We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Month: November 2013

TMP-Marian Garners Four on All-MCAA Football First Team

Posted on

https://www.horizonappliance.com/

 

The TMP-Marian football team had five first-team selections to the Mid Central Activities Association All-football team. Offensive lineman Adam Schibi and Nick Schumcher, wide receiver and defensive back Ryan Mayorga along with defensive lineman Justin Pfeifer were named to the first-team.

Running back Nick Schmidt, offensive lineman Aaron Moore, wide receiver Cameron Fouts, defensive lineman Adam Schibi, linebackers Levi Dreiling, Cameron Fouts and Michael Schulte, defensive back Grant Romme along with kicker Jack You were all named honorable mention.

Huelskamp talks ACA abortion coverage (VIDEO)

Posted on
tim constituents
1st District Congressman Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) talks to constituents following Wednesday’s town hall meeting in Hays.

First District Congressman Tim Huelskamp’s (R-KS) stop in Hays Wednesday afternoon was his 201st town hall meeting.

About 70 people attended the session in the Rose Garden Banquet Hall (formerly the Fanchon Ballroom), including a dozen or so TMP Marian High School students.

The first question from the audience involved the Affordable Care Act and abortion coverage in the health plan exchanges:

The law requires health exchanges to have at least one plan that does not include elective abortion, so that abortion opponents could avoid purchasing policies that cover the procedure.  But the information has not been on the federal website healthcare.gov.

According to information from the Guttmacher Institute, Kansas is one of 23 states to pass laws banning all plans in their health exchange from offering coverage for elective abortion. Eight of those states, including Kansas, have also banned private insurers from offering coverage for abortion.  In Kansas there is an exception for endangerment of the mother’s life.  Kansas does allow abortion coverage to be sold as a separate policy.

Founded in 1968, the Guttmacher Institute institutes integrating nonpartisan social science research, policy analysis and public education to provide a factual basis for the development of sound governmental policies and for public consideration of the issues involved in the promotion of reproductive health and rights.

Local Club Kicking Off Pheasant Season

Posted on

Smoky Hill Pheasants Forever is hosting their 17th annual kickoff of pheasant season.  The public is invited to attend a celebration of the season November 8th at the Hays Sportsman’s Club at 5810 230th Ave in Hays.  Gates will open at 2:00 pm, and the event will run until around 10:00 pm.  Shayne Wilson, the group’s treasurer, told Hays Post that it gives people a chance to practice shooting, socialize with other hunters, eat some food and possibly win prizes.


Participants can purchase raffle tickets at the event for a chance to win various prizes, including a Remington 887 Nitro Mag 12 gauge shotgun.  There aren’t any official prizes for shooting, but Wilson said shooters often hold friendly competitions amongst each other.

Tickets for the event are $15 for adults, $12 for children 6 – 12, kids 5 and under get in for free.  Wilson said that this event helps the group give back to area students.

“What we use this money for is our youth scholarships that we provide.  In the past we started out with one $500 scholarship, and we’ve been able to up that to about 3 different scholarships every year now.  And we give those to kids that are going to school in a Kansas school.”

Stolen bottle of vodka and high speed chase

Posted on
Hardwell
Hardwell
Hunter
Hunter

A bottle of vodka stolen from a liquor store was the beginning of a 22-mile chase on I-135 Wednesday evening.

Police were sent to Phil’s Liquor at 2300 Planet Ave in Salina about 8:20p.m. on the report of four teenage girls stealing a bottle of vodka.

A description of the car and tag number was given to police, and the gray Mustang was found a short time later entering onto the interstate at Magnolia Road.

When an officer tried to stop the car, it sped off and at times during pursuit speeds reached 95 mph, before the car finally pull over about a mile north of the rest area on the interstate in McPherson County. The bottle of vodka stolen from the liquor store was tossed out of the car during the chase.

The four teens who range in age from 13 to 19 are from Wichita.

Arrested was the driver of the car 18-year-old Cabresha Hardwell on requested charges of Fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement, endangering a child, contributing to a child’s misconduct and theft.

Arrested on charges of contributing to a child’s misconduct and theft were 19- year old Tiaria Evans, and 19-year-old Alexis Hunter. The 13-year-old girl was turned over to the custody of her parents.

 

School safety review for legislators UPDATE

Posted on
Dr. Bob Hull, director of the Kansas Center for Safe and Prepared Schools
Dr. Bob Hull, director of the Kansas Center for Safe and Prepared Schools

3 p.m.  (AP) — A state official says Kansas schools are becoming better prepared to respond to natural and man-made disasters but will need more resources to keep improving.

Bob Hull, director of the Kansas Center for Safe and Prepared Schools, told lawmakers Thursday that shrinking federal grants have limited the state’s ability to help schools prepare for tornadoes or violent intruders.

Hull says that schools are conducting more drills and risk assessments. But he adds that more money is needed to build safe rooms and provide crisis training.

Hull made the remarks to the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Kansas Security. Its chairman, Sen. Jay Emler, says the center has enough funding to get through the next calendar year, but funding beyond that is uncertain. The center receives $50,000 from the state annually.

 

5 a.m.  (AP) — Legislators will get a briefing from a member of the Kansas adjutant general’s staff about school safety and security.

The update will be provided Thursday afternoon from Bob Hull, director of the Kansas Center for Safe and Prepared Schools. His office works with school districts to improve student and staff safety through a variety of programs, including the construction of safe rooms to protect against storm damage.

Members of the Joint Committee on Kansas Security will also hear updates on security at the state Capitol complex and a report on an audit of residential care for military veterans at state facilities.

 

FHSU honors veterans Monday

Posted on

veteransService men and women will be honored Veterans Day, Monday, November 11, by the Fort Hays State University American Democracy Project.

The ceremony will begin with at 10:30a.m. in Sheridan Hall with speeches by Chris Roberts, junior, and Reed Tevault, senior, president and vice president of the Student Government Association.

Anna Hand, sophomore, student coordinator for the American Democracy Project, will talk about the ADP followed by Tre’ Giles, sophomore, and student coordinator for the Global Leadership Project, reading the famous John McCrae poem “In Flanders Field.”

A local Boy Scouts of America troop will conduct the flag ceremony.

In Memorial Union, participants can write cards to veterans and soldiers in exchange for a poppy flower.  The poppy is the emblem of Veterans Day as well as a reference to “In Flanders Field.”

FDA: Say goodbye to trans fats

Posted on

Screen Shot 2013-11-07 at 1.01.44 PMThe FDA is announcing Thursday that it will require the food industry to gradually phase out trans fats, saying they are a threat to people’s health.

Commissioner Margaret Hamburg says the move could prevent 20,000 heart attacks a year and 7,000 deaths.

Hamburg says that while the amount of trans fats in the country’s diet has declined dramatically in the last decade, they “remain an area of significant public health concern.”

The agency isn’t yet setting a timeline for the phase-out, but will collect comments for two months before officials determine how long it will take.

Trans fat is widely considered the worst kind of fat for your heart. They are often found in processed foods, including some microwave popcorns and frozen pizzas, refrigerated doughs and ready-to-use frostings.

$1.2M in awards for Kansas rental assistance

Posted on

khrc logoEighteen northwest Kansas counties, members of Northwest Kansas Housing, Inc., are among ten recipient agencies in Kansas to share HUD-funded rental assistance.

The ten non-profits and public housing authorities statewide will share $1.2 million in Tenant Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) to help Kansas families obtain safe, affordable housing of their choice. Funded through the federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), and administered by Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC), TBRA helps income-eligible households afford rental subsidies, utility deposits and security deposits.

“TBRA grants allow struggling families to use their financial resources for other basic needs, such as food, medicine, child care and transportation,” said Christine Reimler, KHRC’s HOME Division Director. “This assistance is truly a lifeline which helps families move out of homelessness and into self-sufficiency,” said Reimler.

Awarded annually, TBRA grants are based on a community’s housing needs, the number of households estimated to be served and the organization’s experience in administering TBRA funding. Public housing authorities and non-profit organizations may apply for grants of up to $300,000.

Recipients of this year’s TBRA awards are:

GRANTEE
AWARD
COMMUNITIES SERVED
Bert Nash
$110,000
City of Lawrence and Douglas County
Rental Assistance, Security
and Utility Deposits
Charlotte Knoche: 785-842-8110
or Carla Helm: 785-830-1706 
Harvest America
$225,000
Barber, Barton, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Finney, Ford, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Hamilton, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearny, Kiowa, Lane, Meade, Morton, Ness, Pawnee, Pratt, Rush, Scott, Seward, Stafford, Stanton, Stevens and Wichita Counties
Rental Assistance, Security
and Utility Deposits

John Miles: 913-342-2121
Independence
Housing Authority
$75,000
City of Independence
Rental Assistance
April Nutt or Molly Wright: 620-332-2536
Manhattan Housing
Authority
$75,000
Pottawatomie and Riley Counties
Security and Utility
Deposits

Patrick O’Neil: 785-776-8588, ext. 306
Mental Health
Association of South
Central Kansas
$70,000
Butler and Sedgwick Counties
Rental Assistance
Lee Schnyder: 316-685-1821, ext. 501
Northeast Kansas
Community Action
Program
$75,000
Atchison, Brown, Doniphan, Jackson,
Jefferson, Marshall and Nemaha Counties
Security and Utility Deposits
Kristy Morey:: 785-742-2222, ext. 256
Northwest Kansas
Housing, Inc.
$125,000
Cheyenne, Decatur, Ellis, Gove, Graham, Logan,
Norton, Osborne, Phillips, Rawlins, Rooks, Russell, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Thomas, Trego
and Wallace Counties
Rental Assistance, Security
and Utility Deposits

Loyce Schamberger: 785-421-2151
Prairie View, Inc.
$70,000
Harvey, Marion and McPherson Counties
Rental Assistance
Brad Schmidt: 316-284-6439
Southeast Kansas
Community Action
Program
$300,000
Allen, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee,
Crawford, Elk, Labette, Linn, Montgomery,
Neosho, Wilson and Woodson Counties
Rental Assistance, Security
and Utility Deposits
Craig Chronister: 620-724-8204
Wyandot Center for
Community
Behavioral
Healthcare, Inc.
$75,000
Wyandotte County
Rental Assistance and
Security Deposits

Jana Loflin: 913-233-3364

Kansas students outperform national averages

Posted on

 

Kansas-State-Board-of-EducationResults from the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exams, released today and shared by the Kansas State Board of Education, show that Kansas students continue to outperform the national average in the areas of mathematics and reading.

Results of NAEP exams are measured in two ways: 1) with an average scale score (0-500), and 2) with achievement levels: Basic, Proficient and Advanced.

Mathematics

Nationally, fourth-grade student mathematic scores increased slightly from an average score of 240 in 2011 to 241 in 2013. In Kansas, fourth-grade mathematic scores remained unchanged at 246, still well ahead of the national average. The percent of Kansas fourth-grade students performing at or above the NAEP Proficient level also remained unchanged at 48 percent. However, the percentage of Kansas students preforming at NAEP’s Advanced level increased from seven percent in 2011 to eight percent in 2013. The average fourth-grade math score in Kansas is lower than just three states (compared to four states in 2011), higher than 32 states and not significantly different from 16 states.

Eighth-grade national mathematic scores increased from 283 in 2011 to 284 in 2013, while Kansas’ eighth-grade scores remained unchanged at 290, again tracking well ahead of the national average. The percentage of Kansas students performing at or above the NAEP Proficient level increased from 40 percent in 2011 to 41 percent in 2013. Students performing at the Advanced level increased from eight percent in 2011 to 10 percent in 2013, representing the highest percentage of Kansas students to reach this level.  Nationally, the average score in Kansas is lower than those in five states, higher than those in 31 states and not significantly different from those in 15 states.

Reading

Kansas’ fourth-grade reading results, while still ahead of the national average, declined slightly from 2011. Kansas students averaged a score of 223, which is down from 224 in 2011, while the national fourth-grade score increased from 220 in 2011 to 221 in 2013. The percentage of Kansas students at or above the Proficient level (38 percent) represented a two percent increase over 2011 and a four percent increase over the national average. Nationally, Kansas’ fourth-grade reading scores were lower than those in nine states, higher than those in 20 states and not significantly different from those in 22 states.

While the national average score for eighth-grading reading increased by two percent this year, Kansas’ eighth-grade reading scores (267) have remained unchanged since 2003 and are tracking only slightly ahead of the national average score of 266. The percentage of Kansas eighth-graders scoring at the Proficient level remained unchanged from 36 percent in 2011 – one percent higher than the national average. Nationally, Kansas eight-grade reading scores were lower than those in 15 states, higher than those in 15 states and not significantly different from those in 21 states.

The Nation’s Report Card: 2013 Mathematics and Reading is available online at https://nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_2013.

 

Key Kansas abortion rights figure announces plans

Posted on
Peter Brownlie
Peter Brownlie

(AP) — The president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri plans to retire this spring after years at the center of the abortion debate.

Peter Brownlie announced his plans Thursday, without setting a specific date for his departure.

He’s been the top administrator of the Planned Parenthood chapter since August 1999.

During his tenure, his organization challenged anti-abortion laws enacted by Kansas legislators and was the target of a lengthy criminal case in Johnson County that was dismissed last year.

Kansas legislators are still pondering additional changes, and Planned Parenthood still has federal lawsuits pending over anti-abortion laws enacted in 2011 and 2013.

But Brownlie said in an interview before his announcement that he believes the organization’s most difficult legal and legislative battles are behind it.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File