BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The museum that houses the National Toy Hall of Fame is establishing a World Video Game Hall of Fame.

The Strong museum in Rochester says the video hall announced Tuesday will recognize electronic games of all types: arcade, console, computer, handheld and mobile.

The toy hall of fame will provide the model for the video version. Anyone will be able to nominate a video game, and an internal advisory committee will choose finalists. An international selection committee of experts will choose inductees from there, based on four criteria: icon-status, longevity, geographical reach and influence.

Nominations for the inaugural class are being accepted through the end of March.

The Strong has been preserving and collecting video games and artifacts for years through its International Center for the History of Electronic Games.

Chapman- Law enforcement authorities in Dickinson County have made an arrest in connection with a marijuana growing operation.

The Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office Drug Enforcement Unit reported the Chapman Police used a search warrant in the 400 Block of 6th Street in Chapman.

They discovered and seized a marijuana growing operation.

Approximately 20 marijuana plants, in various states of growth and maturity, were seized.

Along with the marijuana plants, watering systems, ventilation systems and grow lamps were also seized.

Agents also located processed marijuana and drug paraphernalia consistent with sales.

The resident of the home Eric J Vernnon, 33, was not at home at the time of the search.

Police arrested him when he returned home on February 12.

Vernnon is being held in the Dickinson County Jail on charges of manufacture of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of marijuana, failure to obtain a Kansas drug tax stamp, and criminal use of a weapon.

The search warrant was issued as a result of a Chapman Police Officer conducting a follow up in the area after smelling marijuana coming from the residence.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Schools would be barred from giving sex education lessons to students without their parents’ consent under a bill before the Kansas Legislature.

The House Education Committee held a hearing on the bill Tuesday that would require school districts to share any sexual education materials with parents and obtain their written consent before teaching it to their children. Several parents and teachers testified in favor of the bill, saying that while some districts have already instituted similar policies, many districts do not properly inform parents about potentially inappropriate material in curriculums.

Opponents included two pastors and a priest, who testified the bill would deprive children of information important to their health.

An identical bill was endorsed by the committee last year, but did not pass beyond the House floor.

LIBERAL, Kan. (AP) — Without a three-time champion competing, a yearly pancake race between women from England’s Olney and a southwestern Kansas town was a griddle riddle until Hannah Belton put that to rest for the Americans.

The 24-year-old second-grade teacher and middle-school cross country coach from Liberal, Kansas, won Shrove Tuesday’s International Pancake Day Race in her hometown. Olney’s Emma Maitland finished six seconds slower.

Shrove Tuesday traditionally is the last day for merrymaking before the start of Lent. Pancakes were thought to be a good way for Christians to consume the fat they were supposed to give up during the 40 days before Easter.

The run’s competitors wear aprons and scarves and run the course with a pancake in their pan, flipping it at the beginning and end of the race.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers have approved rules limiting a common practice used to rush legislation to passage.

The House voted 83-38 on Tuesday to approve rules governing interactions between the two chambers. The Senate approved the rules on a 27-7 vote Monday.

The Senate was not scheduling debates on bills until the joint rules were settled.

The two chambers disagreed over limiting the bundling of separate bills into the final version of a single measure on a broad topic such as insurance or agriculture. Critics say the practice leads to sloppy lawmaking.

The joint rules will allow up to five bills to be bundled, with an exception for tax measures.

The House had wanted to allow only two bills to be bundled, while the Senate initially sought no limit.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says that a federal court ruling that blocks an executive order on immigration vindicates his efforts.

A federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked executive orders Tuesday that would have protected as many as 5 million people who entered the U.S. illegally from deportation.

Kansas is one of 26 states that have challenged the orders as unconstitutional. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt on Wednesday called the ruling a preliminary victory in the case.

Kobach said the ruling will boost his state-level efforts to deny benefits to people in the U.S. illegally.

Irene Caubillo, president of advocacy group El Centro, said she expected the ruling to be appealed and her organization would continue to aid those in the country illegally to gain legal status.

Salina Post

SALINA – Salina police are investigating a case of aggravated endangerment of a child.

Salina Police Captain Mike Sweeney said officers were sent to the parking lot of the Dillon’s on Planet Ave on Friday evening after a report of a child injured while riding a City Go Bus.

Sweeney said a 13-month-old child, who had been wandering around on the bus, fell and suffered a cut on the back of the head when the bus turned into the store parking lot.

According to reports, the child’s mother, Kathy Johnson, 29, left the bus and returned 15 minutes later. She allegedly had gone to make a purchase at a nearby liquor store.

While riding in the ambulance with her child to Salina Regional Health Center, EMS personnel noticed Johnson was drinking some type of liquor from a bottle.

Johnson was arrested at the hospital and has been charged with aggravated endangering a child.

The child, who was kept overnight at the hospital, was placed in protective custody.

KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

The Kansas Department of Commerce and the Older Worker Task Force will host the annual Older Worker Awards ceremony on April 6. The Department is now accepting nominations for the awards.

This event honors older workers who continue to play crucial roles in the Kansas workforce and economy, as well as their employers. Honorees will include older workers who are employed in both public and private sector jobs, and businesses and companies that regularly employ workers age 55 and older.

WHAT: Older Worker Awards ceremony.

WHEN/WHERE: 10:30 a.m., Monday, April 6, at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library, 1515 Southwest 10th Ave., Topeka, Kan. 66605.

NOMINATION INFORMATION: Nominations for workers 55 and older and for companies that employ older workers are due March 16. Nomination forms are available at KansasCommerce.com/OlderWorkers. For more information about the ceremony contact Susan Weidenbach at (785) 296-7842 or [email protected].

Nominations will be accepted for three award categories:

· Outstanding Older Worker: Bestows appreciation on an older worker who demonstrates outstanding qualities of leadership, dedication and commitment. Nominations are open to the general public. Nominees must be 55 years or older, residents of Kansas and working at least 20 hours a week in paid employment. Previous winners are not eligible.

· Oldest Worker: Celebrates the tenacity and fortitude of the experienced worker and is awarded on the basis of age of those working for pay. Previous winners are not eligible.

· Employer of the Older Worker Award: Bestows appreciation on a business that promotes, recruits, retains and develops experienced workers, and provides a positive and friendly work environment for older workers.