TO THE PEOPLE OF KANSAS, GREETINGS:

WHEREAS, the United States has been involved in many wars; and

WHEREAS, evidence, documentation and testimony continue to raise legitimate questions regarding the fate of American service personnel Missing in Action or held as Prisoners of War; and

WHEREAS, the whereabouts and fates of many Americans who were “last known alive” in enemy hands, including those held in a “Missing/Captured” status in the Global War on Terror have yet to be determined, and information regarding these men has not been made available to the American people; and

WHEREAS, a full and accurate accounting still has not been made regarding more than 35 servicemen from the State of Kansas; and

WHEREAS, an American soldier, SGT Bowe Bergdahl, remains a captive of the Taliban in Afghanistan since June 2009, and televised by the Taliban on at least five occasions; and

WHEREAS, the POW/MIA flag is flown daily at the State Capitol in Topeka and at many other state, city and local buildings across Kansas in recognition of our missing men:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Sam Brownback, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF KANSAS, do hereby proclaim

September 16th – 22nd of 2012, as

KANSAS POW/MIA RECOGNITION WEEK

and Friday, September 21st, 2012, as

POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY

in Kansas and ask all citizens of Kansas to pursue a final and accurate accounting of these Americans as a national priority by taking part in activities promoting awareness of this issue.

Topeka — Dozens of Kansas legislators questioned about private dinners with Gov. Sam Brownback at his official residence weren’t well-versed in the state’s Open Meetings Act, transcripts of their interviews show.

The lawmakers were interviewed as part of a prosecutor’s investigation of the dinners. Few had read the open meetings law, and most reported receiving no formal training on how to avoid violating it, the transcripts showed. They had little written guidance other than a section in their legislative guidebook.

Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor released transcripts of interviews conducted by two deputies with 53 legislators regarding seven dinner meetings held in January at Cedar Crest, the governor’s residence. The lawmakers sat on 13 legislative committees and almost all were Republicans, like Brownback.

Taylor, a Democrat, concluded last month that legislators violated the Kansas Open Meetings Act, scolded them publicly and admonished them to become better informed about the law’s requirements. But he did not pursue further action, saying he could prove only “technical” violations.

An exchange between Taylor’s deputies and Rep. Joe Scapa, a Wichita Republican, was typical of the interviews, the Topeka Capitol Journal reported.  Scapa was asked about two dinners to which he was invited, and he said the law wasn’t violated. Pressed to explain, he told Taylor’s deputies, “Because that’s what I believe.”

When one of Taylor’s deputies asked Sen. Terrie Huntington, a Fairway Republican, whether she understood that the meetings law applied to social gatherings, she said, “I did not.”

The Open Meetings Act generally prohibits a majority of a legislative body from meeting without giving the public notice and access to the event. A gathering of a committee’s majority is a meeting if public business is discussed and lawmakers interact.

Officials who knowingly violate the law can be fined up to $500 per incident, though only a county prosecutor or the attorney general can seek such a sanction from a court. However, a prosecutor or private citizen also can go to court for an order for corrective action.

TOPEKA – President Barack Obama’s place on the November election ballot in Kansas now is secure.

The all-Republican State Objections Board  formally ended its review Monday morning of whether the Democratic president should be listed as a candidate for re-election.

The board’s action came after Manhattan resident Joe Montgomery dropped his objection. Montgomery said Friday he was withdrawing his challenge because of what he called intimidation directed at him and people around him.

But California lawyer and dentist Orly Taitz showed up at the meeting demanding to speak. He told board members they were ignoring evidence questioning Obama’s citizenship.

That brought an angry response from Topeka progressive activist T.J. Gaughan. He and a few other Obama supporters shouted at Taitz.  A security officer ordered them outside.