latin America. But their relationship has strained since Petro, a former guerrilla, became Colombia’s first leftist president in 2022 and sought distance from the U.S.

Colombia accepted 475 deportation flights from the U.S. from 2020 to 2024, fifth behind Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador, according to Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data. It accepted 124 deportation flights in 2024.

Colombia is also among the countries that last year began accepting U.S.-funded deportation flights from Panama.

The U.S. government didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press regarding aircraft and protocols used in deportations to Colombia.

“This is a clear message we are sending that countries have an obligation to accept repatriation flights," a senior administration official told AP. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss issue publicly.

Rubio in a statement said Petro “canceled his authorization” for the flights when the aircraft were in the air.

Colombians emerged in recent years as a major presence on the U.S. border with Mexico, aided in part by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-arizona-united-states-mexico-colombia-fb4f913f2c43c48c0f4ecade8b2c1913">a visa regime</a>&nbsp;that allows them to easily fly to Mexico and avoid trekking though the treacherous Darien Gap. They ranked fourth with 127,604 arrests for illegal crossings during a 12-month period through September, behind Mexicans, Guatemalans and Venezuelans.

Mexico hasn't imposed visa restrictions on Colombians, as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-peru-visa-immigration-border-asylum-0d4206bbb002318b9e0fd2bbf22ab48c">they have on Venezuelans, Ecuadoreans and Peruvians</a>.

Petro's government in a statement later announced that the South American country's presidential aircraft had been made available to facilitate the return of migrants who were to arrive hours earlier on the U.S. military airplanes and guarantee them “dignified conditions."

As part of a flurry of actions to make good on Trump's campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, his government is using active-duty military to help secure the border and carry out deportations.

Two U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo planes carrying migrants removed from the U.S. touched down early Friday in Guatemala. That same day, Honduras received two deportation flights carrying a total of 193 people.

Colombia is the U.S.’s fourth-largest overseas supplier of crude oil, shipping about 209,000 barrels of oil per day last year, although booming domestic production has reduced the U.S.’ dependence on foreign oil. The South American country is also the U.S.’s largest supplier of fresh cut flowers.

Regina Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Zeke Miller from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York, Joshua Goodman in Miami, and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737727787494.png" alt="File photo -A C-17 Military Transport with the 301st Airlift Squadron of the 60th Air Mobility Wing from Travis Air Force Base loading Illegal Aliens on a deportation flight -Photo White House" />
 <figcaption>File photo -A C-17 Military Transport with the 301st Airlift Squadron of the 60th Air Mobility Wing from Travis Air Force Base loading Illegal Aliens on a deportation flight -Photo White House</figcaption>
 </figure>BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The White House claimed victory in a showdown with Colombia over accepting flights of deported migrants from the U.S. on Sunday, hours after President Donald Trump threatened steep tariffs on imports and other sanctions on the longtime U.S. partner.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737975212424.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Long close partners in anti-narcotics efforts, the U.S. and Colombia clashed Sunday over the deportation of migrants and imposed tariffs on each other’s goods in a show of what other countries could face if they intervene in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-detention-trump-costs-5c6c59afdb8fa79a7ca74848bd3b7cc8">Trump administration’s crackdown</a>&nbsp;on illegal immigration. The White House held up the episode as a warning to other nations who might seek to impede his plans.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737922445516.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Earlier, the U.S. president had ordered visa restrictions, 25% tariffs on all Colombian incoming goods, which would be raised to 50% in one week, and other retaliatory measures sparked by President Gustavo Petro's decision to reject two Colombia-bound U.S. military aircraft carrying migrants after Petro accused&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/deportation-trump-immigration-ice-border-ba586dc760a5ffab73c0611fbf924df9">Trump</a>&nbsp;of not treating immigrants with dignity during deportation. Petro also announced a retaliatory 25% increase in Colombian tariffs on U.S. goods.Trump said the measures were necessary because Petro’s decision “jeopardized” national security in the U.S. by blocking the deportation flights.“These measures are just the beginning,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States.”Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a late Sunday statement that the “Government of Colombia has agreed to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay.”Leavitt said the tariff orders will be “held in reserve, and not signed." But Leavitt said Trump would maintain visa restrictions on Colombian officials and enhanced customs inspections of goods from the country, “until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737944581955.png" alt="Image from President Trump's social media account" />
 <figcaption>Image from President Trump's social media account</figcaption>
 </figure>The Colombian government late Sunday said it considered as “overcome” the episode with the Trump administration and Petro reposted the statement from the White House on X.“We have overcome the impasse with the United States government,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo. “We will continue to receive Colombians who return as deportees, guaranteeing them decent conditions as citizens subject to rights.”Murillo added that the South American country’s presidential aircraft is available to facilitate the return of migrants who were to arrive hours earlier on the U.S. military airplanes.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">America will not back down when it comes to defending our national security interests. <a href="https://t.co/PJQhuRXlvz">https://t.co/PJQhuRXlvz</a>&mdash; Secretary Marco Rubio (@secrubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/secrubio/status/1883666024492679361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Earlier Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he was authorizing the visa restrictions on Colombian government officials and their families “who were responsible for the interference of U.S. repatriation flight operations." They were being imposed on top of the State Department's move to suspend the processing of visas at the U.S. Embassy in Colombia’s capital, Bogota.Petro had said earlier that his government would not accept flights carrying migrants deported from the U.S. until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with “dignity.” Petro made the announcement in two X posts, one of which included a news video of migrants reportedly deported to Brazil walking on a tarmac with restraints on their hands and feet.“A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves,” Petro said. “That is why I returned the U.S. military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants... In civilian planes, without being treated like criminals, we will receive our fellow citizens."After Trump's earlier tariff threat, Petro said in a post on X that he had ordered the “foreign trade minister to raise import tariffs from the U.S. by 25%.”Colombia has traditionally been the U.S.’s top ally in Latin America. But their relationship has strained since Petro, a former guerrilla, became Colombia’s first leftist president in 2022 and sought distance from the U.S.Colombia accepted 475 deportation flights from the U.S. from 2020 to 2024, fifth behind Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador, according to Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data. It accepted 124 deportation flights in 2024.Colombia is also among the countries that last year began accepting U.S.-funded deportation flights from Panama.The U.S. government didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press regarding aircraft and protocols used in deportations to Colombia.“This is a clear message we are sending that countries have an obligation to accept repatriation flights," a senior administration official told AP. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss issue publicly.Rubio in a statement said Petro “canceled his authorization” for the flights when the aircraft were in the air.Colombians emerged in recent years as a major presence on the U.S. border with Mexico, aided in part by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-arizona-united-states-mexico-colombia-fb4f913f2c43c48c0f4ecade8b2c1913">a visa regime</a>&nbsp;that allows them to easily fly to Mexico and avoid trekking though the treacherous Darien Gap. They ranked fourth with 127,604 arrests for illegal crossings during a 12-month period through September, behind Mexicans, Guatemalans and Venezuelans.Mexico hasn't imposed visa restrictions on Colombians, as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-peru-visa-immigration-border-asylum-0d4206bbb002318b9e0fd2bbf22ab48c">they have on Venezuelans, Ecuadoreans and Peruvians</a>.Petro's government in a statement later announced that the South American country's presidential aircraft had been made available to facilitate the return of migrants who were to arrive hours earlier on the U.S. military airplanes and guarantee them “dignified conditions."As part of a flurry of actions to make good on Trump's campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, his government is using active-duty military to help secure the border and carry out deportations.Two U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo planes carrying migrants removed from the U.S. touched down early Friday in Guatemala. That same day, Honduras received two deportation flights carrying a total of 193 people.Colombia is the U.S.’s fourth-largest overseas supplier of crude oil, shipping about 209,000 barrels of oil per day last year, although booming domestic production has reduced the U.S.’ dependence on foreign oil. The South American country is also the U.S.’s largest supplier of fresh cut flowers.___Regina Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Zeke Miller from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York, Joshua Goodman in Miami, and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.

Colombia backs down: Read White House statement on Trump tariff showdown

By TONY GUERRERO Hays Post

In a touching surprise, sixth-grade teacher Dalton Kraus from Victoria Elementary School was honored as one of Kansas' top educators.

Kraus received the Horizon Award for outstanding first-year teaching in 2023-2024. This award recognized his dedication to student engagement and creating a positive classroom culture.

"I kind of got emotional with all of this," Kraus said. "It lets me know that I'm on the right path."

The USD 432 administration nominated Kraus for his exceptional work, earning him a spot as one of this year's distinguished recipients.

Victoria Elementary Principal Deena Clark and Superintendent Kimberly Woolf surprised Kraus during the morning announcements on Jan. 13.  Via Zoom, Randy Watson, commissioner of the Kansas State Department of Education, was also present.

Kraus' parents and his wife, a special education teacher at Victoria Elementary, were also present for the surprise, which Kraus was unaware of.

Kraus said the award has personal and professional significance, calling it a privilege and expressing humility.

"It's an incredible honor. I was very shocked when they announced it... it pushes me to do more," he said.

<a href="https://www.ksde.gov/Agency/Fiscal-and-Administrative-Services/Communications-and-Recognition-Programs/Kansas-Horizon-Award-Program">The Kansas Horizon Award</a> is given to first-year teachers in the state. Only 32 teachers across Kansas are selected yearly from about 5,000 qualifiers. Sixteen elementary and sixteen secondary teachers are chosen.

In his first year, the 2023-2024 academic school year, Kraus said he focused on building a positive classroom environment where students genuinely enjoy learning.

"I feel like [classroom culture] should be a big part of any teacher's classroom, worrying that kids are honest and respectful above anything but also getting them engaged," he said.

Kraus said he strives to keep students engaged by being entertaining and informative, recognizing that no two students are alike.

"Every student is different," he said. "That's one of my favorite parts of the job, which is allowing me to be more creative about how I get content to those 27 kids."

In his first year of teaching, Kraus faced behavior issues from students and felt overwhelmed, but he navigated them with patience and the support of his colleagues.

Kraus received guidance from Victoria Elementary School Interventionist Aide Brenda Dreiling and other staff members, which helped boost his confidence.

"I felt welcome from the first few days I was here," Kraus said. "I think it's the size of the school, but it feels really close-knit."

Kraus studied construction management at Fort Hays State University before focusing on education. During college, he started coaching and discovered his passion for working with students.

This led him to major in technology education, blending his interests in engineering and technology with a focus on teaching.

Before arriving in Victoria, Kraus taught at Hays Middle School under the mentorship of Brad Moritz, an exploratory and industrial tech teacher, where he taught technology-focused elective classes.

"My wife had told me about the job opening. A lot of her family is in Victoria, and she knows the district pretty well," Kraus said.

Kraus became a teacher and the head basketball coach for the junior high boys. His second job allowed him to develop more personal relationships with his students in a relaxed setting even after they left his class.

As he enters his second year of teaching, Kraus advises first-year teachers to ask questions and rely on colleagues for guidance, just as he did.

"There are so many people who are experienced and are such good teachers around here," he said. "It was cool when I got the recognition. Now it's like, 'I gotta back it up now.' That way, I'm not letting some of these people down, especially if they deserve some of that recognition, too."

Kraus and the other recipients are invited to a Kansas Exemplary Educator's Network conference and banquet in February. He plans on bringing his family.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737378420121.jpeg" alt="Victoria Elementary Principal&nbsp;Deena Clark, Victoria Elementary teacher Dalton Kraus and Victoria Superintendent Kimberly Woolf. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Victoria Elementary Principal&nbsp;Deena Clark, Victoria Elementary teacher Dalton Kraus and Victoria Superintendent Kimberly Woolf. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>By TONY GUERRERO Hays PostIn a touching surprise, sixth-grade teacher Dalton Kraus from Victoria Elementary School was honored as one of Kansas' top educators.Kraus received the Horizon Award for outstanding first-year teaching in 2023-2024. This award recognized his dedication to student engagement and creating a positive classroom culture. "I kind of got emotional with all of this," Kraus said. "It lets me know that I'm on the right path."The USD 432 administration nominated Kraus for his exceptional work, earning him a spot as one of this year's distinguished recipients.Victoria Elementary Principal Deena Clark and Superintendent Kimberly Woolf surprised Kraus during the morning announcements on Jan. 13. Via Zoom, Randy Watson, commissioner of the Kansas State Department of Education, was also present.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737378487082.jpeg" alt="Victoria Elementary teacher Dalton Kraus with Jason Kraus,&nbsp;his father, Sidney Kraus, his wife, and Brianna Kraus, his mother, on the morning of his surprise announcement. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Victoria Elementary teacher Dalton Kraus with Jason Kraus,&nbsp;his father, Sidney Kraus, his wife, and Brianna Kraus, his mother, on the morning of his surprise announcement. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>Kraus' parents and his wife, a special education teacher at Victoria Elementary, were also present for the surprise, which Kraus was unaware of.Kraus said the award has personal and professional significance, calling it a privilege and expressing humility. "It's an incredible honor. I was very shocked when they announced it... it pushes me to do more," he said.<a href="https://www.ksde.gov/Agency/Fiscal-and-Administrative-Services/Communications-and-Recognition-Programs/Kansas-Horizon-Award-Program">The Kansas Horizon Award</a> is given to first-year teachers in the state. Only 32 teachers across Kansas are selected yearly from about 5,000 qualifiers. Sixteen elementary and sixteen secondary teachers are chosen.In his first year, the 2023-2024 academic school year, Kraus said he focused on building a positive classroom environment where students genuinely enjoy learning."I feel like [classroom culture] should be a big part of any teacher's classroom, worrying that kids are honest and respectful above anything but also getting them engaged," he said.Kraus said he strives to keep students engaged by being entertaining and informative, recognizing that no two students are alike."Every student is different," he said. "That's one of my favorite parts of the job, which is allowing me to be more creative about how I get content to those 27 kids."In his first year of teaching, Kraus faced behavior issues from students and felt overwhelmed, but he navigated them with patience and the support of his colleagues.Kraus received guidance from Victoria Elementary School Interventionist Aide Brenda Dreiling and other staff members, which helped boost his confidence."I felt welcome from the first few days I was here," Kraus said. "I think it's the size of the school, but it feels really close-knit."Kraus studied construction management at Fort Hays State University before focusing on education. During college, he started coaching and discovered his passion for working with students.This led him to major in technology education, blending his interests in engineering and technology with a focus on teaching.Before arriving in Victoria, Kraus taught at Hays Middle School under the mentorship of Brad Moritz, an exploratory and industrial tech teacher, where he taught technology-focused elective classes."My wife had told me about the job opening. A lot of her family is in Victoria, and she knows the district pretty well," Kraus said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737378593019.jpeg" alt="Victoria Elementary teacher Dalton Kraus and his wife, Sidney Kraus on the morning of his surprise announcement. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Victoria Elementary teacher Dalton Kraus and his wife, Sidney Kraus on the morning of his surprise announcement. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>Kraus became a teacher and the head basketball coach for the junior high boys. His second job allowed him to develop more personal relationships with his students in a relaxed setting even after they left his class.As he enters his second year of teaching, Kraus advises first-year teachers to ask questions and rely on colleagues for guidance, just as he did."There are so many people who are experienced and are such good teachers around here," he said. "It was cool when I got the recognition. Now it's like, 'I gotta back it up now.' That way, I'm not letting some of these people down, especially if they deserve some of that recognition, too."Kraus and the other recipients are invited to a Kansas Exemplary Educator's Network conference and banquet in February. He plans on bringing his family.

Victoria Elementary teacher named Horizon Award winner

WASHINGTON (AP) — Those binders full of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-has-trump-done-trump-executive-orders-f061fbe7f08c08d81509a6af20ef8fc0">executive orders</a>&nbsp;that President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;has been signing with a flourish and a wide-tipped Sharpie during his first week in office don’t just magically appear before him.

White House staff secretary Will Scharf has been a prominent part of the tableau, standing at Trump’s side and teeing up the leather-bound folders, one by one, for the president. With the cameras rolling, Scharf provides running narration on what Trump is signing, at times leaning into a nearby microphone at the president’s direction.

He was by Trump’s side Thursday as the president signed orders and memoranda at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. And in the first hours of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-inauguration-scene-rotunda-republicans-second-term-618e452b9e8fe294095937b27816d21a">Trump’s return to power</a>, he was there with Trump at the Capitol, at a nearby rally and the White House as the president scrawled his name on stacks of orders implementing his agenda.

Scharf doesn’t just act the straight man as Trump talks up his orders, cracks jokes and fields questions from reporters. He also plays a key role in the White House, overseeing the flow of information and business coming to and from the president.

The staff secretary’s job has traditionally involved managing the papers that cross the president’s desk. It serves almost as air traffic control for the West Wing — tracking the drafting and approval of memos and statements as they work their way to the president’s desk and then out to the world.

The “StaffSec” coordinates the work of the White House policy, communications and legal teams as information flows around the building, and traditionally is a neutral arbiter in policy debates.

The staff secretary has nearly unparalleled visibility to the goings-on of the West Wing and leads one of the least-known but most impactful teams in a well-functioning White House.

Scharf was a member of Trump’s legal team before joining the new administration. He previously worked as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bailey-scharf-missouri-attorney-general-donors-raga-3d37564d77ded4169c9c523119bde97c">a policy director</a>&nbsp;for former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and on the campaign of 2016 Republican gubernatorial candidate Catherine Hanaway.

He graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law School before moving to Missouri in 2011 to clerk for Judge Raymond Gruender on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. He also worked as an assistant U.S. attorney.

Trump tapped Scharf to be his staff secretary in November, citing his experience as a lawyer on the future president’s criminal cases and Scharf’s work during the first Trump presidency getting judges and justices confirmed. They included U.S. Supreme Court Justices&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/brett-kavanaugh">Brett Kavanaugh</a>&nbsp;— who himself served as White House staff secretary for President George W. Bush — and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/amy-coney-barrett">Amy Coney Barrett</a>.

Scharf joined Trump’s legal team in October 2023 and was one of the president’s lawyers in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-special-counsel-report-election-interference-4ef4ba2508baf3bb269abd4bcdc8e102">election interference case</a>&nbsp;brought by special counsel Jack Smith. The case went before the Supreme Court, which ruled that presidents enjoy sweeping immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts.

Scharf is among several of Trump’s lawyers who have been rewarded with spots in his new administration. Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, who defended Trump at his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-sentencing-stormy-daniels-33e070bd3c1acb609bba13f23d784a3a">hush money criminal trial</a>&nbsp;in New York, both got high-ranking Justice Department posts.

“Will Scharf is a brilliant legal mind who has extensive experience defending President Trump from the witch-hunts against him,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “Will is perfectly suited to help execute President Trump’s agenda in this important role.”

It’s not Scharf’s first time in the public eye

Scharf’s spot by Trump’s side as he rolled out his Day One executive actions was not his first time in public view. He has appeared on cable news and has written opinion columns discussing Trump’s legal cases.

In 2023, Scharf and Newsweek senior editor Josh Hammer co-founded a group called Jews Against Soros, launching a campaign arguing that criticism of George Soros, the billionaire Democratic donor and philanthropist, is not antisemitic.

Scharf ran unsuccessfully for Missouri attorney general in 2024, losing to incumbent Andrew Bailey. His campaign included&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/willscharf/status/1810661099764690975" target="_blank">a memorable ad</a>&nbsp;in which the mild-mannered lawyer appears to use a grenade launcher to fire on a pile of boxes that were labeled to look like they contained legal documents related to Trump’s criminal cases.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737729381217.png" alt="Image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Those binders full of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-has-trump-done-trump-executive-orders-f061fbe7f08c08d81509a6af20ef8fc0">executive orders</a>&nbsp;that President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;has been signing with a flourish and a wide-tipped Sharpie during his first week in office don’t just magically appear before him.White House staff secretary Will Scharf has been a prominent part of the tableau, standing at Trump’s side and teeing up the leather-bound folders, one by one, for the president. With the cameras rolling, Scharf provides running narration on what Trump is signing, at times leaning into a nearby microphone at the president’s direction.He was by Trump’s side Thursday as the president signed orders and memoranda at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. And in the first hours of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-inauguration-scene-rotunda-republicans-second-term-618e452b9e8fe294095937b27816d21a">Trump’s return to power</a>, he was there with Trump at the Capitol, at a nearby rally and the White House as the president scrawled his name on stacks of orders implementing his agenda.Scharf doesn’t just act the straight man as Trump talks up his orders, cracks jokes and fields questions from reporters. He also plays a key role in the White House, overseeing the flow of information and business coming to and from the president.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737729569047.png" alt="Photo by Taylor Budowich, Assistant to the President" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Taylor Budowich, Assistant to the President</figcaption>
 </figure>A look at Scharf and his new job:<h2>The presidential in-box</h2>The staff secretary’s job has traditionally involved managing the papers that cross the president’s desk. It serves almost as air traffic control for the West Wing — tracking the drafting and approval of memos and statements as they work their way to the president’s desk and then out to the world.The “StaffSec” coordinates the work of the White House policy, communications and legal teams as information flows around the building, and traditionally is a neutral arbiter in policy debates.The staff secretary has nearly unparalleled visibility to the goings-on of the West Wing and leads one of the least-known but most impactful teams in a well-functioning White House.<h2>Who is Will Scharf?</h2>Scharf was a member of Trump’s legal team before joining the new administration. He previously worked as&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bailey-scharf-missouri-attorney-general-donors-raga-3d37564d77ded4169c9c523119bde97c">a policy director</a>&nbsp;for former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and on the campaign of 2016 Republican gubernatorial candidate Catherine Hanaway.He graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law School before moving to Missouri in 2011 to clerk for Judge Raymond Gruender on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. He also worked as an assistant U.S. attorney.Trump tapped Scharf to be his staff secretary in November, citing his experience as a lawyer on the future president’s criminal cases and Scharf’s work during the first Trump presidency getting judges and justices confirmed. They included U.S. Supreme Court Justices&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/brett-kavanaugh">Brett Kavanaugh</a>&nbsp;— who himself served as White House staff secretary for President George W. Bush — and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/amy-coney-barrett">Amy Coney Barrett</a>.<h2>He helped Trump fight his legal battles</h2>Scharf joined Trump’s legal team in October 2023 and was one of the president’s lawyers in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-special-counsel-report-election-interference-4ef4ba2508baf3bb269abd4bcdc8e102">election interference case</a>&nbsp;brought by special counsel Jack Smith. The case went before the Supreme Court, which ruled that presidents enjoy sweeping immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts.Scharf is among several of Trump’s lawyers who have been rewarded with spots in his new administration. Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, who defended Trump at his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hush-money-sentencing-stormy-daniels-33e070bd3c1acb609bba13f23d784a3a">hush money criminal trial</a>&nbsp;in New York, both got high-ranking Justice Department posts.“Will Scharf is a brilliant legal mind who has extensive experience defending President Trump from the witch-hunts against him,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “Will is perfectly suited to help execute President Trump’s agenda in this important role.”<h2>It’s not Scharf’s first time in the public eye</h2>Scharf’s spot by Trump’s side as he rolled out his Day One executive actions was not his first time in public view. He has appeared on cable news and has written opinion columns discussing Trump’s legal cases.In 2023, Scharf and Newsweek senior editor Josh Hammer co-founded a group called Jews Against Soros, launching a campaign arguing that criticism of George Soros, the billionaire Democratic donor and philanthropist, is not antisemitic.Scharf ran unsuccessfully for Missouri attorney general in 2024, losing to incumbent Andrew Bailey. His campaign included&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/willscharf/status/1810661099764690975" target="_blank">a memorable ad</a>&nbsp;in which the mild-mannered lawyer appears to use a grenade launcher to fire on a pile of boxes that were labeled to look like they contained legal documents related to Trump’s criminal cases.

Who’s the guy handing Trump those binders of executive orders? Meet Will Scharf

Cristina Janney speaks with Doug Williams of Grow Hays about the e-Community loan program.

<div><iframe title="Post Podcast: Grow Hays" allowtransparency="true" height="300" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:300px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?from=embed&i=3rb4f-17c6658-pb&square=1&share=1&download=1&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&rtl=0&logo_link=podcast_page&btn-skin=60a0c8&size=300" loading="lazy" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>Cristina Janney speaks with Doug Williams of Grow Hays about the e-Community loan program.

🎙 Post Podcast: Doug Williams of Grow Hays discusses e-Community loans

By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN Special to Hays Post

Members of the Hays High School boys’ swim team were introduced to their third head coach in as many years last October.

Tyler Stein, a Fort Hays State University student now with the title of Coach, has the Indians believing in themselves and their talent—so much so that the small squad of 11 hopes to make history next month.

The Indians will battle other Western Athletic Conference teams with much larger squads on Feb. 13 in Garden City for the league title.

Stein, a former all-state swimmer from Great Bend, was hired late in the game—only a few weeks before the start of the 2024-25 season—but he dove in without a splash.

“Coaching was not something I thought I’d be doing,” said Stein, a finance major at FHSU. “But I love the sport, so once I had this opportunity, I jumped on it.”

He immediately laid out his philosophy of what it takes to be successful in the pool: hard work, discipline, routine, conditioning and correct diet—to name a few. And he was right there to help them better their techniques.

“I made it very clear from the first day that I wasn’t there to be their friend. I told them, ‘I’m here to be your coach,’” he said. “My job is to push them and to make them better than the day before.”&nbsp;

It took only a couple of meets for the swimmers to realize their coach knew what he was talking about.

From the get-go, the Indians started bettering their times at each successive meet.

Hays High gave its fans an exhilarating treat at its home meet on Jan. 21. The Indians won eight of the 11 events while bettering their previous-best times in all those championship performances.

“It’s normal to have a couple of PRs throughout the season,” Stein said. “But to consistently drop times like they have been is amazing. It makes me so proud of them as a coach.”

Due to a lack of numbers, small teams often struggle to place as high as larger schools in high school swim team competitions.

Therefore, the Indians didn’t win the team title at their home meet, but Stein thinks that’s a possibility at a larger meet, where points are spread out more.&nbsp;

He is working to put his swimmers in the correct events to make that happen at WAC.

“In a way, it’s like a puzzle,” he said. “I have to make the correct lineup, put them in the events they can excel at while making sure they have enough rest in between events.”

Senior Marshall Sook has goals of breaking Stein’s 50-yard freestyle WAC record of 22.81 seconds. Sook’s career-best in that event is 23.46.

“I’m pushing him to get him there,” Stein said. “As cool as it was to set that record as a swimmer, it would be even more enjoyable as a coach to see one of my swimmers break it.”

Sook has automatically qualified for state in the 50-yard freestyle while also leading the 200-yard freestyle relay to a state-qualifying time. Joining him at state on that relay team will be juniors Chase Zadina and Karsen Flaska and sophomore Cedric Durr.

Sook, who started swimming competitively in seventh grade with the local swim club, said Stein is easy to “trust because he’s put this philosophy to practice before as a swimmer.”

“He’s got everyone wanting to do better and wanting to work hard,” Sook added, “and we’re seeing the results of that hard work.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737857685338.jpeg" alt="Coach Tyler Stein, center with black shirt, has the Hays High School boys’ swim team believing in accomplishing goals the Indians never thought possible. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Coach Tyler Stein, center with black shirt, has the Hays High School boys’ swim team believing in accomplishing goals the Indians never thought possible. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1731093059976.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By DIANE GASPER-O’BRIEN Special to Hays PostMembers of the Hays High School boys’ swim team were introduced to their third head coach in as many years last October.And an amazing thing happened.Tyler Stein, a Fort Hays State University student now with the title of Coach, has the Indians believing in themselves and their talent—so much so that the small squad of 11 hopes to make history next month.The Indians will battle other Western Athletic Conference teams with much larger squads on Feb. 13 in Garden City for the league title.Stein, a former all-state swimmer from Great Bend, was hired late in the game—only a few weeks before the start of the 2024-25 season—but he dove in without a splash.“Coaching was not something I thought I’d be doing,” said Stein, a finance major at FHSU. “But I love the sport, so once I had this opportunity, I jumped on it.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737857793736.jpeg" alt="Members of the 400-yard freestyle relay team celebrate their victory at their home meet. From left are Marshall Sook, Cedric Durr, Karsen Flaska and Chase Zadina. Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Members of the 400-yard freestyle relay team celebrate their victory at their home meet. From left are Marshall Sook, Cedric Durr, Karsen Flaska and Chase Zadina. Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>He immediately laid out his philosophy of what it takes to be successful in the pool: hard work, discipline, routine, conditioning and correct diet—to name a few. And he was right there to help them better their techniques.“I made it very clear from the first day that I wasn’t there to be their friend. I told them, ‘I’m here to be your coach,’” he said. “My job is to push them and to make them better than the day before.”&nbsp;It took only a couple of meets for the swimmers to realize their coach knew what he was talking about.From the get-go, the Indians started bettering their times at each successive meet.Hays High gave its fans an exhilarating treat at its home meet on Jan. 21. The Indians won eight of the 11 events while bettering their previous-best times in all those championship performances.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737857858173.jpeg" alt="Swimmers wear the Hays High parkas with pride this year. Photo by Diane Gasper-O’Brien/Special to Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Swimmers wear the Hays High parkas with pride this year. Photo by Diane Gasper-O’Brien/Special to Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>“It’s normal to have a couple of PRs throughout the season,” Stein said. “But to consistently drop times like they have been is amazing. It makes me so proud of them as a coach.”Due to a lack of numbers, small teams often struggle to place as high as larger schools in high school swim team competitions.Therefore, the Indians didn’t win the team title at their home meet, but Stein thinks that’s a possibility at a larger meet, where points are spread out more.&nbsp;He is working to put his swimmers in the correct events to make that happen at WAC.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737857992919.jpeg" alt="Coach Tyler Stein shouts encouragement to junior Chase Zadina in the 200-yard freestyle race at the Indians’ home meet. Zadina won the race, bettering his previous-best time by almost 13 seconds. Photo by Diane Gasper-O’Brien/ Special to Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Coach Tyler Stein shouts encouragement to junior Chase Zadina in the 200-yard freestyle race at the Indians’ home meet. Zadina won the race, bettering his previous-best time by almost 13 seconds. Photo by Diane Gasper-O’Brien/ Special to Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>“In a way, it’s like a puzzle,” he said. “I have to make the correct lineup, put them in the events they can excel at while making sure they have enough rest in between events.”Senior Marshall Sook has goals of breaking Stein’s 50-yard freestyle WAC record of 22.81 seconds. Sook’s career-best in that event is 23.46.“I’m pushing him to get him there,” Stein said. “As cool as it was to set that record as a swimmer, it would be even more enjoyable as a coach to see one of my swimmers break it.”Sook has automatically qualified for state in the 50-yard freestyle while also leading the 200-yard freestyle relay to a state-qualifying time. Joining him at state on that relay team will be juniors Chase Zadina and Karsen Flaska and sophomore Cedric Durr.Sook, who started swimming competitively in seventh grade with the local swim club, said Stein is easy to “trust because he’s put this philosophy to practice before as a swimmer.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737858045151.jpeg" alt="Knowing what a vital role families play in the success of his swimmers, Coach Tyler Stein congratulates seniors on the team while also thanking their parents at the Indians’ home meet. Photo by Diane Gasper-O’Brien/Special to Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Knowing what a vital role families play in the success of his swimmers, Coach Tyler Stein congratulates seniors on the team while also thanking their parents at the Indians’ home meet. Photo by Diane Gasper-O’Brien/Special to Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>“He’s got everyone wanting to do better and wanting to work hard,” Sook added, “and we’re seeing the results of that hard work.”Whatever the outcome at the WAC meet, the Indians’ ultimate goal is to qualify as many swimmers as possible for state competition.With three meets remaining on the schedule, Sook has already hit state-qualifying times in two individual events while also helping the 200-yard freestyle relay team qualify for the Class 5-1A state championships Feb. 20-22 in Lenexa.HHS has reached state-consideration times in several additional events, and Stein thinks he will be taking a van load of competitors to the season finale.It’s something he plans to get used to. He is on board to coach the HHS girls’ team this spring—and then come back for another year in 2025-26.&nbsp;“It’s been a great learning experience,” Stein said. “I know a lot about the sport, but I had to learn about getting the team transportation and setting things up.”“I’m learning as I go,” he added. “The parents help out a lot, and so do the swimmers.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737858619088.jpeg" alt="Team unity is a huge element of Coach Tyler Stein’s philosophy. As he talks with Cedric Durr after a race, teammates Karsen Flaska, Chase Zadina and Noah Schaeffer congratulate their teammate. Photo by Diane Gasper-O’Brien/Special to Hays Post" />
 <figcaption>Team unity is a huge element of Coach Tyler Stein’s philosophy. As he talks with Cedric Durr after a race, teammates Karsen Flaska, Chase Zadina and Noah Schaeffer congratulate their teammate. Photo by Diane Gasper-O’Brien/Special to Hays Post</figcaption>
 </figure>And it’s been an enjoyable ride for all involved.Other seniors with whom Stein has relied on for leadership this year are Christian Miller, Justin Reeves and Bryton Unsworth. Juniors Zadina and Flaska are joined by classmates Levi Crisenberry, Noah Schaeffer and Jude Hileman. Rounding out the roster are a pair of sophomores—Durr and Alex Leiker.Sook also has hit state-consideration standards in the 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly, as have Zadina (50-yard freestyle) and Flaska (100-yard backstroke), as well as both the other Indian relay teams (200-yard medley and 400-yard freestyle).The Kansas State High School Activities Association sets automatic qualifying times and adds the fastest consideration times to fill out each event.Flaska, whose main sport is baseball in the spring, didn’t start swimming competitively until his freshman year at HHS.He said he thinks swimming helps with conditioning for baseball. But right now, the spring season can wait. The Indians have plenty to accomplish yet this winter.“It’s been a pretty exciting year,” Flaska said. “And I think our success is a 100% coaching. He definitely pushes us, and it’s fun to see how far it takes us.”