A couple prays Thursday at the Ellis County Courthouse on National Day of Prayer.
By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post
More than 50 people of all ages gathered in front of the Ellis County Courthouse Thursday to pray as millions across the country did the same.
The 63rd annual National Day of Prayer in Hays was sponsored by the Ellis County Ministerial Alliance.
Each member of the ECMA recited a prayer focused on praying for worldwide and local issues such as education and entrepreneurship.
The participants broke up into groups and followed with their own prayers.
According to the National Day of Prayer website, the event “invites people of all faiths to pray for the nation.” The event was created in 1952 by a resolution of the U.S. Congress, and signed into law by President Harry Truman.
National Day of Prayer participants are pictured in front of Ellis County Courthouse.
Since Truman signed the first proclamation, every president has signed a proclamation announcing the first Thursday of May as National Day of Prayer.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sleep deprived Americans have a new option to address hard-to-treat nighttime breathing problems: a first-of-kind device that keeps airways open by zapping them with an electrical current
The Food and Drug Administration approved the pacemaker-like device from Inspire Medical Systems for sleep apnea patients who have trouble with the current standard of care: machines that blow air through a bedtime mask.
One of the main causes of sleep apnea is that the tongue and throat muscles relax too much during sleep, often blocking breathing and waking the person up. Sufferers loose crucial sleep time and are at higher risk for car accidents, heart attack and stroke.
Inspire’s device treats the problem by stimulating a nerve that controls key airway muscles so that they stay in place and don’t block breathing.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators have finished their business for the year and ended their shortest annual session in 40 years.
The House adjourned at 2:06 a.m. Saturday. The Senate followed at 2:13 a.m.
The only remaining scheduled business is a brief, formal adjournment ceremony May 30.
Lawmakers left the Statehouse after giving final approval to budget legislation. It was the 79th day of their session.
It was the shortest annual session since 1974, when lawmakers met for only 64 days. At the time, the state constitution specified 60-day sessions in even-numbered years.
The constitution now calls for a 90-day sessions but allows them to run longer. The sessions in 2012 and 2013 lasted 99 days, and the sessions in 1991 and 2002 exceeded 100 days.
TOPEKA — Children’s advocates are crying foul over a last-minute budget deal that transfers $5 million from a fund used to pay for early childhood programs to an agency that invests state money in promising bioscience companies.
April Holman, policy director for the nonprofit advocacy organization Kansas Action for Children, said House and Senate budget negotiators gave no advance notice that the transfer was under consideration.
“They never talked about this until they came back for their very last meeting,” Holman said. “Rep. Sullentrop said they wanted to transfer the money to the bioscience authority, Sen. Masterson said ‘we agree’ and it was a done deal in 20 seconds.”
Rep. Gene Suellentrop and Sen. Ty Masterson are the chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Ways and Means Committees respectively. They are both Republicans.
The bill transfers the money from Kansas Endowment for Youth, or KEY fund, to the Kansas Bioscience Authority, increasing its budget from $27 million to $32 million.
“There were some concerns that the bioscience authority couldn’t fulfill its function if we cut them clear down to $27 million,” Masterson said.
The authority was created to make strategic investments in emerging Kansas bioscience companies and to assist in attracting new ones to the state. Money from the state’s settlement with the nation’s major tobacco companies is first deposited into the KEY fund. Portions of it are then allocated to the Children’s Initiatives Fund and used to support a variety of childhood development programs.
The transfer is included in a bill that finishes the Legislature’s work on a $14.6 billion budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
The Senate voted 22-18 early Friday afternoon to approve the budget bill. The House is expected to vote on it later Friday.
Sen. Laura Kelly of Topeka, the ranking Democrat on the budget writing committee, refused to sign the conference committee agreement because she said it didn’t address the state’s deteriorating revenue situation and because of the transfer.
We’re taking money out of the mouths of babes,” Kelly said. “It is not like we’re over-budgeted in early childhood programs. There are lots of kids on waiting lists for services.”
The last-minute deal, Holman said, increases concerns that the tobacco settlement money is being purposefully underestimated so that Gov. Sam Brownback and Republican legislative leaders have some unallocated funds left at the end of the session that they can use to plug holes in the budget.
“It has become a pattern and it really makes us question whether that has been the goal all along,” she said.
Last year, lawmakers swept $9.5 million from the CIF into the state general fund to cover other expenses.
Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced on April 18 that state had received $62.2 million in tobacco settlement funds, $7 million more than his original estimate.
Kansas Action for Children filed a lawsuit in Shawnee District Court a year ago asking the court to order Schmidt to release copies of settlement records. The court recently denied a motion filed by Schmidt that likely would have led to the case being dismissed.
Money from the tobacco settlement flows to the KEY fund. Then money goes from there to the Children’s Initiatives Fund to support a variety of childhood development programs.
The endowment fund was created by the Legislature in 1999 with the goal that it would be invested to help sustain the children’s programs when budgets were tight or tobacco dollars fluctuated.
But that never happened, Cotsoradis said, in part because the state used more than $140 million from the tobacco settlement over the years to shore up general state coffers, including $9.5 million for this year’s budget.
“Essentially, the Kansas Endowment for Youth is broke,” Cotsoradis said. “The fund that was intended to ensure these programs are paid for in perpetuity has nothing in it.”
Lawmakers approved historic tax cuts in 2012 that are projected to leave the state treasury essentially empty by fiscal 2016.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators have approved a bill declaring that the federal government has no authority to regulate prairie chickens in the state.
The measure approved Friday night is a response to the federal government’s March listing of the lesser prairie chicken as threatened. The listing allows federal oversight of state conservation efforts.
The House passed the bill, 87-37, shortly after the Senate approved it, 30-7. The measure goes to Gov. Sam Brownback.
The bill covers both the lesser prairie chicken and the larger, darker and more abundant greater prairie chicken. It allows the attorney general to file lawsuits to block federal attempts to regulate the birds and their habitats.
State officials fear conservation efforts will restrict agriculture and energy companies. Environmentalists say Kansas should work to increase the bird’s population.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators have approved legislation opening some law enforcement records to the public, bringing the state in line with the practice across the country.
The House approved the measure 123-1 on Friday evening. The Senate passed it earlier Friday on a vote of 40-1.
Kansas is currently the only state that seals law enforcement documents supporting arrests and search warrants.
The Kansas Press Association and other proponents had long sought to change the law to provide more information to the public about law enforcement activities.
Prosecutors agreed to the bill after provisions were added to allow time for documents to be prepared and redacted to protect the identity of crime victims before the records are released.
The bill now goes to Gov. Sam Brownback, who supports the changes.
PRATT—Two people were killed in a Pratt County crash on Friday.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Ford Taurus driven by Ronald J. Werner, 75, Halstead was southbound on K-61 five miles north of Pratt.
The vehicle was struck by a northbound 2008 Chevy Avalanche driven by Edio Estrada Jr., 20, Rio Grande City, TX that had crossed the centerline. The Avalanche flipped onto its top, slid northbound, and came to rest facing south in the southbound lane.
Werner and a passenger in the Taurus Kathleen L. Werner, 73, Halstead were pronounced dead at the scene.
Estrada Jr. was transported to the hospital in Pratt.
The KHP reported Estrada Jr. was the only one not wearing a seat belt.
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-PRATT — Two people were killed in a Friday morning crash in Pratt County.
Portions of Kansas 61 north of Pratt were closed to investigate the cause of the crash between a car and a pickup.
“The highway was reopened just after 1 p.m.,” said Pratt County Sheriff Vernon Chinn. “The (Kansas ) Highway Patrol is still on the scene.”
The driver and a passenger in the car were killed. Their names have not been released. The driver of the pickup was not seriously injured.
Check Hays Post for more information as it becomes available.
TOPEKA–The Kansas Department of Commerce has announced that four Kansas cities and counties will participate in a Local Technology Planning Pilot project as part of the Kansas Statewide Broadband Initiative (KSBI).
Dodge City/Ford County, Fort Scott/Bourbon County, Norton/Norton County and Topeka/Shawnee County will work with consultants, local partners and Commerce to understand broadband needs and priorities, and develop strategic plans to meet their objectives.
“Quality broadband is critical for success in today’s economy,” Kansas Commerce Secretary Pat George said in a news release. “Businesses and entrepreneurs need broadband to communicate, reach customers, utilize services in the cloud, develop products and conduct numerous other activities. Kansas service providers have been leaders in providing innovative broadband, but it’s important to understand what challenges remain across the state and how communities and businesses can work together to address those.”
The objective of the KSBI is to promote economic and community development in Kansas through state availability and use of quality broadband services, infrastructure and applications. By harnessing the power of a robust broadband infrastructure, Kansas is positioned to be a pioneer in the next generation of innovative applications used to grow businesses and communities.
The cities and counties participating in the Local Technology Planning Pilot will work to improve their organizational capacity and establish a technology planning direction. This will be accomplished by documenting and quantifying local supply, demand and economic impact. Modeling will show the network cost to serve, demand and revenue, unique local factors and future projections. The strategy reports developed in each pilot project will incorporate analytical findings, best practices and next steps that local stakeholders recommend.
“This project does not provide funding for infrastructure, but instead allows us to work with local partners to help communities and businesses assess their broadband needs and develop strategies for meeting those needs,” said KSBI Program Director Stanley Adams. “The initial four communities participating in the pilot represent a range of geographic and demographic profiles designed to assess rural and underserved priorities. Communities across the state will be able to draw from the best practices and strategies these communities develop as part of the pilot project.”
PIERCEVILLE- A driver with a load of calves was injured in a Friday crash in Finney County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Chevy truck pulling a trailer loaded with calves and driven by Juan C. Pichardo, 36, Satanta, was traveling southbound on Pierceville Road ten miles south of Pierceville
The driver’s side rear tire blew out.
The driver lost control and drove into the southbound ditch, rolling into the field.
Pichardo was transported to St. Catherine’s hospital in Garden City.
The KHP reported he was wearing a seat belt.
The patrol office in Garden City did not have specific information on the number of calves that perished or were injured as a result of the accident.
TOPEKA –Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Phyllis Gilmore announced Thursday afternoon in Topeka, a new effort to help foster parents.
A Foster Care and Family Services Ombudsman will begin serving foster parents who have specific issues or concerns that need to be addressed.
Niomi Burget currently serves as Director of Client Services for DCF. She will assume the new role of Ombudsman beginning July 1. Her office will be located in the Topeka DCF Service Center. A new toll free phone number will be established by that date for foster parents to call when they need help resolving a problem.
Niomi Burget, DCF Foster Care and Family Services Ombudsman
“Niomi has a heart for helping others and she will do a tremendous job serving foster families in Kansas,” Secretary Gilmore said. “Creating an Ombudsman position to help foster parents is just a starting point; we will continue to look at other ways we can let foster parents know they are needed and appreciated.”
The announcement was made during a foster care informational event at the Kansas State Capitol Building. A packed room was filled with foster families and foster care stakeholders who heard from Governor Sam Brownback, Secretary Gilmore and Topeka foster parent Tim Wilson. The Governor urged Kansans to consider foster care.
“There is a need and if we don’t step up to help, we’ll see more kids struggling,” Governor Brownback said.
The Governor commended the Wilson family who have fostered 18 children. Tim Wilson shared his story of foster care with those in attendance.
“All of the children we have fostered have been reunited with their biological families, and that’s the goal,” Wilson said. “If you have love and a home, consider foster care.”
FOSTER CARE STATISTICS:
· There are currently 6,019 children in foster care in Kansas.
· Approximately 2,500 family foster homes are licensed in Kansas.
· Approximately 380 children are available for adoption in the state.
· 96 percent of children in foster care are placed in a family-like setting.
· The average age of a foster child is eight.
· 43 percent of children in foster care are under six; 15 percent are 16 or older.
· Children who will be reunited with their parents, spend an average of eight months in foster care.
· To be a foster parent you must:
o Be at least 21
o Pass background checks
o Have sufficient income
o Participate in a family assessment
o Complete training
o Obtain sponsorship
o Complete first aid training
o Be licensed by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment
