KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Fort Riley soldier has been sentenced to six months in prison and six months of home confinement for accepting disability payments he wasn’t eligible to receive.

A U.S. attorney’s office says 38-year-old James Scott Nickerson was ordered to pay nearly $72,000 in restitution to the Social Security Administration during the Wednesday sentencing. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release following the prison sentence.

Nickerson pleaded guilty in April to one count of making a false official statement to a federal agency.

Nickerson applied for disability benefits in October 2009 under the Wounded Warrior Program. He claimed he was unable to work because of mental disorders he developed while serving in Iraq. He concealed that he was working full time for the Army in various jobs.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Officials are waiting for a ruling from the Kansas Supreme Court on whether the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate must be removed from the ballot.

The court’s consideration of Democrat Chad Taylor’s petition to avoid being listed as a candidate Nov. 4 comes with counties facing a Saturday deadline to begin sending ballots to military personnel overseas.

Taylor’s decision to end his campaign against three-term Republican Sen. Pat Roberts put the race in a national spotlight. Some Democrats pushed Taylor to withdraw to help independent Greg Orman’s chances of beating Roberts by preventing a major split in anti-Roberts votes.

But Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach said Taylor didn’t comply with an election law limiting when nominees can withdraw. Taylor then appealed to the Supreme Court.

By Dave Ranney
KHI News Service

TOPEKA — Gov. Sam Brownback is not ready to support the Kansas Children’s Cabinet in an attempt to win a federal grant aimed at bolstering early childhood education.

The governor’s decision to withhold support for the grant application was explained to members of Children’s Cabinet in a memo last week from Janice Smith, the group’s executive director.

Smith wrote that on Sept. 11, Brownback administration officials let her know that it would be “unwise to move forward” in applying for a Preschool Development Grant without first conferring with the Kansas Legislature.
The news halted the application process because grant proposals are due in four weeks; the Legislature reconvenes Jan. 12, 2015.

The governor’s office, Smith said, encouraged the Cabinet to instead measure legislators’ interest in 2015 so that “if another round of grants is announced,” their willingness to support an application would be known in advance.

The application process also requires a letter of support from the governor’s office, which, Smith indicated, would not be forthcoming.

The Children’s Cabinet applied for the early childhood grant in 2010 but did not receive any funds.

Smith on Tuesday said administration officials also expressed concerns about not having enough time to put together the level of interagency collaboration needed to submit a “strong, competitive proposal” and not knowing how much money the state would have to commit to spending if it were awarded one of the grants.

She called the decision the prerogative of the governor’s office.

Eileen Hawley, a spokesperson for Brownback, said the governor did not tell the Children’s Cabinet not to apply for one of the grants. Instead, she wrote in an email, his office had noted: “Any application for the grant would require a significant funding commitment and since the power of the purse lies with the Legislature, we believe it is important that the Legislature be involved in such a discussion.”

The level of funding to which the state would need to commit was not spelled out in the grant application. In fact, the application specifically said that no cost sharing or matching is required. However, it said applicants that can obtain matching funds “may be awarded additional points.”

The Children’s Cabinet is a 15-member board charged with advising lawmakers on how best to spend monies generated by the state’s master settlement agreement with the nation’s tobacco companies – roughly $50 million annually – on early childhood development programs.

Cabinet members also oversee the administration of several grant programs.

If Kansas were to apply, it would be in competition with 35 other states for grants totaling $160 million a year for up to four years.

Kansas’ possible share of the pie: Up to $15 million a year for four years. The money would be spent on expanding and enhancing preschool programs throughout the state.

The grants are part of a $640 million initiative within Race to the Top, a $4.35 billion education reform package introduced by President Obama in 2009.

News of the governor’s decision disappointed some child advocates.

“Kansas, with the help of the Children’s Cabinet and their multiple partners – KU Center for Public Partnerships and Research, the state Department of Education, the Department for Children and Families, Child Care Aware of Kansas, and the Kansas Head Start Association – would have made a dynamite team for putting together a quality and competitive application for bringing additional resources into Kansas,” Erick Vaughn, executive director at the Kansas Head Start Association, wrote in an email.

“Kansas’ chances would have been good if we’d applied,” he said.

Vaughn said it is unlikely that an additional round of grants will be available after 2015.

“It is not clear if states will be given this opportunity again, which makes Gov. Brownback’s decision to not apply that much more disappointing,” he said. “This means Kansas will stay in place while other states take advantage of this funding opportunity and make advancements in increasing the number of quality preschool experiences for at-risk children.”

Amanda Adkins, chair of the Children’s Cabinet, did not respond to emails seeking comment.

Earlier this month, Brownback’s office notified Jonathan Freiden, a member of the Children’s Cabinet, that he would not be appointed to a second four-year term.

Freiden attributed the decision to his criticism of Brownback for proposing to eliminate the state’s Early Head Start programs, diverting tobacco revenues to the state general fund and using federal anti-poverty monies to underwrite an administration plan for improving fourth-grade reading scores.

Hawley disagreed, saying the appointment decision was driven by the governor’s wanting to “engage as many Kansans as possible” in the work of various state commissions.

Freiden said the decision not to apply for a Race to the Top grant was part of election-year politics.

“This is about the governor and his people not wanting to risk being seen taking money from Washington and touching Obama at a time when they’re running against someone they’re painting as an Obama liberal,” he said. “They’re putting politics above kids.”

Freiden is referring to Paul Davis, Brownback’s Democratic challenger in the November general election.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A new hiking and biking trail is opening on a Kansas River levee in Kansas City, Kansas.

The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, says a grand opening ceremony for the Armourdale Hike and Bike Route-Island View Loop is planned for Saturday morning.

The initial levee trail spans 1.3 miles.

Mayor Mark Holland said in a news release that encouraging residents to walk, run and ride on trails is “key to the health and wellbeing of Wyandotte Countians.”

Representatives from the National League of Cities also will attend the event.

HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH, Associated Press

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A new Kansas commission tasked with looking for efficiencies within the state’s public school system begins a two-day meeting Thursday at the Statehouse.