(AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback has appointed a longtime southeast Kansas attorney to a district court judgeship.

Brownback’s office announced Thursday that he had named Kurtis Loy, of Pittsburg, to the bench in the 11th Judicial District. He will fill a vacancy caused by a retirement.

The district covers Cherokee, Crawford and Labette counties.

Brownback cited Loy’s experience in picking him. Loy has been an attorney since 1980, and the governor’s office said his private practice includes contracts, civil litigation, tax law and family law. He has also mediated civil litigation and child custody cases.

Loy received his law degree from Washburn University in 1979. He’s a member of the Board of Trustees for the Kansas Bar Association Foundation.

A 74-year-old man is recovering from an accident at the Kansas State Fair that put him in the hospital.

Valley Falls resident Earl Stevens suffered broken facial bones and other injuries in the accident two weeks ago.

Stevens and his family camp at the fair every year for a long weekend.

Stevens was on a sidewalk that crosses in front of a zip line operated by a community college program. Stevens was hit by a zip line rider. The rider wasn’t hurt, but Stevens was hospitalized in Wichita with injuries including a concussion, a broken nose and sore ribs.

After the accident, the fair and the college barricaded the walkway so people couldn’t cross in front of the ride.

On Thursday, the House Committee on Veteran Affairs held an oversight hearing entitled: “Trials in Transparency: An Analysis of VA Cooperation with Congress in Meeting its Oversight Responsibilities on Behalf of Veterans.” The hearing examined the root causes of inordinate delays in responding to Congressional oversight requests and the inability of the VA to submit Committee hearing testimony in a timely manner. It was revealed that 50 percent of all testimony to the committee was delivered late and over 70 pending requests for information have been ignored and remain unanswered.

Congressman Huelskamp questioned Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs Joan Mooney regarding her leadership in responding to congressional inquiries. The Congressman is waiting responses to multiple inquires, including a letter ignored now for 52 weeks. Additionally, concerns submitted in writing over 100 days ago concerning the security of sensitive private veteran data remain unanswered.

Following the hearing, Congressman Huelskamp released this statement:
“What I heard at this hearing was more of the same. Empty promise after empty promise and no sense of concern for our veterans. I asked how and why the VA chooses to ignore tough questions. The only answer I got was “I will get back to you.” I am tired of waiting – and more important, so are our veterans. “

Huelskamp continued: “I was further shocked to hear nothing has been done to investigate the known data breaches that have put the personal medical and financial records of 20 million veterans and their dependents at risk. Nearly 100 days ago, our subcommittee received testimony about these enormous data breaches, including those by actors known to be working for foreign countries. Ms. Mooney excused the negligent behavior of the VA by outright lying and stating the committee had been briefed on the topic. The briefing never occurred – and VA’s mission-critical systems and sensitive veteran data continue to be unnecessarily at risk of attack or compromise.”

(AP) — The federal government is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether Hobby Lobby and a Christian bookstore chain have to provide a wide range of birth control options for workers as part of the federal health care law.

The 251-page appeal was filed Thursday.

The Oklahoma businesses have operated under a court order that allows them to avoid fines while they challenge a portion of the new law requiring them to provide the coverage.

Company attorneys object to offering such plans based on religious grounds.

U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton in July granted the Hobby Lobby craft store chain and Mardel Christian bookstore, its sister company, a temporary exemption from a requirement that it provide insurance coverage for morning-after pills, similar emergency birth control methods and intrauterine devices.

(AP) — A 23-year-old Wichita man who gained attention with an online lecture about the Bible and homosexuality has gathered 50 people from Christian churches

around the country for a program on his perspective that the Bible doesn’t condemn homosexuality as a sexual orientation.

Matthew Vines says liberal and moderate Christian churches have adopted more gay-friendly stances, but conservative churches remain steadfast against homosexuality. Vines hopes to change that with his message that the Bible doesn’t say same-sex orientation is a sin.

In 2012 Vines posted his presentation on the topic online. Since then the video has garnered about 600,000 views and been translated into several languages.

He says this week’s three-day conference in Prairie Village is aimed at giving participants tools to change the minds of conservative Christians about same-sex relationships.

(AP) — Sedgwick County prosecutors have dismissed charges against a 54-year-old detention deputy who was accused of fondling two male inmates, but they say the charges could be refiled.

James Conklin was charged in November with two counts of unlawful sexual relations accusing him of “lewd fondling” of two inmates in September and October 2012.

Court records show one of the charges was dismissed in July and the other Sept. 10. Conklin’s attorney released a statement Wednesday repeating his client’s denial of any wrongdoing.

District Attorney Marc Bennett says the case was dismissed because a key witness is in custody elsewhere and unavailable to testify.

Sheriff Jeff Easter says an alleged victim in the case is in a federal penitentiary and can’t get to Wichita to testify.

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) issued the following statement today on the five-year anniversary of the initial permit application for the Keystone XL Pipeline. The Obama Administration has prolonged its review of the application for far longer than any other cross-border pipeline project.

“As President Obama continues to tout his job creation record, it is clear he is not living in reality. The drop in the unemployment rate is not cause for celebration – the rate is falling because more and more Americans are losing hope when it comes to their job search. In August, more than 300,000 people stopped working or stopped looking for a work, bringing labor force participation to its lowest rate in 35 years.

“For five years, the President has had the opportunity to create jobs for Americans simply by approving the Keystone XL permit application, but he continually refuses to do so. The five-year review has taken more than twice as long as it will take to build the pipeline.
This job-creating, domestic energy-promoting project is supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans, yet the President continues to look for excuses.

“Unemployed Americans with the skills to construct this important project should not be forced to wait any longer. It is time to put Americans to work and provide an opportunity to grow local, state and national economies while taking a vital step toward energy security.”

The original Keystone pipeline already moves crude oil from Steele City, Neb., to the processing facility in Cushing, Okla. The Keystone XL Pipeline would use the existing infrastructure to safely move crude through Kansas. As the ongoing operation of the original Keystone pipeline illustrates, crude oil can be moved safely over long distances.