Month: May 2014
You & Your Young Child Debbie Breeden
You and Your Young Child Linda Beach
Topeka councilman enters diversion agreement
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka City Councilman John M. Campos II entered a diversion agreement on two felonies that led to an effort to remove him from the council.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Shawnee County District Court records show Campos entered the diversion Tuesday.
Campos was briefly booked into jail on April 22 on felony charges of making a false writing and interference with law enforcement. Prosecutors contend Campos presented a fake insurance card to the city’s legal department while trying to have a ticket from a traffic stop dismissed.
District Attorney Chad Taylor filed documents the same week seeking to remove Campos from the council.
As of Tuesday, Campos is still on the council. He has until Monday to respond to the ouster petition.
New additions to emegrency kit? Helmet and tennis shoes
K-State University Research and Extension
MANHATTAN — With severe weather on the way, it’s important to have a plan. A Kansas State University climatologist says that plan should include an emergency kit, including a helmet and tennis shoes.
“The best warning in the world with the most advance knowledge is not going to help if people don’t proactively respond to that and seek the shelter that they need,” said Mary Knapp, service climatologist in the university’s agronomy department.
Tornadoes have already taken several lives this year, and severe weather season is far from over. Knapp says it is critical to have a severe weather plan for you and your family, not only for your home but other places you are throughout the day like work and school. Also have an emergency kit ready to go. The kit should include food, water, a weather radio, cash and your medication. Having some type of helmet nearby also is useful.
“When they did an analysis of the Joplin tornado, one of the things that came to the attention of emergency management professionals was that there were a lot of head injuries,” Knapp said. “So put a bicycle helmet or another kind of protective head gear on during a tornado to reduce the risk of head injury from debris or falling structures.”
Knapp suggests getting underneath a sturdy support to avoid the debris during a tornado. Also, put on some tennis shoes to prepare for the large amount of debris following the storm.
“After an event like that, there’s a lot of broken glass all over the place,” Knapp said. “It can be in the carpet, it can be in the grass. Having sturdy shoes is your best protection. By sturdy shoes I don’t mean flip-flops, I mean tennis shoes or boots.”
Keep in mind that tornadoes are not the only threat that comes with severe weather. Flash flooding, hail and heavy winds also can be hazardous, so keep your eye on the sky and always have a plan.
KHP issues report on Greyhound, pickup accident in Trego Co.
Hays Post
The Kansas Highway Patrol has issued its report on the fatal accident last week in Trego County involving a Greyhound bus and a pickup truck.
The accident claimed the life of Luis A. Hernandez, 32, Lexington, Ky., who was driving a pickup eastbound at 1:14 a.m. April 30 on Interstate 70 when the accident occurred.
The KHP said the bus was attempting to pass the pickup when it struck the rear of a trailer being towed by the truck. Hernandez lost control of his vehicle and the bus struck the pickup a second time before the truck rolled and came to rest on its top.
The bus, according to the KHP, had 42 occupants. Seventeen, including the driver — Curtis Woods, 48, Denver — were transported to area hospitals following the accident.
A passenger in the pickup also was hospitalized. Only the driver of the bus was wearing a safety restraint, the report said. Both occupants of the pickup were properly restrained.
EPA rule could shut down agriculture
A proposed rule that would expand the regulatory authority of the Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could bring farming and ranching to a halt. Ordinary field work and everyday chores like moving cattle across a wet pasture, planting crops and even harvest may one day require a federal permit.
EPA published its new proposal in the Federal Register March 25. The Environmental Protection Agency contends its new rule clarifies the scope of the Clean Water Act. In reality it provides more confusion and less clarity for farm and ranch families and could classify most water and some dry land as waters of the United States.
Clean water is important to all of us, but this issue is not about water quality – it’s about federal agencies attempting to gain regulatory control over land use by using the claim of clean water.
Throughout this republic’s history, Congress, not federal agencies, has written the laws of the land. Two Supreme Court rulings have affirmed the federal government is limited to regulating navigable waters. EPA’s recent proposal sends conflicting messages and would extend the agency’s reach.
Farmers and ranchers are straight-forward people who believe words mean something. Agricultural producers believe the authors (Congress) of the Clean Water Act included the term navigable for a reason.
Is a small ditch navigable?
Is a stock pond navigable?
Ever see any maritime barges trying to navigate a southwestern Kansas gully during a toad strangler?
Because a farmer’s field, a homeowner’s lawn or a playground collects water after a rain does not mean they should be regulated under waters of the United States. The new regulatory proposals could do exactly that.
What about the EPA claims that agricultural exemptions currently provided under the federal Clean Water Act should relieve farmer and ranchers of any need to worry about the proposed rule?
Exemptions provided in the act are mostly limited to plowing and earth moving activities. They do not apply to farm and ranch tasks like building a fence across a ditch, applying fertilizers or other forms of pest and weed control.
If EPA’s proposed rule becomes law, many farming practices would require government approval through a complex process of federal permitting.
EPA’s so-called exemptions will not protect farmers and ranchers from the proposed waters rule. If farmlands are regulated as waters, farming and ranching will be difficult, if not impossible.
Contact the EPA and Corps before July 21 and let them know your opinion on this critical issue. Go to www.kfb.org for additional information.
John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas. He writes for the Kansas Farm Burea.
KU Med: Medicaid decision denies cancer treatment thousands
By JIM McLEAN
KHI News Service
TOPEKA — The decision by state officials not to expand Medicaid eligibility could deny thousands of uninsured Kansans access to life-saving cancer treatments, according to a recent report by researchers at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
Dr. Edward Ellerbeck, director of the Cancer Control and Population Health Program at the University of Kansas Medical Center, examines a patient. A new report by Ellerbeck and others at the medical center estimates that without Medicaid expansion about 40,000 uninsured Kansans may not get necessary screenings for colorectal, breast and cervical cancers or get the medical help they need to quit smoking. Photo by Jim McLean, KHI.
“There are some people who will die of cancer because we’re not able to screen them or provide them with the prevention services they need,” said Dr. Edward Ellerbeck, director of the Cancer Control and Population Health Program at the medical center.
The report, issued in March, estimates that without Medicaid expansion about 40,000 uninsured Kansans may not get necessary screenings for colorectal, breast and cervical cancers or get the medical help they need to quit smoking.
“The potential for improved health and reduced financial impact of cancer would be drastically altered if Kansans with incomes less than 100 percent of FPL (federal poverty level) had access to common life-saving screening and prevention services,” the report concluded.
Currently, most of the approximately 400,000 Kansans enrolled in Medicaid – called KanCare – are poor children, new mothers, the disabled and seniors who need help paying for nursing home care. Able-bodied adults with children are eligible only if they earn less than 33 percent of FPL, or $7,770 annually for a family of four. Adults without children are not eligible.
Under expansion, all adults earning up to 138 percent of poverty – $32,500 for a family of four – would be eligible.
About 40,000 could benefit
The KU report projected that Medicaid expansion would give more than 11,800 Kansans access to smoking prevention services and help more than 4,300 obtain colorectal cancer screenings. In addition, more than 20,000 women who otherwise might not receive screenings for breast and cervical cancer would have access to them if covered by Medicaid.
The projections were based on the number of Kansans expected to fall into the “gap” between 33 percent of FPL and 100 percent of FPL and the numbers within that population whose age or health status would make them eligible for the screenings.
The researchers didn’t include Kansans who earned between 100 percent of FPL and 138 percent of FPL because in addition to Medicaid they would be eligible to receive federal subsidies to help them purchase private insurance.
Tom Bell, president and chief executive of the Kansas Hospital Association, featured the KU report in a recent column he wrote for the association’s newsletter.
“This excellent study is concrete information that providing access to health care to this group of low-income, uninsured Kansans through our KanCare program could improve the health and quality of life of a significant number of our fellow citizens,” Bell wrote.
Kansas hospitals are leading the lobbying effort for expansion because administrators see it as a way to reduce the amount of charity care they provide and to offset reductions in Medicare reimbursements that they agreed to absorb to help pay for the reform law.
The Affordable Care Act called for Medicaid expansion, but the U.S. Supreme Court made it optional for states in a June 2012 ruling. Kansas is one of 19 states – most of them headed by Republican governors opposed to the ACA – that have opted not to expand the program.
Brownback: Mixed messages
Gov. Sam Brownback and Republican legislative leaders have given various reasons for opposing expansion. Initially, they questioned the reliability of the federal government’s promise to pay 100 percent of expansion costs for the first three years and not less than 90 percent thereafter.
More recently, the governor has said he doesn’t want to increase Medicaid enrollment until the state can afford to serve Kansans with physical and developmental disabilities who are now on waiting lists.
However, just before the start of the Medicaid expansion debate, Brownback stressed the importance of early detection in an open letter to “the citizens of Kansas” published as part of the state’s 2012–2016 cancer control plan.
“It is imperative for Kansans to work with their physicians to determine what screenings are appropriate for them based on family history and risk factors,” Brownback wrote. “It is important to understand that being diagnosed with cancer means it is time to fight. Working together, we will beat this disease.”
Limited help available
Since the mid-1990s, more than 20,000 Kansas women have received screenings and treatment for breast and cervical cancer through the Early Detection Works program. The $2.7 million program, funded mostly with federal Medicaid dollars, covers regular cancer screenings for Kansas women ages 50 through 64 and confirmatory tests for women ages 40 through 49 who have cancer symptoms. A limited amount of state money and foundation dollars are available to help women under 40 obtain screenings and treatment.
“We’re screening about 21 percent of the eligible population right now,” said Paula Clayton, director of the Bureau of Health Promotion at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. “Over the years, that has continued to grow.”
Only women who earn less than 225 percent of FPL – about $50,000 a year for a family of four – can qualify for the program.
The Early Detection Works program is important, Ellerbeck said, but it falls far short of addressing the need among low-income women because they must see a provider to enroll.
“How are they going to get in to see a provider to get into the Early Detection Works program if they don’t have any insurance?” he asked. “It certainly isn’t reaching all of the women in need of breast and cervical cancer screening.”
Clayton acknowledges that the Early Detection Works program is only part of the solution. But, she said, it has so far had sufficient resources to serve all eligible women who applied.
“It’s not that we’re turning women away,” she said. “We don’t have a waiting list.”
Even so, Ellerbeck said, the program is no more than a “Band-Aid” in the state’s fight to prevent deaths from treatable cancers.
“It is certainly not taking care of colorectal cancer and it’s certainly not taking care of all of the people who smoke,” he said.
Colorectal cancer is particularly troubling for Ellerbeck, who volunteers once a week at the Swope Health Services safety net clinic in Wyandotte County. Even though 60 percent of colorectal cancer deaths could be prevented by early detection, Ellerbeck said it’s virtually impossible to get colonoscopies for his clinic patients.
“For the most part, we don’t even offer screening tests because we don’t have anything to do with the results,” he said. “We can’t do what’s best for them. It’s very frustrating.”
Washburn faculty, staff speech is not restricted
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Washburn University president Jerry Farley says faculty and staff are not restricted from speaking to the media and legislators.
Confusion arose when the university in Topeka combined its communications policy with that used by Washburn Institute of Technology. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the policy was applied to Washburn’s deans and at least one dean applied the restrictions to his faculty and staff.
The policy suggested to some that faculty and staff had to seek permission from administrators before talking to public officials and the media.
But Jerry Farley said Tuesday the protocols don’t restrict faculty and staff from voicing their opinions publicly. He says faculty is asked only to make it clear they are speaking as individuals, not as university representatives.
Fancy fencing at Hays elementary school
Drawing students from Fort Hays State University turned the back fence of Roosevelt School, 2000 MacArthur Road, into a mural.
The fence is on the east side of the school grounds, with a front view for residents on Donald Drive.
Amy Schmierbach, FHSU associate professor of art and design, coordinated the project.
“Fabric was woven into the fence in flower and wildlife patterns inspired by the K-3 students of Rita Legleiter, elementary art teacher,” said Schmierbach.
“Everyone who participated learned about collaboration and creativity and got the opportunity to be a part of something bigger, a large-scale public installation,” she added.
FHSU, KAMS graduation ceremonies scheduled; mobile app unveiled
FHSU University Relations
Fort Hays State University, the fastest growing university in the Kansas Board of Regents system and one of the fastest growing in the nation, will recognize more than 3,000 graduates in three separate ceremonies this month.
Students who are receiving advanced degrees will participate in Commencement at 6 p.m. Friday, May 16, in Gross Memorial Coliseum, which is immediately adjacent to the U.S. 183 Bypass on the south side of the FHSU campus. Students who are receiving associate and bachelor’s degrees will participate in Commencement at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 17, also in Gross Memorial Coliseum.
In addition, members of the fourth graduating class of the Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science, which is located at FHSU, will have their own Commencement a week earlier at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 10, in the Memorial Union Ballroom.
These will be the last graduation ceremonies presided over by Dr. Edward H. Hammond, who has announced his retirement as FHSU president effective at the end of June. Now in his 28th year at the helm of the university, he will remain as a consultant and a member of the teaching faculty.
FHSU has more than doubled its enrollment over the past decade, rising above 13,500 in the fall 2013 semester, and there has been a corresponding explosion in the number of graduates. Although the numbers may change slightly when the degree-checking process concludes, the Registrar’s Office projects there will be 3,347 graduates this year, which includes associate, bachelor and graduate-level degrees. Degrees will go to students who completed graduation requirements in summer 2013, fall 2013 and spring 2014. This year’s total of 3,347 compares to 3,486 last year. That is a slight decline, but as recently as 2005, FHSU had only 1,374 graduates.
By holding a separate Commencement for graduate students on Friday night, which includes the traditional hooding ceremony, overcrowding can be avoided at the traditional Saturday morning Commencement. It also ensures the larger Saturday morning ceremony can be completed in less than two hours.
An added convenience at the ceremonies on May 16 and May 17 will be a Commencement application that is accessible on smart phones. The app is available for iPhone, Android and mobile Web access, but not for iPads. It is open to the public. No special access code is needed.
The link to download the mobile app, which launched this week, is https://fhsucommencement2014.quickmobile.mobi. The app is available on the App Store (iTunes). In the App Store, simply search for FHSU or 2014 FHSU Commencement (and a selection of other key words).
Those attending either of the two Commencements will be able to use the app to access several features:
• Schedule will generate a list of sessions and events with detailed overviews;
• What’s On will allow for an instant viewing of listed events in progress and events commencing within the following two hours;
• Attendees will list names, hometowns and degrees of the graduates;
• City Guide will locate hotels, restaurants and attractions utilizing Google Maps;
• Info Booth will have important information about the Commencement ceremony;
• Documents will have a campus map, a digital copy of the program and the Commencement DVD order form;
• Facebook will link to the FHSU Commencement Facebook page;
• Twitter will link to a Twitter feed about Commencement; and
• Photos will allow users to upload photos to the mobile app database.
In the case of something unexpected, such as an accident on U.S. 183 Bypass during the ceremony, the Commencement app will provide real-time information about how to avoid traffic problems.
Doors will open at GMC for graduate students and their guests at 5 p.m. Friday, May 16. Doors will open at GMC for undergraduates and their guests at 8 a.m. Saturday, May 17. Everyone is encouraged to arrive early.
All the Commencement ceremonies are free and open to families of graduates and to all friends of the university. No tickets are required. Robba Moran, a member of the Kansas Board of Regents and a former long-time Hays resident who now lives in Manhattan, will present a short address at the graduate and undergraduate Commencements. Brenda Meder, director of the Hays Arts Council, will announce the names of graduates as they receive their degrees. Dr. Edward H. Hammond, FHSU president, and Dr. Chris Crawford, interim provost, also will make brief remarks during the ceremonies.
The Torch, Pilot and Navigator awards will be presented at the Graduate Faculty Lunch at 11:30 a.m. Friday, May 16, which is open to all members and guests of the Class of 2014. Recipients of the three awards will be seated on the platform and recognized during Commencement on Saturday morning.
Because seating in GMC quickly reaches capacity, FHSU offers several other options for viewing Commencement. The entire Saturday morning ceremony will be broadcast live to Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center in Sheridan Hall. With its air conditioning, easy access and comfortable seating, the performing arts center may be the preferred choice as a viewing site for many people.
Special seating is available in both GMC and Beach/Schmidt for people with disabilities. Rebecca Luedders will interpret for the hearing-impaired in GMC, and she will be easily visible in an inset on the large screen at Beach/Schmidt.
Both the Friday night Commencement and the Saturday morning Commencement will be broadcast live by the FHSU student TV station, KFHS; on Eagle Communication cable channels in Hays, Ellis, Russell and WaKeeney; and to dozens of other communities in western and north-central Kansas on the Nex-Tech cable system. In addition, the university will make Commencement available both live and for delayed viewing over the Internet so that family and friends can watch the ceremony from distant locations. Those wishing to view the ceremony on a computer should download Windows Media Player. The address for the online broadcast is https://www.fhsu.edu/commencement.
To order a DVD of Commencement, send a check payable to FHSU in the amount of $17 to CTELT, Fort Hays State University, 600 Park St., Hays, KS 67601. Please include your full mailing address. For further information, call 785-628-5964.
Gates at GMC will open at 8 a.m. on Saturday. Graduates should park on the main campus and gather in the hallways of adjacent Cunningham Hall by 9:15 a.m.; all others are asked to enter GMC through Gates 1, 2, 3 or 4. Traffic in the GMC area is extremely heavy for Commencement. Parking lots adjacent to GMC typically fill up by 9 a.m., so those arriving after that time are encouraged to park on the main campus. In the event of rain, unpaved lots near GMC will be closed, making it necessary to park on the main campus.
Shuttle bus service will be provided on Saturday between the campus and GMC. The shuttle buses will stop in parking lots and wherever drivers see people walking to or from GMC.
Graduates and faculty will be seated on the main floor of GMC. Relatives and friends of the graduates will be seated in the bleachers and the balcony. Seating for the disabled will be available in the bleacher areas on either side in front of the stage. One person may accompany an individual requiring seating in these areas. Drivers will find Gates 2 and 3, at the northwest and southwest corners, most convenient for dropping off passengers with disabilities. This area fills quickly so plan to arrive early at GMC or view the ceremony at Beach/Schmidt.
While Commencement is a time of celebration, Fort Hays State University asks those who attend to show decorum appropriate to the occasion. Air horns and other noisemakers are not allowed in GMC. Please do not applaud individual graduates because loud demonstrations are discourteous, drowning out the names of the graduates who follow. An appropriate time for applause will be announced. The audience is also asked to refrain from moving around, and graduates should remain for the entire ceremony.
Inmate’s death at Leavenworth investigated as homicide
LEAVENWORTH (AP) — Authorities say an inmate’s death at the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth is being investigated as an apparent homicide.
Forty-eight-year-old Jeremy Nemerov died Monday night at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City.
Prison spokesman Treavor Kroger says was found unresponsive in his cell on April 24, the day after he arrived at the prison.
The Leavenworth Times reports an autopsy had not yet been performed on Tuesday.
The FBI is handling the homicide investigation.
Nemerov was serving 6½ years for a conviction in Missouri for conspiracy to possess pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture methamphetamine.
Hamilton Co. and city of Holton voters approve bond issues
HOLTON, Kan. (AP) — Holton voters have approved a $21.3 million bond issue that will be used to build an elementary school.
WIBW-AM reports unofficial results of Tuesday’s election show the issue passed by a 934-756 vote.
The district says it will buy property just west of the current Colorado Elementary School. It will then demolish the current school and build a two-story structure that will replace both of Holton’s existing elementary schools.
Voters in Syracuse and Hamilton County approved a $6.4 million bond issue for the county’s only school district in Syracuse.
The money from the bonds will be used to build an agricultural-educational building and make several athletic improvements, such as a new gymnasium, football turf and an eight-lane track.
The Hutchison News report unofficial results showed the issue passed by a 358-265 with 28 provisional ballots. Forty-nine percent of the eligible voters cast ballots.
About $1 million in state aid is available for the project.