MANHATTAN -A Riley County man was sentenced Monday in connection with a fatal car crash. On October 19, 2013, Police say Garrett Olson, then 19, Leonardville, was driving a Honda Accord northeast of Manhattan when the vehicle hit a rock wall, overturned and ejected Trevor Redding, 17, Randolph. Redding died at the scene.
In January 2014 Olson was arrested. After entering a plea for involuntary manslaughter, charges of DUI and failure to remain at the scene of an accident were dropped.
Olson was sentenced to 30 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections with 36 months of probation following his release.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The health insurance industry says companies will give consumers more time to pay January’s premiums under President Barack Obama’s health care law.
The move is an attempt to head off potential problems as the Obama administration renews millions of current customers, while trying to accommodate new ones as well.
Renewing coverage each year is standard operating procedure for private insurance plans.
But 2015 is the first renewal year for the health law, and the process involves a massive electronic data transfer from the government to insurers, happening right around the holidays. Last year, many files had errors.
America’s Health Insurance Plans — the industry trade group — plans to announce the grace period Tuesday.
Insurers say they’ll also act promptly to clear up any double-billing of consumers who’ve switched plans.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A commission charged with studying efficiencies in Kansas schools considered a proposal that would ban teachers from most collective bargaining.
A proposed bill one of several considered Monday by the K-12 Student Performance and Efficiency Commission. It would limit teacher negotiations to only wages, salaries and hours of work, even if the teachers union and Boards of Education agreed to negotiate on other issues.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports other draft legislation would allow districts to consolidate administrative services and others creating commissions to study district reorganization and district cash balances.
The commission was created as part of a school finance bill during the last session to study whether the state is effectively spending its education dollars to benefit students. It will make recommendations to the Legislature next year.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas bitcoin company that was shut down after being sued by the federal government will be allowed to reopen.
A federal judge has ruled that Overland Park-based Butterfly Labs can resume operations under several restrictions. The company was closed in September after the Federal Trade Commission charged it had taken millions of dollars for computer equipment it didn’t deliver. It was later allowed to resume limited operations under a court-appointed receiver.
The Kansas City Star reports U.S. District Judge Brian Wimes last week rejected the government’s request for a preliminary injunction that would have kept Butterfly Labs under the receiver’s control while the original complaint was pursued. Wimes said the FTC has not shown that it was likely to succeed on the original charges.
Kristen Wienecke, left, lives with her parents, Steve and Kaye Wienecke, at their home Stanley. Medicaid pays Kaye about $2,100 a month to provide “day services” for her daughter. If Kristen didn’t live with her parents, it’s likely the state would pay a residential program as much or more for her care. The state is proposing changes to some Medicaid programs that could change services for Kansans who are disabled or frail elderly.-Photo by Dave Ranney
By Dave Ranney
KHI News Service
TOPEKA — Groups that advocate for Kansans with disabilities and for frail seniors say they will file objections to proposed changes in the waivers defining the state’s approach to Medicaid-funded services that help them live in community-based settings rather than in nursing homes.
“There are service reductions built into the waivers, plain and simple,” said Sean Gatewood, interim director of the Kansas Health Consumer Coalition. “That’s a major concern, absolutely.”
The Medicaid services at issue are provided under agreements with the federal government known as waivers that allow states to use alternative methods to pay for or deliver health care services.
The proposed waiver changes, posted on the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services website last month, are subject to federal approval. The deadline for submitting public comment is Saturday, Dec. 20.
“The waivers were crafted without any input on the front end from stakeholders or from advocacy groups,” said Barb Conant, a spokesperson for Kansas Advocates for Better Care, a Lawrence-based organization that represents frail elders, particularly those living in nursing homes.
“There were some public hearings back in November,” Conant said. “But they were after the fact, after the plan was drafted. So there’s a lot of concern about the intent of what’s proposed, how it would be implemented and what impact it will have on the people receiving services.”
KDADS officials have said they hope to forward a proposal to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regional office in Kansas City, Mo., by Jan. 1.
KDADS Secretary Kari Bruffett said last week that the agency will consider revising the proposed waivers in response to concerns raised during the public comment sessions.
The proposed changes are expected to affect Medicaid-funded services for the frail elderly, people with physical and developmental disabilities, and people who’ve suffered traumatic brain injuries. Those services are part of KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program that is administered by three for-profit managed care companies.
KDADS and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment will host an hourlong forum on the KanCare waivers at 1:30 p.m. Friday — the day before the public-comment deadline — at Memorial Hall, 1210 S.W. 10th, in Topeka.
Here’s a look at some of the advocacy groups’ concerns:
Switch to frail elderly waiver
Kansans now on the physically disabled (PD) waiver will automatically be transitioned to the frail elderly (FE) waiver when they turn 65, Conant said, which may create a few issues.
“The two waivers are different,” she said. “Sleep cycle support isn’t always available on the FE waiver. And it looks like, under the FE waiver, personal care workers will be paid about 40 cents an hour less than what they make under the PD waiver.”
Sleep cycle support refers to paying someone — often an adult family member — to stay with an individual who should not be left alone at night due to their disability, medical condition or both. Most sleep support workers are paid about $25 per night.
Without sleep cycle support, many recipients of the service would not be able to continue living at home or in other community-based settings.
“If the sleep cycle support issue isn’t resolved and the service is removed, then, yes, it’s likely that some people would have to go into nursing homes to have 24/7 monitoring,” said Ami Hyten, assistant director at the Topeka Independent Living Resource Center.
KDADS, Bruffett said, is aware of the sleep support concerns and is weighing the possibility of “adding some services designed to minimize the impact” of people moving from one waiver to another.
“We certainly have heard concerns about making that a mandatory, rather than an optional, change,” she said. “So we will continue to consider that before we submit the waiver applications.”
Still, she said, the switch is designed to allow the department to reduce the number of Kansans with physical disabilities on its long-standing waiting list for in-home services.
“There is no such waiting list for the frail elderly,” Bruffett said.
According to the proposed changes, people who already are on the physically disabled waiver would remain there. Only those who turn 65 after the waiver is approved would be moved to the frail elderly waiver.
Also, some frail elders whose attendant care workers help with meal preparations could be moved to a home-delivered meals program similar to Meals on Wheels.
“No one has a problem with Meals on Wheels,” Conant said. “But what if the person needs help with fixing all three meals? And does it mean some people will be getting frozen meals delivered once or twice a week?”
Clarifying ‘assisted living’
Cindy Luxem, executive director of the Kansas Health Care Association, a group that lobbies on behalf of the state’s for-profit nursing facilities, said her members are uncomfortable with language that appears to prevent assisted living facilities from being considered community-based settings if they are attached to a nursing home.
“The idea is that if an assisted living facility is part of skilled nursing facility — if the buildings are somehow connected — it should be considered institutional,” Luxem said. “We understand that, but we also know that probably 25 percent of the people on the FE waiver are in some sort of assisted living-type setting. So if these settings aren’t going to be allowed, then where is it we think these people are going to go? Because in a lot of rural communities, that assisted living facility is their only option.”
Case manager changes
Some advocates are concerned that the proposed changes could lead to some Kansans with developmental disabilities losing access to the case managers they’ve come to rely upon for help in determining which services they need, applying for those services and making sure the services are provided.
“There is potential for significant disruption in how case management is performed in the state for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” said Matt Fletcher, a spokesperson for InterHab, the association that represents most of the state’s community-based programs for the developmentally disabled.
InterHab’s concern, Fletcher said, is that the proposed changes eventually will allow the managed care companies now charged with administering KanCare to take over the role now played by case managers.
The worry, he said, is that decisions now based on an individual’s needs will be influenced by the companies’ need to turn a profit.
“If that’s allowed to happen, a lot of case management-type services that are available now will no longer be financially viable,” Fletcher said. “That’s a huge issue if you’ve come to rely on this individual.”
Bruffett said the concern is unfounded. “There are no changes in our DD waiver renewal, at all, that impact targeted case management or that would reduce the service that targeted case managers provide,” she said.
‘Medical model’ for brain injury
The proposed changes also appear to set the stage for a major shift in the state’s approach to caring for people who’ve suffered traumatic brain injuries, said Janet Williams, chief executive at Community Works Inc., an Overland Park-based home health agency that specializes in caring for people with neurologic disabilities, a category that includes brain injuries as well as strokes.
“The focus of the waiver up until now has always been on helping people with compensation strategies, helping them cope with the lasting effects of their disability,” Williams said. “What we’re going to now is more of a medical model where you just fix people. You help them get as far as you think they can go, and then that’s it; you’re done with them. You move on to the next person.”
What are now long-term services, she said, eventually will become short-term and more limited in scope.
“That’s a big change from the way we’ve done it for the past 21 years,” Williams said. “It really gets away from the original purpose of the waiver, which has been to make sure people are self-sufficient in their own home or community with an emphasis on having a job or something meaningful to do.”
Attendant age, education requirement
Steve Gieber is the executive director of the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities. He’s also an active member of the Big Tent Coalition, an alliance of advocacy groups and service providers.
He’s concerned about one proposed waiver for services for Kansans with developmental disabilities that would require all attendant care providers to be 18 years old and have a high school degree or GED certificate.
“The current waiver allows you to be 16,” he said. “We don’t know how many 16-year-old attendant care providers there are, but we’re concerned that for some people this may be a limitation that we don’t know about.”
Dave Ranney is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.
Boy, how often do you get to write that about a governor?
Here’s how this shakes out.
Brownback, of course, signed into law massive income tax cuts two years ago, and while the cuts were bigger than he wanted, he’s got them. And, for a very conservative governor, he is safely into a second four-year term (unless some more attractive job pops up).
From that position, Brownback can pretty much decide how much government he wants Kansas to have. Brownback is a small government guy, or at least a smaller government guy.
So, he’s proposed that because the state can’t spend more money than it takes in each year, he’ll meet this year’s projected $278 million shortfall largely by drying up all the excess cash sitting around in state agencies. His tactic? Transferring about $200 million in those funds—ranging from the Bank of the Kansas Department of Transportation to new appropriations to the state’s pension system to the State General Fund, and actually cutting some expenditures this fiscal year.
If the Legislature goes along, Brownback will have met the duty to balance the state budget…and drained the state of virtually all spare change for use in the upcoming fiscal year.
If the Legislature goes for the plan (and some lawmakers want to go back into this year’s budget and make cuts, which Brownback is expected to discourage), Kansas will have to finance next fiscal year’s budget, which starts July 1, with just the tax revenues it takes in.
We’re looking at estimated spendable revenues for the upcoming fiscal year of $5.8 billion, compared to the $6.3 billion that the Brownback plan would see spent for this fiscal year which ends June 30.
Just doing the subtraction won’t show it, because there are other expenditures that are automatically going to rise, but it means the state will have to cut about $650 million from this year’s comfortable budget. That’s a dab over 10 percent in cuts that legislators will be looking at in the upcoming session.
If you’re a fan of smaller government, this is a brilliant ploy. If you’re not a fan of smaller government, well, Brownback has made sure you’ll have to prove it by raising revenues while mid-term Brownback gets to watch what sort of campaigns lawmakers muster for election to the House and Senate.
Here’s where the fiendishly clever business may come into play.
Brownback can suggest a budget that makes those cuts to keep the state in the black, which automatically means dramatic spending cuts or program shrinkage, or the elimination of programs…or he can restructure the state’s taxes to finance a smaller cut in state spending.
That’s taxes, yes, but taxes Brownback is interested in. Not income taxes, of course, or any increase in corporate taxes, but maybe sales taxes. And, hey, they’ll gripe, but cigarettes and booze probably don’t cost what they’re worth if you gotta have them…
Oh, and remember that there is more than $6 billion in economic activity that is exempt from sales taxes including most services ranging from legal and accounting to, apparently, lap dances, but nobody’s ever gotten a receipt for those…
So, it appears that Brownback is putting legislators into the position where they approve the spending cuts that are in the future—and how often have we heard the phrase “living within your means”—or finding some new revenue source. Or, of course, just not financing services Kansans demand, which means local units of government will have to pick up the cost of those services which means higher local property taxes or fees or some such.
This might just be devilishly clever. Or not.
Syndicated by Hawver News C. of Topeka, Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report. To learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit www.hawvernews.com.
The Board of Directors of Kansas Next Step on Monday announced the Star Student and Teacher of the Month for December.
This month’s Star High School Student of the Month is Melissa Pfeifer, an 11th grade student at Thomas More Prep-Marian High School. Melissa is the president of Key Club, a Student Council representative, the historian for TMP’s chapter of FBLA, and a member of Ambassadors, National Honor Society, the Tech Team, and CYO. She also participates in band, Scholar’s Bowl and athletics.
In nominating Melissa for this award, the TMP Leadership Team stated, “She is a steady, quiet, but strong peer that sets a standard worthy of following.”
The Star Teacher of the Month is TMP-Marian High School Spanish teacher Melissa Pinkney.
Pinkney is the TMP-Marian senior class adviser and coordinator of the school’s Spanish Club. The club provides the opportunity for TMP students to participate in cultural experiences such as Spanish dance lessons and concerts. Pinkney also works with her students to apply what they are learning in the classroom through involvement with the young participants of the Hays Public Library’s Bilingual Story Time.
Outside the classroom, Pinkney has worked with her academy students to volunteer for the St. Joseph Food Pantry, host a canned food drive, and make blankets to donate to the Mary Elizabeth Maternity Home.
Pfeifer and Pinkney each received a monetary prize along with a certificate of recognition.
Kansas Next Step is a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting and facilitating the exploration of unique and exciting educational opportunities for motivated learners.
TOPEKA — Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and the Kansas Department of Agriculture have entered into a joint agreement to increase the state’s efforts to combat cattle theft, the agencies announced Monday.
Schmidt’s office has formed a new Livestock/Brand Investigation Unit within the office’s consumer protection division and hired longtime Kansas lawman Kendal Lothman to lead the unit. Lothman has been a law enforcement officer for 22 years, including six years as Kiowa County sheriff.
“This agreement is a great example of finding efficient ways for government to better serve the people of Kansas,” Schmidt said. “Combining the law enforcement authority of the attorney general’s office with the livestock investigations authority of the Department of Agriculture allows us to better protect Kansas ranchers from cattle theft.”
Dr. Bill Brown, Kansas Animal Health Commissioner, also welcomed the new collaborative effort.
“This is a good day for Kansans,” Brown said. “Livestock are a valuable asset and it is important that we remain diligent and assist in any way possible to protect those investments. Having an investigator in the field will provide expertise to local law officials to help support our Brand Program.”
Record cattle prices have led to increases in cattle thefts, as has been reported in several recent media stories. The new unit will respond to requests from local law enforcement agencies for help in investigations. Producers or others involved in the livestock industry who suspect thefts or improper cattle sales should contact their local sheriff or police department, which will request assistance if needed.
At least two incidents of missing cattle were reported to the Russell County Sheriff’s office during the first two weeks of December.
Judy Diane Redburn, age 65, passed away on Monday, December 15, 2014 at the Park Lane Nursing Home in Scott City, Kansas. She was born on October 4, 1949 in Scott City, Kansas, the daughter of Richard Wayne and Elsie Mae Smith McEachern. A lifetime resident of Scott City, Kansas, she was a homemaker.
She was a member of the Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Scott City, Kansas.
On February 14, 1975 she married Dale E. Redburn in Scott City, Kansas. He passed away on April 18, 2009 in Scott City, Kansas.
Survivors include her Three Daughters – April Williams of West Plains, Missouri, Amy Williams of Watonga, Oklahoma, Wendy Derstine of Scott City, Kansas, Two Step Daughters – Carol & Lance Ellis of Scott City, Kansas, Rhonda Redburn of Wichita, Kansas, Two Step Sons – Mike Redburn of Scott City, Kansas, Alan Redburn of Joplin, Missouri, Two Brothers – John McEachern of Ulysses, Kansas, Richard McEachern of Scott City, Kansas, Two Sisters – Mary Torson of Scott City, Kansas, Twila McEachern of Garden City, Kansas, One Grandson – Timothy Derstine of Scott City, Kansas, Two Granddaughters – Misty Williams of West Plains, Missouri and Madison Williams of Watonga, Oklahoma.
She was preceded in death by her Parents, Husband, One Son – Darwin Ray Williams and Three Sisters.
Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m. at the First Baptist Church on December 17, 2014 in Scott City, Kansas.
Memorials may be given to the Judy D. Redburn Memorial Fund in care of Price & Sons Funeral Homes.
Green Day and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are among six acts that have been selected to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The 30th class of inductees also includes the late Stevie Ray Vaughn and his band Double Trouble, Bill Withers, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and the late Lou Reed, who is being inducted for his solo work. He was inducted in 1996 as a member of the Velvet Underground.
The 1950s vocal group, The “5” Royales, will be recognized with the Early Influence Award.
In addition Ringo Starr will be presented with the Award for Musical Excellence.
Of course, Ringo was inducted in 1988 as a member of The Beatles. John, Paul and George are also in as solo artists.
“This means recognition to me,” Ringo tells Rolling Stone. “And it means, finally, the four of us are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame even though we were the biggest pop group in the land, though now it all looks funny in black and white.”
Artists are eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single.
Green Day’s debut EP, 1,000 Hours, came out in 1989, which means the band is entering the hall in its first year of eligibility. “I had to go for a walk when I heard the news,” Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong tells Rolling Stone.
“We’re in incredible company and I’m still trying to make sense of this. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has always held something special for me because my heroes were in there. This is a great time for us to sort of reflect and look back with gratitude,” Armstrong said.
Joan Jett tells Rolling Stone the news is “surreal and very humbling.” “It’s a culmination of all you’ve dreamed about doing as a musician. I’ve always been hopeful [that I’d get in] because I think it’s an incredible acknowledgment, says Jett, adding, “I’m very proud to be with all these great musicians. It’s going to take a few minutes to sink in before I see how I really feel about it.”
The induction ceremony is set for April 18 at Cleveland’s Public Hall.
An online ranker has named Hays one of the Top 10 places in America to open a small business.
Talent Tribune ranked Hays sixth in the nation, according to a report published Monday.
“In Hays, the largest city in northwest Kansas and the home of Fort Hays State University, education and health care are the two major industries,” the website said in its report. “Hays achieved fourth on our list for small business job growth, with a 10 percent increase in employees year over year. With 76.8 percent of the population over 16 years in the labor force, that job growth is incredibly important. The cost of living is low, and small businesses keep growing to their full potential.”
Melissa Rome and Ken Beran from Adams, Brown, Beran and Ball present annual audit at Monday’s USD 489 school board meeting.
By KARI BLURTON Hays Post
The annual audit report presented at Monday’s Hays USD 489 Board of Education meeting contained few surprises and was unanimously approved by the board.
According to Ken Beran from the Hays auditing firm Adams, Brown, Beran and Ball, the audit found no violations of Kansas state statues except for one missing pledge agreement, which has already been corrected.
However, Beran warned the district will continue to deal with funding issues.
“We are still facing the cash shortage and the funding shortage that is coming about because of the drop of tax revenues from the state that the board will be dealing with in the next five to six months,” he said.
Beran also told board members the fact oil valuations are going down has actually helped USD 489 because the taxes the district pays will go down as they do not depend on oil valuations as much as the schools in Ellis and Victoria.
A full audit report is attached in meeting’s agenda HERE.
MANHATTAN -A Riley County man was sentenced Monday in connection with a fatal car crash. On October 19, 2013, Police say Garrett Olson, then 19, Leonardville, was driving a Honda Accord northeast of Manhattan when the vehicle hit a rock wall, overturned and ejected Trevor Redding, 17, Randolph. Redding died at the scene.
