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FHSU workshop will ‘teach teachers’

FHSU University Relations

How to teach English to speakers of other languages will be the subject of a workshop taught by Dr. Sherri Brantley, instructor of teacher education at Fort Hays State University, on Friday, July 25, in Rarick Hall, room 201, on the FHSU campus.fhsu victor e tiger

K-12 teachers and students going into the education field will learn about strategies to assist students who are also English-Language Learners (ELL).

“The ‘What’ and ‘How’ of ELL Strategies” is sponsored by the Kansas Center for Innovative Education, an entity of the College of Education and Technology at FHSU. KCIE provides tools for creative and critical thinking in the fields of manufacturing, technology and education.

“I hope to engage teachers on the research, resources and strategies to help them in the classroom when it comes to ELL students,” said Brantley. “We will also take a look at the assessment requirements in regards to these students.”

Brantley earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Central Oklahoma and a Master of Science in elementary education with an emphasis in English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) and Master of Science in educational administration from FHSU. She received a doctorate in education in educational leadership for teacher Learning from Walden University, Minneapolis.

After moving back to Kansas, Brantley taught fifth grade and served as the ESOL coordinator at Riley Elementary in Great Bend. She served on the Kansas Department of Education ESOL Standards Committee and the steering committee to develop the new 2014 ESOL Standards. Currently, she is the vice-president of Mid-America Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Organization for Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska and will serve as president in 2014-2015.

The workshop, available for college credit, will equip participants to address the needs of English-language learners through strategies for how to distinguish between second language acquisition levels and what instructional strategies are appropriate for each language level.

Lunch and refreshments are included in the $90 workshop fee, due Friday, July 18. Space is limited to 30 participants.

For more information or to enroll in the workshop, visit www.fhsu.edu/kcie/events.

Topeka child missing since standoff found safe

Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka police say a 2-year-old girl who had been missing for more than 24 hours has been found safe.

However, police are still looking for the man who took the girl during a domestic disturbance on Saturday in southwest Topeka.

Details of how and where the girl was found Sunday have not been released.

Officers were called to the home Saturday afternoon, where a woman said her boyfriend was inside with their nearly 2-year-old daughter.

After a nearly four-hour standoff, police entered the home and found no one inside.

 

Sunny, hot Monday

Screen Shot 2014-07-21 at 5.51.21 AMHighs today and Tuesday will be around 100 degrees with afternoon heat index readings ranging from 100 to 104. These high heat index readings may become an issue for those with outdoor interests. Remember to drink plenty of water, and wear light and loose-fitting clothing when possible. Do not leave any children or pets in vehicles, where temperatures can rise rapidly.

Today Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 100. Breezy, with a west wind 8 to 13 mph becoming south 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms between 8pm and 2am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. South wind 11 to 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tuesday Sunny and hot, with a high near 102. Southwest wind 10 to 13 mph.
Tuesday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. South southeast wind 8 to 11 mph becoming north northeast after midnight.
Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 93. East northeast wind 11 to 14 mph.

 

Oklahoma man sentenced for Kan. stabbing death

courtTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 29-year-old Oklahoma man has been sentenced to six years in prison for repeatedly stabbing a man outside a Topeka grocery store.

Anthony Ryan Downing, of Owasso, Okla., pleaded no contest in February to attempted intentional second-degree murder in the on April 6, 2013, stabbing of then 26-year-old Josh Nottingham.

At the sentencing Friday, Shawnee County District Court Judge David Debenham denied a defense motion for a lighter sentence. In addition to the six-year sentence, Downing also has to pay restitution of about $100,000.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Nottingham suffered multiple life-threatening stab wounds outside a Dillons grocery store. Downing and Nottingham didn’t know each other when the stabbing occurred.

 

Tribe agrees with dismissal of lawsuit over land

Screen Shot 2014-07-21 at 5.12.21 AMWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — An Oklahoma tribe has agreed with the government that the last claim in its lawsuit seeking to build a casino on suburban Wichita land should be dismissed.

U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson ordered an Oklahoma tribe to show cause why the court shouldn’t dismiss as moot the lawsuit’s remaining claim of unreasonable delay.

The Interior Department had earlier notified the court that it rejected the tribe’s application to take the Park City land into trust so the tribe can build a casino there.

Robinson left the decision last year to the Interior Department, but retained jurisdiction to ensure it processed the application in a timely manner.

The tribe noted Friday the Interior Department says it could submit a new application addressing accounting issues that formed the basis for the denial.

 

Ellis Big Creek may see return of fish

ellis big creekELLIS–Now that Big Creek in Ellis is no longer dry, thanks to abundant rains in June and July, the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism may restock the creek with fish.

KDWPT Fisheries Biologist Dave Spalsbury will talk about the possibilities during the July 21 Ellis City Council meeting.

Council members will also discuss the city’s water conservation plan and the exploration for new water sources.

A complete July 21, 2014 agenda follows.

AGENDA
July 21, 2014
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF ELLIS
City Hall – Council Meeting Room

BILLS ORDINANCE REVIEW WORK SESSION BEGINS AT 7:00 P.M.
ROLL CALL AND MEETING CALL TO ORDER AT 7:30 P.M.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA (if needed)
1) CONSENT AGENDA
a) Minutes from Regular Meeting on July 7, 2014
b) Bills Ordinance #1953
c) March Manual Journal Entries
(Council will review for approval under one motion under the consent agenda. By majority vote of the governing body, any item may be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately)
PUBLIC COMMENTS
(Each speaker will be limited to five minutes. If several people from the group wish to speak on same subject, the group must appoint a spokesperson. ALL comments from public on agenda items must be during Public Comment. Once council begins their business meeting, no more comments from public will be allowed.)
2) PRESENTATIONS OF AWARDS, PROCLAMATIONS, REQUESTS & PETITIONS (HEARINGS)
a) Recognition of Master Municipal Clerk Designation – Charlene Weber
b) Presentation of Community Rating System Award Plaque – Steve Samuelson
3) SPECIAL ORDER
a) Fire Department Report – Chief Denis Vine
b) Discussion of Building Improvements – Ellis Fair Board
c) Discussion on Water Exploration – Brad Vincent, Ground Water Associates
d) Discussion on Water Conservation Status – Kelly Stewart, Kansas Division of Water Resources
e) Discussion on Bond Refunding – Dave Malone
f) Discussion on Status of Restocking Fish at Big Creek – Dave Spalsbury, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, & Tourism
4) UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a) Consider Sale of Real Estate at 9th and Jefferson
b) Discussion on City Codes Regarding Fowl in City Limits
c) Discussion on East Parking Lot at Love’s Travel Stop
d) Review Ordinances Regarding the Sale and Discharge of Fireworks
e) Consideration of Utility Rate Ordinances
f) Consider Approval for Budget Publication
g) Consider Revisions to City Code on Water Conservation
5) NEW BUSINESS
a) Consider Event Request – Ellis Jr. Free Fair 5K
b) Consideration of Bids for Drilling of Test Holes
c) Consider Repairs on 2008 Sanitation Truck
d) Consider Repairs at Water Treatment Plant
6) REPORTS FROM CITY OFFICIALS
a) Administrative
1) Public Works
(1) Consider City Survey for EJFF
(2) Department Update
2) Police
(1) Update on Applicant Search
(2) Department Update
3) City Clerk
(1) Update on Applicant Search
(2) March Financial Statements
(3) Department Update
4) Attorney
5) Mayor/Council
(1) Senior Advisory Committee Minutes
(2) Tour of City Facilities
EXECUTIVE SESSIONS
7) ADJOURNMENT

Brownback foe sees national agenda in Kansas ads

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback’s challenger in the Kansas Republican primary sees a national GOP agenda behind a Washington-area group’s

Jennifer Winn
Jennifer Winn

television and radio ads praising the governor.

Jennifer Winn’s campaign manager says the Alliance for Freedom ads are designed to save Brownback so the national GOP doesn’t have to rethink strategy for the 2016 presidential election.

The alliance’s ads began last week and run through the Aug. 5 primary. The group’s president is a veteran GOP consultant.

Winn campaign manager Mike Shatz notes that Brownback has described his state as a lab for conservative fiscal policies that can be emulated elsewhere.

But the ads focus on a proposed coal-fired power plant and Brownback’s support for it. Alliance board member Ned Ryun says they’re designed to build opposition to federal environmental regulations.

Semi driver hospitalized after I-70 crash and fire

Screen Shot 2014-07-03 at 5.13.15 AMGOODLAND-  A semi-truck driver was injured in a Sunday morning accident in Sherman County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1997 Freightliner semi driven by Yerani Guelmes, 32, Miami, FL., was westbound on Interstate 70 five miles west of Goodland. The vehicle went left of center and hit the guardrail and the concrete bridge. The truck caught fire and came to rest in the passing lane facing westbound.

Guelmes was transported to Goodland Regional Medical Center. The KHP reported they did not know if he was properly restrained at the time of the accident.

Abortion foe files ethics complaint against Pompeo

Troy Newman
Troy Newman

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A national anti-abortion leader has asked the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo for alleged ethics violations during his re-election campaign.

Troy Newman is president of Operation Rescue. Last week, he made public documentation sent to the agency accusing the Pompeo of posting links to campaign material on his House website.

Pompeo’s office says it has found nothing that rises to a “material failure” to comply with all requirements.

What makes the allegations potentially significant is that they come from a prominent anti-abortion leader as Pompeo faces a tough primary challenge from former congressman Todd Tiahrt. Both conservative Republicans are staunch abortion opponents.

Abortion itself is not a campaign issue in the race, but anti-abortion forces here have grown into an important voting constituency.

Corruption investigated in Kansas National Guard

Kansas national guard Adujant GeneralTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Adjutant General’s office says federal authorities are investigating possible corruption involving outside medical companies’ contracts with the Kansas Army National Guard.

Sharon Watson, spokeswoman for the adjutant general’s office, confirmed the investigation Friday to The Lawrence Journal-World but declined to release specific details. She said the investigation involves concerns of “inappropriate conduct” on medical contracts.

The Journal-World reports Watson’s statement was in response to questions it asked about allegations that a captain in the Guard’s Medical Detachment received gifts from Dentrust, a Pennsylvania company that performs dental screenings and treatment for Guard soldiers.

Dentrust is one of three firms that contract with the Guard for those services. In federal fiscal years 2012-2013, it received more than $585,000 under those contracts.

 

Kansas House race divides anti-abortion community

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A widening rift in a key constituency courted by the two abortion opponents is unfolding in the GOP congressional primary race in Kansas.

Tiahrt and Rep. Pompeo
Tiahrt and Rep. Pompeo

U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo faces a tough GOP primary challenge from former congressman Todd Tiahrt, who held that position for 16 years before giving it up to run for the Senate. Both candidates in the GOP primary are staunch abortion opponents.

While abortion itself is not a campaign issue, anti-abortion forces have grown into an important voting electorate in south-central Kansas since the 1991 “Summer of Mercy” protests.

In 1994, Tiahrt defeated then-congressman Dan Glickman, an abortion-rights Democrat. Glickman attributes his loss largely to Tiahrt’s grassroots support among the anti-abortion community.

But the anti-abortion community today is deeply divided between the two candidates.

 

Driver’s ed teachers worried about waning programs

Screen Shot 2014-07-20 at 12.28.22 PMWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Driver education instructors say they’re concerned about a decline in school programs teaching youngsters how to drive at a time when distractions are growing.

The Wichita Eagle reports about 200 members of the American Driver & Traffic Safety Education Association met in Wichita last week to discuss trends in driver training.

They say one of the more troubling developments is that many schools are ditching their driver’s education programs or treating them as an after-school or summer add-on instead of making them an important part of the curriculum.

Kansas AAA spokesman Jim Hanni says teenage traffic fatalities have dropped in recent years not because of driver’s education, but because of a new state law that doesn’t allow drivers to receive an unrestricted license until they are 17.

2 minor earthquakes recorded in Harper County

Screen Shot 2014-04-01 at 8.37.15 PMHARPER, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. Geological Survey says two minor earthquakes were recorded within hours of each other in Harper County in southern Kansas.

No injuries or severe damage were reported after either earthquake.

The first earthquake was recorded about 7:30 p.m. Saturday. It registered a 3.0 magnitude, with the epicenter about 5½ miles northwest of Harper. The second, registered 3.3 magnitude, was recorded about 6.5 miles southeast of Harper about 7:25 Sunday morning.

 

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