Former Election Judge Accused of Fraud Arrested

Patricia “Patty” A. Lamb, former Republican Election Director for Clay County, was arrested in Montana on felony charges of fraud and misuse of a county credit card. She is currently awaiting extradition back to Clay County.

A forensic audit uncovered over $15,000 in unauthorized expenses, including non-business charges, undocumented reimbursements, and extra payroll payments. Clay County Commissioner Jason Withington posted about the incident on his Facebook page:

“According to the probable cause statement, from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2024, Lamb's County-issued credit card had a total of $8,126.51 in non-business-related charges, $1,336.00 in non-business-related mileage, a $200 petty cash payment with no supporting documentation, and, in 2022, she received a total of 28 paychecks, which was two more than she was entitled to. The additional paychecks totaled $6,278.40.”

Lamb was placed on administrative leave in 2023 and terminated in January 2024 after the audit results were reviewed. She had moved out of state before investigators could interview her.

The Clay County Election Board replaced Lamb with Interim Directors Heather Hall and Denise Hart. County officials, including Commissioner Jason Withington, expressed concerns over the loss of public trust and called for new appointments to the Election Board, whose terms have expired.

Clay County Auditor Victor Hurlbert sought reimbursement for the fraudulent charges and discovered the board had overestimated its census, resulting in overcharging the county by over $200,000. Hurlbert proposed that the county assume oversight of the Election Board’s finances to prevent further issues.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story.

Clay County Investigates Inmate Death

Clay County detectives opened an investigation into the death of an inmate in the Clay County Detention Center on Thursday, Feb. 20. A female inmate was found by a cellmate and alerted detention staff.

55-year-old Wende K. Routh was found by a cellmate shortly after 4 am. The cellmate alerted deputies that something was wrong with Routh. Deputies entered the cell and began trying to resuscitate Routh.

Medical staff took over the life-saving measures until EMS personnel arrived on scene. Preliminary reports say the death appears to be from natural causes.

Routh was incarcerated at the detention center on February 3, on a probation violation. She was sentenced to 180 days of jail time for the violation.

The death investigation is ongoing.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story.

City Aldermen Approve Water Rate Increase

City of Kearney Aldermen approved a water and sewer rate increase to keep up with rising costs of providing clean water and sewer services at the Feb. 18, city meeting.

City Finance Director Stephanie Harris said the increased rate for residents is due to increased costs of energy, chemicals and equipment to the city to provide safe drinking water and wastewater services.

“These costs have increased significantly over the last couple of years, and we do not have any indication that trend is going to change,” said Harris. In addition, in order to expand the capacity as our city continues to grow and replace our aging infrastructure we need to begin planning and preparing for those changes.”

The city increased water and sewer rates at this time last year. Harris reported that the average Kearney household uses 3,000 gallons of water each month, and at the new rate the average water and sewer bill would increase $3.78 per month per household.

City Administrator Sheila Ernzen told KPGZ News on February 5 that the new water and sewer rates would go into effect after approval from the Board.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story.

Girls Wrestling Claims District Crown

The Kearney High School Girls Wrestling team faced down a field of 32 teams in the Class 1 District 4 Tournament last weekend and walked away as champions.

The Bulldogs wrestled their absolute best tournament of the season, winning the program’s first District Championship by a 23.5-point margin over 2nd-place Odessa.

The top four wrestlers from each weight class advance to the state tournament on Feb. 26-27 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia. The KHS girls did not disappoint. A program-record eight Bulldogs punched their ticket to state.

The Bulldog excellence extended off the wrestling mats, according to Head Coach Nick Ward. He was grateful for the community effort to successfully host the tournament.

“Thank you to everyone who came out and cheered us on this weekend,” Coach Ward said. “A big thanks to the Kearney School District Activities Department and all the volunteers, custodians, and behind-the-scenes folks who helped us pull off hosting a large, first-class wrestling event. We received tons of praise for how well everything operated.”

Individual Highlights:

Myla Woolridge – The freshman sensation entered the tournament as the second seed and pinned her way to the championship round. She lost a close decision to a returning state medalist to finish in second place. This will be Myla’s first trip to Columbia, but the freshman is no stranger to winning big matches.

Ella Herndon – The team’s senior leader cruised to the championship round and lost a hard-fought battle to a returning three-time state qualifier to finish with the silver medal. This is Ella’s second trip to the state tournament in only her third year of wrestling.

Bailey Martin – The senior returning three-time state medalist and defending state champion cruised to the finals, where she found a familiar foe in Mid-Buchanan’s Delanie Smith. Delanie is also a multiple-time medalist with a state title of her own. Bailey has lost to Smith the last two times they have met. On this day, the Kearney senior would not be denied. She took an early lead and kept piling up points. She fought off her back for 1:34 in the third period to win 12-10. This is Bailey’s third district championship and fourth trip to the state tournament.

Riley Walker – The two-time state medalist was rolling towards the finals. She led by 14 in the semi-final and got caught and pinned in the third period. She battled back through the consolation bracket in true champion fashion, pinning her way to 3rd place and earning her third trip to Columbia.

Aida Appenfeller – In one of the most exciting moments of an action-packed “blood round” that she had to win in order to advance in the tournament, Aida pinned the second seed, returning state qualifier Danica Ballard of Smithville, avenging a prior loss and punching through to state. Aida didn’t stop there; she pinned the fourth seed in the 3rd-place match to close out a fantastic tournament. The sophomore will be making her first trip to Mizzou Arena.

Bella Wenzel – Bella is another freshman talent with homerun potential. Bella went 3-2 and defeated a returning state qualifier in a gutsy quarterfinal round that set her up to be in a great place to advance on Saturday, where she got it done. Bella finished 4th place and will make her first trip to the state tournament.

Carli Vargas – The #14 nationally ranked, #1 state-ranked sophomore made short work of the field, pinning her way through the tournament in dominant fashion. Carli pinned all four opponents in a combined time of 1:40.

Ella Chavez -The first-year freshman has steadily improved, from starting 0-5 at a rookie tournament in early December to qualifying for the state tournament in mid-February. This is nothing short of incredible. Ella pulled off some recent big victories that helped her secure the fourth seed, and she carried that momentum into the district tournament to finish in 4th place.

KPGZ News – Ray Weikal contributed to this story.

Extreme Cold Watch Issued This Week

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the second time in as many weeks. This one comes with an Extreme Cold Watch as wind chill values are expected to plummet to dangerous levels.

Only 1 to 3 inches of light powdery snow is expected early this week, but with that comes an arctic blast that will remain in our area through most of the week.

The Extreme Cold Watch goes into effect late Monday night through Thursday morning. It includes the Kansas City Metro area and most counties north of I-70.

Temperatures are expected to fall into single digits during the day, and subzero readings at night. Record lows temperatures are possible. Dangerous wind chills as low as -25° below zero are anticipated Tuesday through Friday mornings.

Frostbite can set in as little as 30 minutes when wind chills are below -20° below zero and colder. If you must get out in extreme cold weather be sure to dress in layers to help keep you warm and cover exposed skin. This includes a wearing warm hat, gloves, and ski mask if possible.

Homeowners can reduce the chance of frozen and bursting pipes by opening cabinet doors inside to allow warm air to get to pipes and slightly opening faucets to allow water to drip.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story.