FHSU University Relations
Fort Hays State University’s Career Services will host its 27th annual Career-Internship Day from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, in Gross Memorial Coliseum.
The fair gives students the opportunity to network with employers, discuss careers, internships, professional employment and the opportunity to begin a job search. All students, alumni, faculty and staff are welcome to attend.
A list of the employers is available at www.fhsu.edu/career.
NASHVILLE (AP) – Dierks Bentley says he’s not the guy who gets nominated for awards, but “the guy who knows the guy who gets nominated.” He says he’s the guy at the award show who the cameras catch with the “you just lost” reaction shot. Bentley has five nominations for the Country Music Association Awards. Miranda Lambert leads the way with nine. Keith Urban says he felt a “euphoria” at being nominated again for entertainer of the year and three other awards. The CMAs will be handed out November 5 in Nashville.
The complete list of nominees are available at http://www.cmaworld.com/cma-awards/nominees/
Join fans of 99 KZ Country on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/99KZCountry
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State University officials say personal information from applicants for its graduate program in agronomy might have been exposed on the Internet.
The university said Wednesday that it notified 19 people who applied for the program between 2010 and 2013 about the possible problem, which did not involve outside hackers. Information from 56 other applicants was exposed but the school said that information wasn’t likely to result in credit fraud.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports spokesman Jeff Morris says the error happened when student information was being moved into a central management system. Morris says a small number of the tens of thousands of pages that were moved were not property protected.
The school says the files were removed when the problem was discovered Aug. 22.
Today will be windy and warm with highs in the 90s. A cold front will move into northern Kansas by mid morning and will progress across all of western Kansas by sunrise Friday. Scattered thundertorms will develop near the front this afternoon and will become more widespread behind the surface front tonight. Much cooler weather with widespread rain can be expected Friday.
Today A 10 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5pm. Sunny, with a high near 95. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph.
Tonight Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly between midnight and 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. North northeast wind 11 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Friday A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10am, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 10am and 4pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 63. North northeast wind 15 to 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Friday Night A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am, then a slight chance of showers between 1am and 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. North wind 6 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 73. North wind 5 to 9 mph becoming east in the afternoon.
Saturday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 53.
Sunday Mostly sunny, with a high near 77.
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The last time Jason Vargas pitched against the Texas Rangers, it seemed like every runner that reached scoring position somehow managed to cross home plate.
The exact opposite happened Wednesday night.
Vargas pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning, Alex Gordon hit a two-run homer and the Kansas City Royals held on for a 4-1 victory that finished off a three-game sweep.
“I felt I was effective,” Vargas said. “They had some opportunities and we were able to make some plays and get out of them.”
Vargas (11-7) stranded four runners in scoring position before turning over a two-on, two-out mess to Kelvin Herrera, who escaped the jam. Louis Coleman gave up a run in the eighth before Wade Davis finished off the inning, and Greg Holland worked a perfect ninth for his 42nd save.
The victory along with Detroit’s 7-0 loss to Cleveland allowed the Royals to extend their lead to 1 1/2 games over the Tigers in the AL Central. They are off Thursday before a crucial trip that takes them through the wild card-chasing Yankees and into a three-game set in Detroit.
“I guess momentum is nice,” Royals manager Ned Yost said, “but I don’t believe in that stuff too much. You know we have to go play good baseball. We have to do what we do.”
Nick Tepesch (4-9) allowed all four runs over 6 2-3 innings for Texas.
The Royals grabbed the lead off him in the fourth when Omar Infante led off with a single and Gordon homered to deep center. In the seventh, Salvador Perez and Billy Butler doubled to provide a bit of cushion, and pinch runner Terrance Gore scored on a stolen base and a throwing error.
That was more than enough to doom Texas to its fifth straight loss.
The biggest problem for the injury plagued Rangers lately has been situational hitting, and it manifested itself again in three close losses to Kansas City. They were 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position Wednesday night, making them 3 for 28 over the course of the series.
The sweep of Texas was the first at home for the Royals in seven seasons.
Tepesch, who grew up in nearby Blue Springs, Missouri, kept giving the Rangers a chance. He retired his first eight batters and then bounced back from Gordon’s homer to retire eight of nine.
Vargas proved to be just a little bit better.
The veteran left-hander, winless in his last six starts against Texas left runners on the corners in the first inning, and somehow navigated leadoff doubles in the third, fourth and sixth.
“We put ourselves in position,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “It wasn’t just one part of the lineup. It was up and down. It was almost everybody had an opportunity.”
By the time Vargas trudged off the mound on a humid night at Kauffman Stadium, a small but festive crowd of 15,771 had risen to its feet to give him a parting ovation.
“He pitched great,” Yost said. “He was sharp tonight. Had his good command, spotted his fastball well. His changeup was really working for him. He just pitched a good game.”
ROYALS C-RISP-Y
While the Rangers had all kinds of problems with runners in scoring position, the Royals were a bit better — 1 for 4. They only left one on base, the fewest they’ve stranded since June 21.
BIG HOME RUNS
Gordon has hit 19 homers this season, 10 of which have given the Royals the lead. “I just think Alex Gordon is a phenomenal player,” Yost said. “He’s an MVP in book.”
BELTRE IN BEAST MODE
Adrian Beltre went 1 for 4, extending his hit streak to 20 games against Kansas City. Ivan Rodriguez holds the club record with a hit in 23 straight games against the Royals.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: RHP Scott Baker has been scratched from his start Thursday against Seattle with a stiff neck. Washington hopes he’ll be able to go Friday. … RHP Yu Darvish (elbow inflammation) will be examined Thursday in Texas. It remains unlikely he’ll return his season.
Royals: INF Christian Colon broke the middle finger of his right hand Tuesday night. Yost said he could still be called upon to bunt or pinch run.
UP NEXT
Rangers: LHP Robbie Ross (2-5, 5.63) will move up one day to start in Baker’s place. Ross tossed five shutout innings against Houston his last time out.
Royals: RHP James Shields (12-7) starts the Royals’ series opener in the Bronx.
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A Leavenworth physician has been convicted of defrauding the Medicaid program by billing for services he didn’t perform and altering patients’ records.
The attorney general’s office said 71-year-old Adnan Ashkar pleaded no contest Wednesday to six felony counts in Leavenworth County District Court. He will be sentenced Oct. 22.
Ashkar was ordered as part of his plea agreement to immediately pay $12,000 in restitution to Kansas Medicaid program. He will also be barred from future participation in the program.
Prosecutors said the fraud went on from January 2009 to December 2013.
When I was in college, I petitioned my parents for a bicycle as a birthday gift.
I saw other students zipping around campus on bicycles and I thought it would be fun to be a part of this crowd.
True to my preference for vintage things, I asked specifically for an old-fashioned red bicycle with a wide seat and tires and a basket in front. Wonder of wonders, my parents gave me the bicycle for my 21st birthday.
When I moved to Kansas, we loaded my bike into my father-in-law’s truck and it moved with me. My first year in Kansas, I lived just a mile from the library and rode my bike to work many times, enjoying the relatively flat landscape in comparison to the Ozark foothills I was used to. Unfortunately, my tires went flat before too long and my husband would fix them only to have them go flat again after a day or two.
It wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that my husband was finally able to permanently fix the tires.
On my first ride in over a year, I rode tentatively, but soon I was zipping along the gravel country road near our house. I’ve been riding my bike almost every evening since then. From my vantage point on my bicycle I see the sun disappear a little earlier each evening, I see the dragonflies chasing their supper against the pink evening sky, and I see the deer creep out of the woods and into the darkening fields. I am so looking forward to a September full of cool evening bike rides. September is sort of magical in how it slips by so quickly, making us wonder when — in the space of a month — the summer got traded in for fall.
September is bound and determined to go by in a flash, so I’m focusing on just two public programs for the month.
On Sunday, Sept. 7 at 2 PM, I’ll be hosting Bingo in the library’s gallery. Ever a popular game in western Kansas, Bingo will be open to all ages and is free of charge. We’ll be playing classic Bingo (horizontal, vertical or diagonal), 4 corners Bingo, and we might even sneak in a game of blackout. Never played? Bingo is easy to learn and fun for all ages. You don’t need a team or even a partner to enjoy playing the game. Prizes will be awarded to winners. Get ready, get set, BINGO!
My second and more highly anticipated event is the second annual chili cook-off! We’re looking for all kinds of chili: red, green, white, and vegetarian. This event will take place from 12 PM – 5 PM on Thursday, Sept. 25. To participate, you must drop off a crock pot full of your chili at the library by 12 PM on September 25. The public will have the opportunity to taste each chili and vote for their favorite one! You must register your chili for this event by calling 625-9014 or emailing [email protected]. The chef behind the winning chili will win a delicious prize. This event was lots of fun last year and I’m hoping for an even greater turnout of cooks and tasters for our second annual cook-off.
Finally, I’d like to invite every one of my readers to “save the date” for the upcoming premiere of Hays’ Turning Points story, The Art of Change. Turning Points is a short film project supported by the Kansas Humanities Council through a generous gift from Suzi Miner in memory of Kansas historian Craig Miner. Four towns throughout the state – Hays, Ulysses, Kinsley and Olathe – were selected to have short films made about a significant “turning point” in their communities. Hays’ film is about the formation of the local arts council and how the council has impacted both the people of Hays as well as the reputation of the community as a whole. The premiere will be held at the Robbins Center on FHSU’s campus on October 17, 2014. The evening will begin at 6:30 PM and will last until about 8 PM. Please don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime premiere event!
The Kansas Room is located in the basement of the Hays Public Library and is open from 9 AM to 4 PM Tuesday through Saturday, and by request.
Lucia Bain is Kansas Room Librarian at the Hays Public Library.
LONGTON, Kan.- A Kansas man died in an accident just before 5 p.m. on Wednesday in Elk County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2006 GMC Sierra driven by James Robert Williams, 56, Moline, was westbound on U.S. 160 four miles east of Longton.
For an unknown reason, the truck drifted to the right and the passenger side tires dropped off the roadway.
The driver over corrected, the truck entered the south ditch and rolled, ejecting the driver.
Williams was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Frontier Forensics.
The KHP reported he was not wearing a seat belt.
By Andy Marso
KHI News Service
TOPEKA — House Minority Leader Paul Davis, the Democratic candidate for governor, said Tuesday that if elected he would order a “top-to-bottom” review of KanCare.
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback spearheaded KanCare, which places the state’s 400,000 Medicaid recipients under the administration of three private insurance companies, also known as managed care organizations (MCOs).
The governor has said the program is on track to meet its goal of saving the state $1 billion over five years through care coordination without cutting services, eligibility or provider payments.
But health care providers who serve Medicaid recipients have complained of later payments since the switch, and Davis said he’s hearing from nursing homes, hospitals, doctors and home health agencies that are becoming financially strapped.
“It’s causing a lot of cash flow problems for health care agencies across the state, and I think it’s further proof this is just not working very well,” Davis said. “What I want to do when we come into office is really take a top-to-bottom look at the KanCare program.”
The Brownback campaign referred questions to the Kansas Department for Health and Environment, which administers the KanCare contracts for the three managed care companies: Amerigroup, Sunflower State Health Plan and United HealthCare.
Sara Belfry, a spokeswoman for KDHE, said the state is working with the companies to smooth claims processing. But she said some of the problems lie with the health care providers submitting the claims.
“Individual providers continue to struggle with some aspects of their billing,” Belfry said via email. “We are making every effort to assist them. KDHE continues to work with all MCOs on provider payment issues that arise. We believe KanCare is working better and more efficiently for the people it serves than (the) old Medicaid system.”
While some payments are delayed, Belfry said claim denials have been cut in half since fiscal year 2008 and now are around 15 percent.
Meanwhile, Belfry said the Medicaid recipients are seeing health care improvement under KanCare versus the previous state-run fee-for-service plan.
She highlighted $1.6 million in newly covered adult dental care, a more than one-third increase in primary care physician usage between 2012 and 2013, and a 4 percent drop in emergency room utilization in the same time frame. For recipients of home- and community-based services, who were added to KanCare this year, ER visits are down 27 percent, she said.
“The KanCare model encourages consumer-centered care at the right time and right amount with more flexibility to address individual situations than ever existed in Kansas Medicaid before KanCare,” Belfry said.
Davis said he’s “not necessarily against managed care” and that it can work well under some circumstances, but the provider complaints suggest KanCare is “clearly not working very well right now.”
If elected, Davis said his administration would consult with medical providers and Medicaid clients to “find out what’s working and what’s not working.”
Officials from KDHE told legislators that in 2013 none of the three managed care companies met the goals for timely claims payment that the agency set in the contracts the companies signed.
Representatives from the companies, which lost more than $100 million in the program’s first year, have said the state’s goals are aggressive but that they are committed to meeting them.
Belfry said the managed care companies paid 99.98 percent of “clean claims” within a month of receiving them, but the state is shooting for 100 percent.
“All three KanCare contracts require that the MCOs pay providers within 30 days of a clean claim being submitted, and the state is very serious about ensuring providers are paid promptly,” Belfry said.
Davis also said Tuesday that it is important for the state to have an inspector general for the KanCare program, but he questioned whether the current position, housed within KDHE, provided enough independence to act as a proper watchdog.
He also questioned the administration’s previous choice to appoint Rep. Phil Hermanson, who resigned before going through a Senate confirmation hearing.
“Clearly the last person they put forward was not qualified for the job, and I hope we can find somebody for that job who is well-qualified,” Davis said.
Davis said he had no names in mind.
Belfry said KDHE is setting up interviews with candidates for inspector general.
Keen Umbehr, the Libertarian candidate for governor, also has been critical of KanCare.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – They play quarterback and wide receiver, tight end and offensive line. They can be found on the both sides of the ball, first on the depth chart and last.
There are 16 of them on the Kansas City Chiefs this season, and what they all have in common in this: They starred in college, went through the entire draft without anybody willing to take a shot on them, and then managed to scratch and claw their way into the NFL anyway.
They’re undrafted free agents. The unwanted who managed to become indispensable.
The Chiefs have four who will be starting on Sunday against Tennessee, not including kicker Cairo Santos and long-snapper Thomas Gafford. They’ve had at least one newcomer make the roster each of the last 12 seasons.
EDWARDSVILLE, Kan. (AP) — Edwardsville police say an officer has been cut on the head by a man with a knife.
Police say the attack happened Wednesday night. The officer was hospitalized with minor injuries.
They say the officer encountered the armed man and was cut on his head. It’s unclear where the incident happened or why the officer engaged the man.
Police haven’t released the name of the officer or the man.
Edwardsville is located about 17 miles west of Kansas City.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — An investigator on an elite task force that captured the man known as the Unabomber will be the keynote speaker at the Wichita Crime Commission’s annual awards banquet.
Retired FBI agent Candace Delong was a psychiatric nurse prior to joining the agency and its behavior sciences unit. In 1995 she was one of three agents picked to hunt for the “Unabomber.” Ted Kacszynki sent 16 bombs over a 17-year period, killing six people.
The commission’s annual awards banquet honors law enforcement, criminal justice officials and citizens whose work made the community safer. The event will be held Oct. 23 in Wichita.
Hays Public Library
The Hays Public Library wants your Sundays to be filled with fun. During the month of September, the HPL will have two Sunday afternoon activities.
On Sunday, Sept. 7 at 2 p.m., enjoy the classic game bingo. The games will be played in the Schmidt Gallery. Different variations of the game will be played including: regular, diagonal, four corners and maybe blackout. Play by yourself or bring friends and family. Prizes will be awarded.
Return to the library on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 3 p.m. for a family movie. The Children’s Department will show a family movie, and there will free concession style popcorn, soda and snacks.
