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Month: September 2012
Flags Lowered to Recognize American Diplomats Killed
The President of the United States issued a proclamation Thursday concerning the attack on the American diplomatic facility in Libya.
In it, he has directed that flags will be flown at half-staff until sundown Sunday, September 16.
U-S Ambassador to Libya John Christopher Stevens and other American personnel were killed Tuesday in an attack by Libyan protesters on the United States Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Students Learn “How Freedom Works”
A good idea may not always become a good law.
That’s the real-world civics lesson students learned Wednesday at Washington Elementary School in Hays.
“How Freedom Works” is a participatory educational program presented by ”Laughing Matters” Jay and Leslie Cady, a popular entertainment duo from Kansas City.
The 5th graders serve as the U-S House, Senate and Supreme Court, as Leslie tries to get her good idea to become law.
The entire student body learns that just as it is in real life, amendments made to a law to ensure additional favorable votes often have little or nothing to do with the original idea.
“How Freedom Works” with the Cadys is a fall residency Arts in Education program provided by the Hays Arts Council. The program is being presented this week to elementary students in Hays, Ellis, Victoria, Russell and Plainville.
See more tonight on Street Beat Eagle Community TV Channel 14.
Wednesday Rainfall Totals
BPI Sues ABC News
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Beef Products Inc. sued ABC News Inc. for defamation Thursday over its coverage of a meat product that critics dub “pink slime,” claiming the network misled consumers into believing it is unhealthy and unsafe.
The Dakota Dunes, S.D.-based meat processor is seeking $1.2 billion in damages for roughly 200 “false and misleading and defamatory” statements about the product officially known as lean, finely textured beef, said Dan Webb, BPI’s Chicago-based attorney.
The lawsuit filed in a South Dakota state court also names several individuals as defendants, including ABC news anchor Diane Sawyer and the Departure of Agriculture microbiologist who coined the term “pink slime.”
The company’s reporting “caused consumers to believe that our lean beef is not beef at all – that it’s an unhealthy pink slime, unsafe for public consumption, and that somehow it got hidden in the meat,” Webb said before the company’s official announcement.
ABC News, owned by The Walt Disney Co., denied BPI’s claims.
Webb said the reports had “an enormous impact” on the company, forcing it to close three of its four U.S. plants, including BPI in Garden City, Kansas and lay off more than 650 workers.
Critics worried about the way the meat is processed. Bits of beef are heated and treated with a small amount of ammonia to kill bacteria, a practice that has been used for decades and meets federal food safety standards.
FHSU Police Officer Completes Training
Fort Hays State University Police Officer Kody Ellis is among 36 men and women recently graduating from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC) near Yoder.
Ellis and the other graduates began their training May 14 and represent 27 municipal, county and state law enforcement agencies across Kansas.
KLETC, established by the Kansas Legislature in 1968, is a division of University of Kansas Continuing Education.
DELAYED: Kansas To Review Challenges To Obama, Former Kansas House Member
UPDATE:
Kansas Board Delays Decision On President Obama On Ballot
Kansas officials want more information before deciding whether to remove President Barack Obama from the state’s November ballot.
The State Objections Board heard arguments Thursday on a claim from a Manhattan resident that President Obama is not eligible to be president because his father was from Kenya. The resident, Joe Montgomery, also questions whether President Obama has a valid birth certificate.
The president released a copy of his long-form birth certificate last year, and Hawaii officials have verified his citizenship repeatedly.
But the Kansas board — made up of the secretary of state, attorney general and lieutenant governor — said Thursday it wants certified documents from Hawaii and two other states where similar questions about President Obama’s citizenship have been raised.
The board plans to meet again Monday and may rule then.
ORIGINAL: A Kansas board is preparing to settle challenges to spots on the November ballot for President Barack Obama and a former lawmaker seeking to return to the Legislature.
The State Objections Board is made up of the secretary of state, attorney general and lieutenant governor. Other items on its agenda Thursday include disputes over presidential candidate listings for the Reform and Americans Elect parties.
Manhattan resident Joe Montgomery objected to Obama’s listing as the Democratic nominee for president, claiming Obama is not a U.S. citizen.
A tea party group’s president has questioned whether former Kansas House member Tom Sawyer lives at the Wichita address he listed on his filing papers. Sawyer is the Democratic nominee in the 95th House District, and says he has owned the home for two decades.
FHSU Given the Gift of a Mini Campus
An interactive, 3-D model of the Fort Hays State University campus has been given to the university by Dave and Cathy Van Doren.
The 8 foot by 11 foot model was created by Dave Van Doren’s company Global 3-D Arts. It includes the new buildings that will be constructed over the next few years.
Construction of the campus model took about three years. It is at the Memorial Union, but the plan is to move it to Forsyth Library.
Judge Sets Hearing For Ex-KU Ticket Consultant Involved In $2 Million Ticket Theft, Sale Scheme
A judge has set a January hearing date for a former University of Kansas athletics consultant seeking a shorter sentence for his part in a ticket-scalping conspiracy.
U.S. District Judge Monti Belot will hear the case of Thomas Ray Blubaugh on Jan. 16.
Blubaugh is serving a 46-month sentence at a federal prison in Oklahoma. He pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to defraud the United States.
Blubaugh is the husband of Charlette Blubaugh, former ticket director for KU athletics. They were among seven people convicted in a $2 million scheme involving the theft and sale of Jayhawk basketball and football tickets.
Thomas Blubaugh contends the sentencing court improperly considered the value of tickets he had hidden in a storage facility. He also claims his lawyer did a poor job.
Kansas Official Refuses To Answer Questions Regarding Poor Residents Seeking Assistance
A Kansas official has refused to answer some questions from legislators about a waiting list of poor residents with severe disabilities who are seeking assistance.
Gary Haulmark of the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services appeared Wednesday before the Legislative Budget Committee.
Haulmark told the panel his department’s legal counsel advised him not to answer any questions about Medicaid waivers because of potential litigation.
The federal government has been investigating complaints that Kansas is violating the civil rights of people waiting for help.
The Legislative Research Department says more than 7,500 Kansans are under-served or are on the waiting list for services. That’s up from slightly less than 2,100 in 2008.
Republican Sen. John Vratil of Leawood said he was baffled by Haulmark’s reluctance to discuss the numbers.
Report: Sebelius Broke Law Regarding Political Activity
A government ethics office says Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius violated a federal law that restricts political activity by government officials.
In a report Wednesday, the federal Office of Special Counsel said off-the-cuff remarks by Sebelius during a Feb. 25 speech to a gay rights group in North Carolina violated the Hatch Act.
Sebelius called for President Barack Obama’s re-election and endorsed a Democratic candidate for governor.
In a formal response, Sebelius said that any violation was “technical and minor” and was corrected after her official trip was reclassified as political, and the government was repaid for her travel.
Since Sebelius is a Cabinet official, the ethics office referred the case to the White House for “appropriate action.”
Week Two High School Volleyball Rankings
The Kansas Volleyball Association is pleased to announce the 2012 Week 2 Volleyball Rankings sponsored by PrepVolleyball.com.
6A
1. Gardner-Edgerton (8-2) (1)
2. Washburn Rural (5-2) (2)
3. Blue Valley North (5-3) (3)
4. Olathe East (7-3) (4)
5. Olathe Northwest (12-1) (NR)
Others: Derby (8-2), Manhattan (5-3), Wichita Northwest (8-0)
5A
1. Bishop Miege (6-1) (1)
2. Valley Center (8-0) (4)
3. Shawnee Heights (6-0) (NR)
4. Kapaun Mt. Carmel (2-0) (5)
5. Bishop Carroll (2-0) (NR)
Others: Andover (7-1), Blue Valley Southwest (8-1), Mill Valley (7-3)
4A
1. St. James Academy (3-0) (1)
2. McPherson (10-0) (2)
3. Chanute (5-0) (4)
4. Topeka-Hayden (6-1) (5)
5. Wamego (7-0) (NR)
Others: Abilene (9-0), Cheney (6-1), Rose Hill (8-3)
3A
1. Silver Lake (5-0) (2)
2. Hillsboro (12-1) (1)
3. Burlington (12-1) (NR)
4. Garden Plain (9-0) (NR)
5. Sedgwick (13-1) (NR)
Others: Cherokee-Southeast (4-1), Holcomb (5-1), Moundridge (13-5), Riley County (8-4)
2A
1. Olpe (8-0) (1)
2. Mission Valley (12-0) (NR)
3. Kiowa County (11-0) (3)
4. Hill City (11-0) (5)
5. Washington County (9-0) (2)
Others: Burlingame (14-0), Decatur County (9-3), Ell-Saline (11-0), Ellsworth (10-1), Immaculata (8-1), Jayhawk Linn (8-0), Madison (9-2), Pratt-Skyline (8-2)
1A – Division 1
1. St. John-Hudson (8-1) (1)
2. Centralia (7-2) (2)
3. Dexter/Cedar Vale (11-2) (3)
4. Goessel (8-2) (5)
5. Spearville (3-0) (4)
Others: Hoxie (0-0)
1A – Division 2
1. Baileyville B&B (9-1) (1)
2. Victoria (8-2) (2)
3. Ingalls (11-2) (4)
4. Argonia (7-1) (NR)
5. Weskan (8-2) (NR)
Others: Bucklin (5-0), Norwich (8-2), St. John’s-Beloit/Tipton (11-5), Wheatland-Grinnell (6-4)
Hays Middle School Football 2-0
Hays Middle School is of to a 2-0 start on the young season.
In their first game of the season the Falcons defeated Great Bend middle school by the count of 22-0. The second contest pitted the Hays middle school Falcons against Salina South middle school, the final score of the match up was 30-0.
The Falcons travel to McPherson on Thursday September 13 to take on McPherson middle school with a 1:00 p.m. start.
courtesy Todd Coffman