A Garden City Man has been sentenced to 31 months in prison on a charge of sexual exploitation of a child and pleaded no contest today to both Aggravated Indecent Liberties with a Child and Lewd And Lascivious Behavior with a Child.

44 Brian Banister was sentenced this past Monday by Finney County District Judge Wendel Wurst on the charge of Sexual exploitation of a child.  Along with the prison sentence Banister must be registered for life as a sexual offender and will also be on lifetime post-release supervision.

Earlier this afternoon, Finney County District Judge Robert Frederick found Banister guilty of one count of Aggravated Indecent Solicitation of a child and one count of Lewd and Lascivious Behavior with a child, both charges stemming from incidents which took place starting in 2011 until Banister’s arrest last fall after a former Finney County Sheriff’s Deputy now working for an internet sex crimes unit in MIssouri picked up a hit on Banister’s work computer.  Banister was subsequently arrested at Midwest Hearing Aids in Garden City where he was employed at the time.

Sentencing on the latter charges will take place at a later date.

Banister remains in the Finney County Jail.

On the baseball side, Hugoton, who took the GWAC title, placed five on the first team, more than any other, while Goodland had three. For softball, Goodland had the most selections on the first team with five, while Holcomb had for first team picks. Colby won the GWAC team title.

All GWAC Baseball

1st Team

Pitcher: Drew Kite, Scott City; Luke Cox, Colby; Ross Davis, Hugoton

Catcher: Reid Davis, Hugoton

1st Base: John Heinrich, Goodland

2nd Base: Macen Shull, Colby

3rd Base: Steven Degollado, Ulysses

Short Stop: Nic Frederick, Hugoton

Outfield: Yates Sutton, Hugoton; Taylen Smith Goodland; Todd Kane, Colby

Utility: Gunner Helton, Goodland

Designated Hitter: Michael Baeza, Hugoton

Honorable Mention

Pitcher: Tyler Hess, Scott City

Catcher: Marc Bremenkamp, Colby

1st Base: Collin Ratzlaff, Scott City

2nd Base: Austin Habiger, Scott City

3rd Base: Zac Stones, Colby

Short Stop: Brett O’Neil, Scott City

Outfield: Alec Meirhoff, Ulysses; Chase Rudzik, Ulysses

Utility: Sloan Baker, Scott City

Designated Hitter: Josh Matchell, Colby

All GWAC Softball

1st Team

Pitcher: Kenzie Curry, Colby; Steph DeLaRosa, Goodland; Kenzie Roth, Holcomb

Catcher: Chastity Parsons, Hugoton

1st Base: Hayley Walck, Holcomb

2nd Base: Katie Pfeifer, Holcomb; Paige Phillips, Goodland

3rd Base: Jenessa Williams, Colby

Short Stop: Brianna White, Goodland

Outfield: Hope Cochran, Goodland; McKenna Ortner, Colby; Madi Taylor, Holcomb

Utility Player: Taryn Garza, Hugoton

Designated Hitter: Berkley White, Goodland

Honorable Mention

Catcher: Andrea Barton, Colby

1st Base: Darby Sager, Colby

3rd Base: Gabby Rangel, Goodland

Short Stop: Haileigh Shull, Colby

Outfield: Morgan Price, Ulysses

Utility Player: Taylor Deniston, Holcomb

Designated Hitter: Brianna Kline, Ulysses

A Dodge City teacher who began teaching in 1952 is being inducted into the Kansas teacher’s Hall of Fame 22 years after his retirement according to a press release from USD 443.

Frank Evans began his teaching career at Lincoln Elementary School  and taught math at both the junior high and high school level before becoming an assistant principal at Dodge City Junior High in 1964.  He was promoted to principal in 1968, a position he held until 1981.  The last decade of his career was again spent in the classroom as a math teacher at Dodge City Senior High School.

The Class of 2013 induction ceremony is scheduled for June 1, 2013, in Dodge City. The luncheon begins at noon and tickets are available by calling 620-225-7311 until May 28.  The induction ceremony begins at 2 p.m. in the Dodge City High School Auditorium and is free to the public.  

A Dodge City art and video production teacher has been selected for induction into the Kansas Teacher’s Hall of Fame according to a press release from USD 443 Public Information Officer Yvonda Acker.

For the past 25 years, Sarah Schaeffer has been a librarian, art and video production teacher at Dodge City Middle School, and a practicing artist.  Her colleagues and administrators say she has a respected knowledge of middle school children and is devoted and dedicated to their unique qualities and needs.  In June, Schaeffer is part of the new group of teachers inducted in to the Kansas Teachers’ Hall of Fame.

The Class of 2013 induction ceremony is scheduled for June 1, 2013, in Dodge City. The luncheon begins at noon and tickets are available by calling 620-225-7311 until May 28.  The induction ceremony begins at 2 p.m. in the Dodge City High School Auditorium and admission is free to the public. 

The Garden City Airport Raceway Management is taking donations throughout the rest of today to be delivered to the Moore Tornado Victims over the weekend.  Raceway President Shawn Neeland told Western Kansas News the most pressing needs are WORK GLOVES,  FLAHSLIGHTS AND BATTERIES, WORK BOOTS OF ANY SORT, BABY FOOD, BOTTLED WATER AND DRY PET FOOD.

Donations are being collected through the day today at the CENEX gas station on the corner of 7^th and Fulton.  The Garden City CO-OP has donated a semi trailer for collections and has also volunteered to deliver the semi trailer to Moore on Saturday. 

Any cash donations should be taken to the Garden city Red Cross.

The Kansas Water Office‘s (KWO) Upper Arkansas Basin Advisory Committees (BAC) will hold a meeting to discuss current water issues affecting the basin area as well as the state.

The meeting will be held Thursday, June 6 at 1:30 p.m. at the Barton County Historical Museum, 85 S. Hwy 281, Great Bend, KS. The State Water Plan update, membership recommendations and the ongoing severe drought will be the main focus of the meeting.

For more information log onto: www.kwo.org or call (888) 526-9283.

Western Kansas Manufacturers Association, sponsor of the Annual 3i SHOW has announce that TagMeCam will be part of the 59^th Annual 3i SHOW, July 11-13 in Dodge City at the Western State Bank Expo.

TagMeCam is a fun social media application that uses a high-quality webcam to capture photos with just a touch of the screen. TagMeCam requires a name and email address to send a copy of the photo via email.  In addition, TagMeCam automatically delivers the photo to the 3i SHOW Facebook Page and the individual’s Facebook Timeline to let friends know they are at the 3i SHOW.

The TagMeCam kiosk will be located inside the Expo Center where belt buckles and hats are sold. 

For complete show information or to reserve exhibit space for the upcoming 3i SHOW, visit www.3ishow.com, or contact WKMA office at 620-277-8082.

USD 443Four Instructional Technology Coach Jayne Jones recently participated in the APPLE ACADEMY training program in California, receiving her certification as an Apple Curriculum Trainer.

Jones was invited to apply and had to complete an application that included the creation of several specific documents using a variety of Apple software.  The training was for IOS and IOSX, which are the iPad and Mac systems. 

USD 443 is implementing an iPad Initiative and all teachers received the tool in January.  Plans are to have one in the hands of every student in January of next year.

Jones said most of her classmates were technology coaches or technology directors for school districts.

Survivors Include:

            Two Sons                               Robert Desbien of McCook, Nebraska

                                                            Jon Kennedy of Jacksonville, North Carolina

            Two Brothers                         Jim Desbien of Riverside, California

                                                            Bob Desbien of Roswell, New Mexico

            One Sister                              Adrian Stout of Greer, South Carolina

            Three Grandchildren

He was preceded in death by his Parents and One Daughter – Heather Sizemore.

Graveside Services              Greeley County Cemetery in Tribune, Kansas

                                                11:00 a.m Thursday, May 23, 2013

Officiant                                  Rev. Mark Randolph

Memorials                              Edward Desbien Memorial Fund

                                                % Price & Sons Funeral Home

Interment                                Greeley County Cemetery in Tribune, Kansas

Visitation                                9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. Thursday

                                                @ Price & Sons Funeral Home in Tribune, Kansas