The Hays Fire Department was dispatched this morning, just after 7:30 a.m. to the 1400 Block East 29^th where a fire in an apartment oven had been extinguished.

However, there was a lot of smoke. There were no injuries.  Grease in the oven is believed to have contributed to starting the fire.

Kansas law imposing an automatic 50-year sentence on some convicted murderers is now in the state Senate.

State Rep. Travis Couture-Lovelady told Hays Post, “There are really no substantive differences in what the House passed on Tuesday and what the Senate is considering. I think we’ve made excellent progress and I think we will wrap up our work today.

The House passed the measure 122-0 Tuesday on the first day of a special session prompted by a U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a similar law in Virginia.

Couture-Lovelady represents the 110th district that includes portions of Ellis County.

The Hays Middle School and Hays High School Fall Sports schedules are available online. To get the line-up for all the action this fall, visit one of the following web sites.

The Kansas Insurance Department has launched a website to help consumers prepare for purchasing health coverage on the new online marketplace that is

scheduled to go live Oct. 1.

The marketplace, which the federal health reform law requires be up and running in every state, will offer consumers choices of several health insurance plans within four levels of coverage — bronze, silver, gold and platinum.

The insurance department website, InsureKS.org, features an animated tutorial and a premium estimator that consumers can use to see how much they can expect to pay for coverage and what they may qualify for in federal subsidies.

Giving Kansans an opportunity to take a hands-on approach to estimating coverage costs will help them sort through the claims and counter claims being made about Obamacare and the extent to which it affects premiums or health insurance purchase costs, said Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger.

“Kansans who go online to the new site will find many answers to the questions that have been raised about the new health insurance provisions,” Praeger said. “We have tried to provide information and education pieces that will give them a chance to get the facts for themselves.”

Most rates for the plans being offered in the new Kansas marketplace – also known as the exchange – won’t be public until October. But the premium calculator developed by the department uses real pricing and coverage data to allow consumers to estimate premiums and subsidies for the second lowest-cost plan in the second tier of coverage known as the silver level.

“We call it a midpoint premium because there are catastrophic plans and bronze plans below and there are more silver plans and gold and in some cases platinum plans above it,” said Neil Woerman, the department’s director of information technology.

Woerman said the number of variables involved make it impossible to say whether the average cost of coverage on the exchange will be higher or lower than what has been available in the current market. But he said it doesn’t appear consumers will be hit with the large premium spikes predicted by some opponents of the health reform law.

“I can’t speak to that directly other than to say that these are lower costs than the Congressional Budget Office had projected,” Woerman said.

By Jim Mclean, KHI news

The Center for Civic Leadership (CCL) at Fort Hays State University will host a number of events and activities to promote citizen leadership development during the month of September. 

Tigers in Service, partnering with the Hays Rotary Club, will host the third annual Paint-A-Thon on Saturday, Sept. 7. Teams or individual volunteers are welcome to choose between two time slots, 8 to 11 a.m. and noon to 3 p.m. A light lunch and supplies will be provided. 

Volunteers will help paint the houses of elderly or disabled citizens in the community. As space is limited, contact [email protected] to volunteer.

Times Talk Part Time USA will be from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10, in the back of Forsyth Library. Dr. Norman Caulfield, professor of history, will discuss the current job market. Lunch will be provided for the first 20 participants. Times Talk is hosted by the American Democracy Project (ADP).

The ADP and Tigers in Service will host “9/11 Day of Remembrance” beginning at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, on the Memorial Union patio. To honor the victims of 9/11, Student Government Association (SGA) President Chris Roberts will give a speech, and a candlelight vigil will be held. This event is open to the public. For more information, contact [email protected].

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) meeting will be held from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, in the Memorial Union’s Stouffer Lounge. AAUW meetings help women acquire the skills they need to lead successful academic, professional and personal lives. Jen Verhagen, a Holland, Mich., graduate student, and Nicole Walz, a Garden City graduate student, will present on their trip to the 2013 National Conference for Women Student Leaders. For more information, contact [email protected].

Tigers in Service will sponsor the 9/11 Day of Service from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, in the Hays area. Volunteers should visit the Tigers in Service office, located in Custer Hall, room 202, and pick up packets to deliver to local businesses for United Way. For more information, contact [email protected].

Family Fun Day will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at The Mall in Hays. Volunteers will help run carnival games with Smoky Hills Public Television. Two different time slots, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or noon to 4 p.m., will be available. Family Fun Day is sponsored by Tigers in Service. To volunteer, contact [email protected].

The ADP, the Department of Political Science and SGA will sponsor Constitution Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, on the Memorial Union patio. Constitution Day helps students learn the meaning of the U.S. Constitution. Copies of the Constitution will be distributed, and other activities are planned. For more information, contact [email protected].

“The world’s first and only stand-up economist,” Yoram Bauman, Ph.D., will discuss economic issues relevant to America at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, in the Black and Gold Room in the Memorial Union. The ADP is the host. For more information, contact [email protected].

The Global Leadership Project (GLP) and Messiah Lutheran Church will co-host the Hunger Awareness Banquet at 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, at the Robbins Center. The Hunger Awareness Banquet is a benefit dinner based on global hunger ratios. Diners will be informed about current food insecurity issues that families both at home and abroad face every day. The money raised from the Hunger Awareness Benefit will go towards SWIPE Out Hunger, a food packaging event on campus. Tickets are $15 and are available by calling 785-628-4497 or by emailing [email protected].

The ADP and an education class taught by Sue Boldra, instructor of teacher education, will sponsor the Ben Franklin Papers from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23, at Forsyth Library and Beach/Schmidt Auditorium. The Ben Franklin Papers is an educational day for fifth-graders to learn about Ben Franklin’s inventions and contributions to the United States. To volunteer or for more information, contact [email protected].

National Voter Registration Day will be Tuesday, Sept. 24. Various activities will be held on campus to promote voter registration. For more information, contact [email protected].

The Women’s Leadership Project (WLP) will sponsor RAINN Day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, in the Memorial Union. RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) is an organization committed to spreading awareness about these issues across the country. RAINN Day encourages students to take a stand against these crimes and serves as a preparation for the Red Flag Campaign during October. 

As a nationally recognized leadership organization, the CCL helps students become “citizen leaders” who solve community problems. This model of civic leadership is based on the belief that everyone has the ability to serve as leaders and help make their community a better place.

The CCL is partnered with the ADP, Tigers in Service, WLP and the GLP.