Three people are hospitalized this morning from a Wednesday head on collision 2 miles north of Hoxie.

Sixty Two year old James William Waldon of Hoxie was driving a 2006 Ford truck south on county road 10E when he crossed the center line and hit a 1999 Pontiac Bonneville driven by 33 year old Phillip Michael Bowie of Dresden.

The vehicles came to rest in the west ditch. Both men and a passenger in the truck, 60 year old Debra A. Bowie of Dresden were taken to the Sheridan County Hospital.  According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, Waldon was not wearing a seat belt.

(AP) – A new report shows a declining percentage of Kansans are getting their health insurance through their employers.

The study, released Thursday, was paid for by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which funds health research and programs.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota’s State Health Access Data Assistance Center found that 64 percent of Kansans were insured through their employers in 2011, the latest information available, down from 73.9 percent in 2000.

Nationwide, 11.5 million fewer Americans get their insurance through the workplace in 2011 than in 2000.

The decline comes as insurance costs increase. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey says higher costs lead to fewer employers offering insurance coverage and fewer employees accepting it when it’s offered.

 

 

-Congressman Tim Huelskamp recently addressed the monthly meeting of the Patriots Freedom Alliance (PFA), the local Tea Party organization for Hutchinson and the surrounding area. Following his remarks to the group’s members, PFA leaders presented Congressman Huelskamp with the “True Son of Liberty” Award bestowed upon him by the “Patriot Coalition,” a national Tea Party group.

The Tea Party activists’ recognition of Rep. Huelskamp’s steadfast support of conservative principles was memorialized in a certificate that says he earned their appreciation “For upholding [his] oath of office to defend the Constitution of the United States, for consistently voting against attacks on the Bill of Rights, for defending free-market principles and fiscal responsibility, and consistently demonstrating the admirable character traits of a true son of liberty in the face of ongoing intolerable acts.”
Congressman Huelskamp released the following statement:

“The Patriots Freedom Alliance is among the most effective Tea Party organizations in Kansas and the nation. I am honored to accept the True Son of Liberty Award and it is my privilege to represent the people of Kansas’ Big First District and champion our conservative principles on Capitol Hill.”

The Patriot Freedom Alliance website says Congressman Huelskamp “holds to his principles and respects his voters” and dubs him “One of Washington’s Ten Toughest Politicians.”

ALCO Stores, Inc., announced Wednesday it will move its corporate headquarters from Abilene to Coppell, Texas, a Dallas suburb, in June.

The company’s distribution center in Abilene, as well as its retail store in Abilene, will remain. About 80 people are expected to lose their jobs as a result of the corporate headquarters’ move.

In a press release announcing the move, ALCO’s CEO Rich Wilson said the decision to move the home office out of Abilene was not an easy one.

“This was an extremely difficult decision, which is by no means a reflection on the dedication, commitment or talent of our existing employees in Abilene,” Wilson said in a written statement. “It is a decision that is necessary for ALCO to remain competitive and grow.”

For that to happen, the move had to be to a major metropolitan center, Wilson said.

“The Dallas location provides easy access to many of our stores, other major retailers and transportation for our employees and business partners,” Wilson’s statement said.

 

Governor Sam Brownback signed 22 bills into law on Wednesday, bringing the total number of bills signed by the governor during the 2013 Legislative Session to 68.

· HB 2012 extends certain Kansas Open Records Act exceptions that had been set to expire July 1, 2013 for five more years and provides that an exception no longer would be subject to review and expiration if the Legislature twice has reviewed and continued the exception or reviews and continues the exception during the 2013 Legislative Session or thereafter.

· HB 2083 revises the Public Employer-Employee Relations Act by shifting the costs associated with public employee elections and fact-finding or mediation from the Department of Labor to the parties involved.

· HB 2106 removes the prohibition that an insurer may not change the terms and conditions of a portable electronics insurance policy more than once in any six-month period. The new law also deletes references within the statute that refer to the removed language.

· HB 2135 clarifies any and all housing developments and related improvements located on U.S. military installations and used exclusively or primarily by military personnel and their families are exempt from property taxation, retroactive to tax year 2006.

· HB 2144 repeals outdated laws concerning juveniles, including the repeal of a statute concerning jurisdiction and placement of juvenile offenders with the Department for Children and Families or the Juvenile Justice Authority, and a statute concerning records of certain juveniles in the possession of law enforcement and municipal courts.

· HB 2160 extends for two years a provider assessment on licensed beds in skilled nursing care facilities and makes technical changes to update agency references to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services.

· HB 2200 establishes the Office of Information Technology Services, headed by the
Executive Chief Information Technology Officer (ECITO), an appointee of the Governor, and eliminatesthe Division of Information Systems and Communications (DISC) and the position of Director of DISC. All responsibilities of DISC are transferred to the Office of Information Technology Services.

· HB 2203 enacts Kansas Preservation of Religious Freedom Act. It provides that the government shall not substantially burden a person’s civil right to exercise religion and protects religious liberty and prohibits encroachments upon this liberty – unless the government clearly and convincingly demonstrates that the burden serves a compelling governmental interest.

· Sub. for HB 2207 amends provisions of the law dealing with the regulation of confined
animal feeding facilities (CAFOs) by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment including requiring any CAFO with an animal unit capacity of 300 or more must register with the KDHE Secretary and pay a fee of $25.

· HB 2212 allows veterans’ service organizations to apply both monetary and nonmonetary support (called a “match”) in order to continue to qualify for and receive service grants under the Veterans Claims Assistance Program (VCAP). The VCAP Advisory Board will make recommendations on match funding levels. These recommendations will be considered by the Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs.

· HB 2217 creates the crime of female genital mutilation, a severity level 3, person felony.

· HB 2221 establishes the Equal Access Act for professional employees’ organizations and modifies the Professional Negotiations Act.

· HB 2228 reduces the employer’s contribution rate to 0.85 percent from July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2015 int the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System and institutes a moratorium on all payments by KPERS participating employers from April 1 to June 30, 2013, in order to make the statutory change approved by the 2012 Legislature in enacted House Sub. for SB 294 (the 2012 appropriations bill).

· HB 2278 enhances the penalty for theft or burglary of a firearm including making theft of a firearm valued at less than $25,000 a severity level 9.

· HB 2294 amends the Kansas Uniform Securities Act by updating references to the
Federal Securities Act of 1933 that are no longer accurate and by updating other federal references in the statutes with appropriate section numbers and headings.

· HB 2302 allows the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to require fingerprinting and state and national criminal history record checks for any person offered employment in and any employee of the Office of Laboratory Services who will have access to a secured biological laboratory.

· HB 2322 amends state law and clarifies references or designations in law to reflect a name change of the Division of Health of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to the Division of Public Health.

· HB 2326 exempts Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Internet Protocol enabled service
(IP-enabled service), or both from the jurisdiction, regulation, or supervision of the state or any political subdivision. VoIP shall be subject to the requirements of the Kansas Universal Service Fund and the requirements of the Kansas 911 Act.

· HB 2353 adds a synthetic cannabinoid, commonly known as UR-144, to the list of schedule I controlled substances.

· HB 2368 amends state law to reflect a name change from the Governor’s Mental Health Services Planning Council to the Governor’s Behavioral Health Services Planning Council; replaces the term “mental health” with “behavioral health”; adds nine members and adjusts the membership and prescribes the requirements for appointment.

· SB 74 prohibits the Department of Corrections from having a home building program that would compete with manufactured or modular homes constructed privately. The new law does allow the KDOC to continue to provide buildings up to 1,000 square feet to state agencies.

· SB 142 prohibits civil actions for a claim of wrongful life or wrongful birth and prohibits recovery of damages in any civil action for any physical condition of a minor that existed at birth if such damages arise out of a claim that a person’s action or omission contributed to the minor’s mother not obtaining an abortion. The new law also amends the wrongful death statute to include “unborn child” within the definition of “person” for purposes of the statute, which would allow a wrongful death action for the death of an unborn child caused by the wrongful act or omission of another. “Unborn child” is defined as a living individual organism of the species homo sapiens, in utero, at any stage of gestation from fertilization to birth.