MILWAUKEE (AP) — A fad in which people challenge their friends to jump into freezing water in efforts to raise money for charity has prompted warnings from state and school officials across the nation.
The phenomenon began last month as a fundraiser for a 6-month-old cancer patient in Missouri. As it spread on social media, the rules about contributing to charity evolved into several variations.
As the so-called cold-water challenges have grown, more divers have reported broken bones, blown-out knees or worse. They might misjudge the water’s depth or land on a submerged object.
High schools across the nation have begun alerting parents to the practice. State officials are urging divers to use extreme caution.
However, one Indiana cancer charity says the phenomenon helped it raise $1,500 in a month.
FAIRFIELD, Calif. (AP) — Federal investigators say the pilot of a vintage biplane who died at a Northern California air show was making his second attempt at an upside-down stunt 20 feet off the ground when he crashed.
The pilot identified as 77-year-old Eddie Andreini had a knife attached to his plane and was trying to cut a ribbon on pole held by a ground crew.
The findings are included in a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report released Monday about the May 4 crash at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield.
The NTSB says the plane was too high during the first attempt to cut the ribbon. It crashed before reaching the ribbon during the second attempt, catching fire and coming to a stop a few hundred feet beyond the crew members.
MIAMI (AP) — Some consumers are suffering buyer’s remorse after realizing they bought insurance plans under the new health law and are now finding their longtime doctors and hospital networks aren’t accepting those plans.
Consumers are finding their access limited across plans of all price ranges.
The dilemma undercuts President Obama’s 2009 pledge that: “If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period.” Consumer frustration over losing doctors comes as the Obama administration is still celebrating a victory with more than 8 million enrollees in its first year.
Narrow networks are part of the economic trade-off for keeping premiums under control and preventing insurers from turning away those with pre-existing conditions.
An 18-year-old Hays man is facing multiple charges after passing out at the wheel of a car while engaging in “huffing.”
According to Hays Police Department Chief of Police Don Scheibler, officers responded to the 3300 block of Vine Street shortly after 11:30 p.m. Sunday when a blue Oldsmobile “left the roadway and struck a pole.”
“Upon investigation, it was discovered the driver was engaging in ‘huffing’ by inhaling a can of aerosol duster,” Scheibler said.
The driver reportedly suffered a broken jaw. A passenger in the vehicle was not injured.
“Huffing” is a slang term used when people inhale chemicals to get high.
“We know it goes on,” said Scheibler, “It is a very dangerous practice.”
“We are very lucky the driver did not kill himself or caused a very serious accident that could have resulted in the death of several people,” Scheibler added.
Scheibler said the man, whose name is not being released, is facing allegations of driving under the influence, driving left of center, unlawful abuse of a toxic substance and possibly aggravated endangerment of a child because the passenger in the car was under the age of 18.
TONGANOXIE (AP) — A 105-year-old woman is reported in good condition at a hospital after being rescued from her burning home in northeast Kansas.
WDAF-TV reports a nephew who lives next door to Ann Elizabeth Jarrett in Tonganoxie smelled smoke just after 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The nephew, Jackson Jarrett, says he saw smoke pouring from the roof of his aunt’s home. He opened her door but was turned back by smoke while listening to her call for help.
Firefighters were able to rescue the woman. She was taken to a Lawrence hospital for observation.
Tonganoxie Fire Chief David Barrett says it was one of his proudest days in his 26 years with the department.
Ann Elizabeth Jarrett is known in the neighborhood as a Sunday school teacher who still handles all her personal affairs.
The Hays City Commission will re-examine its policies on using portable shipping containers for storage, a continuation of a discussion that began last year with a debate over zoning regulations.
The units are on the AGENDA for the commission’s work session, scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at City Hall.
The current ordinance, in place since 2008, allows the units to be used for storage on a temporary basis. That ordinance also did not apply to several existing units, which were grandfathered in as existing nonconforming structures.
In a memo to commissioners, Jessie Rohr — superintendent of planning, inspection and enforcement — said staff has researched ordinances in other communities and considered several options, including creating a set of regulations for permanent placement of the units.
The recommendations are for discussion purposes only, Rohr said.
Among the items staff is recommending the commission consider are:
• Allow shipping containers as an accessory use only and subject to the requirements of the zoning district in which they are located.
• Containers shall meet all adopted building and fire code requirements including tie downs, setbacks, etc.
• All signage on the container shall be removed and the container painted an earth-tone color or a color compatible with the adjacent surrounding properties, or the container shall be sided with a siding material compatible with the surrounding environment and adjacent structures.
• Containers shall be safe, structurally sound and in good repair.
• Any container that becomes unsound, unstable or otherwise dangerous, as determined by the city, shall be immediately repaired or removed by the property owner.
• Containers shall not be stored in a manner that impedes access to public rights of way, public utility or drainage easements, adjacent structures or buildings.
• Materials stored inside the container shall only include items normally associated with the business use of the property.
• Properties upon which the container(s) are located shall have a minimum lot size of 1 acre.
• Containers shall be placed on a stable surface.
• Containers shall be set back a minimum of 35 feet from property lines, except front property lines, in which the setback shall be a minimum of 100 feet. At no time shall the containers be placed between the main structure and public street.
• Containers shall be setback a minimum of 100 feet from any property zoned or used for residential land uses.
• End-to-end grouping of containers shall not exceed two containers in length.
• At no time shall the containers be utilized as rental units to anyone other than the property owner or property lessee of the existing on-site business enterprise where the unit is placed.
• At no time shall any containers be placed as a permanent use in any residential zoned district within the city.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The states of Kansas and Arizona say they have a sovereign right to require proof of citizenship for voting residents of their states, even for federal elections.
The two states urged the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday to lift the emergency stay it issued last week. The appeals court had halted a ruling from U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren requiring the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to modify its federal voter registration form for Kansas and Arizona residents.
Kansas claims the appeals court stay would force it to implement a burdensome dual election system, like the one in Arizona.
Under that system, voters who registered with the federal form can only vote in federal races, while those using the more stringent state registration forms can vote in all elections.
There’s an old saying that goes something like this: “Sometimes you have to look back on where you’ve been to know where you’re going.” While I’m not a fanatic about history, I believe it certainly has its place in our society today.
John Schlageck writes for the Kansas Farm Bureau.
When I take a road trip across Kansas or some other destination across our great land, I often stop along the way to read historical markers. More often than not they are half hidden by vegetation and often include details about battles, pestilence and devastation as well as discovery, success and progress.
When Mom and Dad were alive we sometimes drove to a handful of cemeteries in rural Kansas and Missouri to pay homage to our relatives. Below the headstones rested the remains of men in our family who spent their lives planting and harvesting behind sweating teams of horses, butchering hogs on bitterly cold days and teaching new sons about the soil.
Also down there were the remains of women who collected eggs, washed clothes by hand, cooked skillets full of fried chicken and managed to be good wives and mothers under sometimes nearly impossible conditions.
They are the ones who wove the fabric that serves as the yardstick for our new and dynamic future. What happened with these early pioneers has a direct bearing on our present successes and failures.
One such winning story revolves around the strides agriculture and its people have made in the interests of conservation. Not everything that has happened in conservation can be limited to the last 10 or 20 years. Many of the innovations in conservation began taking shape in the years after the Dirty ‘30s, nearly 80 years ago.
Thousands of shelterbelts were planted in Kansas and other Great Plains states. After rain finally began falling again, ponds dotted the landscape holding this precious resource. Landowners learned to make the water walk and not run, conserving it for livestock and sometimes for thirsty crops.
Terraces snaked their way across thousands of miles of farmland holding soil and water in place. Soil-stopping strip cropping created patterns and reduced wind erosion.
Slowly but surely conservation measures continued to slow the soil erosion gorilla that had stomped across the High Plains leaving in its wake gullies the size of automobiles, drifts of soil as high as fence posts, withered lifeless wheat and corn and starving livestock on barren pastures.
Yes, with knowledge, education, patience, understanding, hard work and Mother Nature’s ability to heal herself, the rich, fertile land recovered. Throughout this renaissance of the land, farmers and ranchers learned that stewardship of the soil, water and other resources is in the best interests of us all.
Guess what?
We’re in our fourth or fifth year of another drought depending on which part of the state you live in. Some farmers and stockmen from the eastern third of Kansas believe the drought is moving their way. And if you haven’t traveled to the western third of the state, crop and livestock conditions are turning from bad to worse.
It is important for all of us to understand what has happened in the past so we can place present events and future needs in their proper perspectives.
A new, modern twist may be nothing more than an old theme or something coming around after having gone around. After all human history is comprised of human ideas. Nearly all ideas are timeless, just waiting to be dusted off, reshaped and used again.
John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.
JUNCTION CITY — For eight years in the U.S. House and another 28-plus years in the U.S. Senate, Bob Dole represented the state of Kansas.
Bob Dole visits with retired doctor and former state legislator Alex Scott during a stop Tuesday in Junction City.
The Russell native and former presidential candidate, 90, is touring Kansas this week saying thank you to the public for their support during his career. One stop was the Hampton Inn in Junction City where he was greeted by local residents during a reception. He displayed his sense of humor in his opening comments and drew a chuckle from the audience when he noted he had no agenda, wasn’t there to raise money or beg for a vote.
“Though I may run again, not sure,” he said tongue-in-cheek. “I just want to say thank you for all the support you’ve given me over the years. I ran for the Senate five times, and I think probably some people in this room, maybe not as old as I am, voted for me at least three or four times. And I thank you for that. And I did the best I could to repay the people who supported me, in fact all the people. You don’t just represent those who supported you.”
Dole credited a law librarian when he was a law student at Washburn University, Beth Bowers, for being the inspiration for his public service career. He was one of four students she convinced to run for the state Legislature. Dole said two of them won, and he was one of those two.
“And I guess that sort of gave me a taste for politics, and she was the inspiration. She was a wonderful lady,” he said.
Dole later was elected county attorney in Russell County and served there for eight years. He then ran for Congress, winning election to the U.S. House by 984 votes.
Dole met with approximately 50 people during his stop in Junction City. Earlier, in Manhattan, there was a large turnout to meet him during a public reception at the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — The chief financial officer at the center of St. Joseph School stipend controversy has filed suit against the school district.
Beau Musser
Beau Musser has been on administrative leave since March. School district officials reportedly have asserted Musser was placed on leave because of sexual harassment allegations.
Sources, however, have said the real reason was in retaliation for reporting alleged illegal activity by administrators to members of the Board of Education.
The lawsuit was filed over the noon hour Tuesday in Buchanan County (Mo.) Circuit Court. Specific details from the lawsuit will not be available until officials in the Circuit Clerk’s office can enter the lawsuit into their system and notify the defendants, which could take several days.
K-State Athletics MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State Athletics Director John Currie announced today that quarterback/wide receiver Daniel Sams has been granted a conditional release from his scholarship by the university.
“Daniel requested to be able to continue his playing career at an FCS institution so that he could be closer to some of his aging family members,” Currie said. “We appreciate his contributions and wish him the best.”
Sams, who just completed his redshirt sophomore season for the Wildcats, will be permitted to contact FCS institutions near his hometown of Slidell, Louisiana, with the exception of Stephen F. Austin, a 2014 Wildcat opponent, Currie said. With the release, under standard NCAA rules, Sams will be eligible to compete and receive financial aid immediately upon enrollment at an FCS institution.
“I am thankful to Coach Snyder for the opportunity I have had here at K-State and also the fans for being so supportive,” Sams said. “I have become a better teammate, football player and more importantly a better person during my time at K-State, and I want to wish my teammates and coaches nothing but the best next season.”
MINNEAPOLIS – (May 13, 2014) – The fourth Kansas Department of Corrections inmate involved in a 2012 escape was sentenced today to more than 10 additional years in prison, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.
Santos M. Carrera-Morales, 24, was sentenced to 128 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections by Chief Judge Jerome P. Hellmer in Ottawa County District Court. A jury in January found Carrera-Morales guilty of aggravated escape from custody and battery on a corrections officer.
Carrera-Morales was serving time for two first-degree murder convictions when he and three other inmates escaped from custody in April 2012. The inmates were housed by the state at the Ottawa County jail at the time of their escape. All four inmates have now been sentenced on charges in connection with the escape. Eric James was sentenced in July 2012 to 18 years in federal prison for carjacking charges related to the escape. Drew Wade and Alberto Barraza-Lujan were each sentenced in March 2013 to 136 additional months after pleading guilty to aggravated escape from custody.
Assistant Attorney General Steve Karrer from Schmidt’s office prosecuted the cases.
TOPKEA, Kan. (AP) — State Board of Education members are struggling with applications from the first two Kansas school districts seeking innovative status under a 2013 state law, and with the law’s implications for the board’s authority.
The board created a subcommittee Tuesday to meet with the Concordia and McPherson school districts to discuss their applications and resolve several questions. Among them were specifics about student testing, accrediting schools and how much governance the state board retains over the districts.
Innovative status exempts districts from certain state regulations in exchange for the freedom to try new ways to improve student achievement.
Gov. Sam Brownback and the leaders of the House and Senate Education committees chose McPherson and Concordia earlier this year from among eight applicants for the designation, but the state board still must approve.
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TOPKEA, Kan. (AP) — The State Board of Education is preparing to review proposals from two Kansas school districts to be granted innovative status by the state.
Board members on Tuesday will hear staff reports on the plans from the Concordia and McPherson school districts. The two were selected earlier this year by Gov. Sam Brownback and the chairs of the House and Senate Education committees from a pool of applicants.
A 2013 Kansas law allows up to 10 percent of the state’s 286 school districts to be granted innovative status. The designation exempts them from certain state regulations in exchange for the freedom to try new ways to improve student achievement.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A fad in which people challenge their friends to jump into freezing water in efforts to raise money for charity has prompted warnings from state and school officials across the nation.
