TONGANOXIE- A Kansas man died in an accident just before 7:30 p.m. on Friday in Leavenworth County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1996 Ford Explorer driven by Leslie Garven, 53, Meriden, was northbound on Kansas 16 and struck, Clinton Beach, 28, Tonganoxie, walking just north of Haigwood Road in Tonganoxie.

Beach was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to First Call in Kansas City.

Garven was not injured. The accident remains under investigation.

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — A makeshift memorial to Michael Brown has been restored by his supporters, after it was apparently hit by a car.

Social media reports about damage to the memorial started early Friday. Supporters were out before dawn rebuilding the memorial.

It is not known who struck the memorial, which went up Aug. 9, soon after the black 18-year-old was shot and killed by a white police officer. The shooting spurred massive protests, as did a grand jury decision not to file charges against the officer.

This week, a white police officer in nearby Berkeley, Missouri, killed a black 18-year-old who police said pointed a gun at him.

A small group of demonstrators staged a brief die-in Friday at Lambert-St Louis International Airport. An airport spokesman says it didn’t cause any disruptions.

NEW YORK (AP) — There aren’t many people who are still waiting for the gifts that were supposed to arrive by Christmas.

FedEx and UPS were able to improve their performance this holiday season, after failing to deliver some presents in time for Christmas last year. According to a shipment tracker, ShipMatrix, FedEx delivered more than 99 percent of express packages as promised on December 22nd and 23rd. UPS also hit the 99 percent mark.

There are no numbers yet for Christmas Eve deliveries.

Last year, some packages didn’t make it on time. The tracking company says the success rate was in the “low 90s” a year ago.

The delays last year were blamed on a mix of bad weather and overloaded systems, with more people shopping online. To avoid similar headaches this year, FedEx and UPS invested in improving their systems. They also increased the number of seasonal workers they hired.

By MIKE SHERRY,  Heartland Health Monitor

During the past eight years, the philanthropic community has spent about $8 million on a wide-ranging program aimed at improving health services for low-income individuals in the Kansas City area.

The REACH Healthcare Foundation and the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City (HCF) have provided nearly three quarters of the total funding. But now, the collaboration and the various efforts it has spawned are taking on a more targeted approach heading into 2015.

“We are really looking at this as an opportunity to let those projects and ideas take shape on their own,” said HCF’s chief executive, Dr. Bridget McCandless. “We welcome them to come back to us to kind of do Chapter 2 of this work.”

The upshot, according to officials with both organizations, is that the foundations will entertain funding requests for specific projects through the program and direct dollars to particular areas of interest. Those include efforts to secure subsidized health coverage for area residents under the Affordable Care Act.

The Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) administers the program, which has a variety of committees operating under an umbrella known as the Regional Health Care Initiative.
For MARC, the revamped funding structure means it will enter the New Year without enough funds to retain the program director, Scott Lakin, or to fill a vacant health planner position.

Besides the Safety Net Collaborative, a body that brings together top executives of the various providers, work groups cover topics that include oral and behavioral health.

The program also includes a project that helps safety-net clinics connect their electronic medical records systems to computer networks. Known as health information exchanges (HIE), they allow for the safe and secure sharing of patient data.

REACH is particularly interested in continuing to fund that project as well as work through the mental health group, said REACH spokeswoman Pattie Mansur. She also said REACH has earmarked $45,000 next year to update a regional health data report.

“We are not walking away from MARC or from regional health improvement,” Mansur said.

According to figures provided by HCF, the two regional health foundations have spent $2.4 million combined since 2006 on core operating expenses for the regional health initiative. The money covered administrative expenses and other support for the committees, including paying for conferences and forums put on by the groups.

The foundations have also spent about $2.9 million to help safety-net clinics provide evening and weekend hours for patients.

At MARC, the regional health initiative falls under the organization’s Community Development division, which is headed by Marlene Nagel.

MARC was not surprised by the foundations’ change in funding strategy, she said.

The change in focus accords with an evaluation of the health care commission that the two foundations released earlier this year.

“We have been working toward this for a while and recognized that we needed to be more project-focused in our work,” Nagel said. “Not only is a lot of work underway, but the community has benefited from the work that has been accomplished.”

She said MARC is working to identify areas where it can incorporate portions of the regional health initiative into other parts of the organization, such as work involving homelessness and early childhood education.

The co-chair of the mental health stakeholders group, Susan Crain Lewis, said the prospect of less administrative support from MARC will have definite repercussions.

“Can we still function? Can we still do good stuff? Yes,” said Lewis, who is CEO of Mental Health America of the Heartland in Kansas City, Kan. “Will it be harder? Will it take longer? Probably.”

On the positive side, Lewis said, the foundations’ change in funding strategy has caused the group to narrow its focus to high-priority areas, including helping to establish a mental health crisis-stabilization center in Kansas City, Mo.

Note: Heartland Health Monitor is funded in part by the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City.

Mike Sherry is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri is the first state in more than five years to have a statewide average gas price of below $2 a gallon, and Oklahoma was expected to get there by the weekend.

AAA spokesman Michael Green says the national average price of gas is $2.32 per gallon, the lowest since May 2009. Missouri’s average fell below $2 per gallon Friday morning and stood at $1.98 midday.

Green says Oklahoma’s average Friday morning was $2.01, while Kansas had the third-lowest average at $2.06.

Green called the steady decline in gas prices unlike anything AAA has previously tracked. He says the national average has dropped for 92 days in a row — the longest streak on record.

He says gas prices could go down another 5 to 10 cents by year’s end.

Little Apple Post

MANHATTAN – Law enforcement officials in Manhattan arrested a suspect in connection with report of a fire and crash into a business early Friday.

Pottawatomie County Sheriff Greg Riat reported deputies responded just after 6:30 a.m. to a call of smoke coming from the Staples in the 600 Block of Tuttle Creek Blvd.

They found a large hole in the north side of the structure and also discovered that a vehicle had driven through the exterior wall of the structure leading into the back of the Short Go location.

The accident also damaged the interior wall to Staples. The vehicle was able to exit the building and the driver fled the scene.

After a tip from Riley County Police, Sheriff Deputies located a vehicle in the 500 Block of Tuttle Creek Blvd and discovered a 1996 Buick Century and items of evidence associated with the accident.

Riat said the driver of the vehicle Jason Lee Butler, 36, Marysville, was located and taken into custody for allegedly leaving the scene of an accident. He suffered minor injuries and is being held at the Pottawatomie County Jail pending bond. The incident remains under investigation.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A recent audit of Kansas’ rural telephone service program has found that it is generally well-run and efficient, but it also suggests that lawmakers consider the types of services taxpayers are now subsidizing.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the audit was conducted of the Kansas Universal Service Fund which was established in 1995. The audit notes that taxpayers currently subsidize broadband data and other unregulated services.

Sen. Marci Francisco, a Lawrence Democrat, says broadband service today can include services similar to cable TV delivered through a phone line.

The Kansas Legislature’s Telecommunications Study Committee hired the private firm QSI Consulting Inc. to conduct the audit, and make recommendations to lawmakers.

SALINA, Kan. (AP) — The number of juveniles in detention in Saline County, Kansas, is down significantly since a judge took over the juvenile docket.

The Salina Journal reports that Judge Mary Thrower says that rather than detain juvenile offenders for an extended period, she seeks out the best option for each one. She took over the juvenile docket in the county in July.

A Saline County official says the number of juveniles from the county at the North Central Kansas Regional Detention Center in Junction City is at a seven-year low, with just three. In the past, there have been as many as 20.