LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A judge has denied an attorney’s request for a new trial for a 20-year-old woman convicted of killing her 52-year-old roommate in Lawrence.
District Court Judge Paula Martin on Wednesday denied a second trial for Sara McLinn. She was convicted in March of first-degree murder in the January 2014 death of Harold Sasko, who was found bound and nearly decapitated in the home they shared.
Martin ordered that McLinn be evaluated at Larned State Hospital as part of her pre-sentence investigation.
The jury recommended that McLinn be sentenced to 50 years in prison with no chance of parole. Or the judge could sentence her to Larned State Hospital.
Her attorney, Carl Cornwell, contends McLinn suffered from mental illness and could not have formed the intent to kill Sasko.
———————————-
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The attorney for a 20-year-old woman convicted of killing her 52-year-old roommate in Lawrence is seeking a new trial for her.
Sara McLinn was scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday for the January 2014 death of Harold Sasko, who was found bound and nearly decapitated in the home they shared. She faces a sentence of 50 years in prison with no chance of parole.
Sasko owned several CiCi’s Pizza shops and McLinn had worked for him.
She fled and was found in Florida several days after Sasko’s body was found.
Her attorney, Carl Cornwell, argued throughout her trial that McLinn suffered from mental illness and could not have formed the intent to kill Sasko.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports a new sentencing date has not been set.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas judge has put the government on notice that the court will no longer tolerate its “indifference and willful disregard” of legal requirements in conducting covert searches.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Teresa James provided a rare public glimpse into the sloppy handling of delayed-notice warrants when she recently rebuked Kansas prosecutors. The public scolding comes amid the growing use of the surreptitious warrants nationwide, especially in Kansas.
Congress authorized delayed-notice warrants in the Patriot Act as a way to fight terrorism. But critics say the warrants are being used for routine criminal investigations.
The Justice Department has long defended covert searches, calling them in a 2004 report to Congress “a vital and time-honored tool for fighting crime.”
TOPEKA- A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just after 8 a.m. on Wednesday in Shawnee County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Chevy Impala driven by Alma L. Sexton, 78, Paola, was merging off U.S. 75 onto northbound Topeka Boulevard five miles south of Topeka.
The vehicle was rear-ended by a 2014 Chevy Impala driven by Darren A. Cashier, 49, Carbondale.
Sexton was transported to Stormont Vail. Cashier was not injured. The KHP reported both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident.
TOPEKA–House Speaker Ray Merrick recently appointed Michael Armstrong of Fairway and General Manager of WaterOne to serve on the Kansas Water Authority (KWA).
Armstrong has served as General Manager of WaterOne since 2003. Based in Lenexa, it is one of the largest independent non-profit public water utilities in the state with treatment plants and water intakes on the Kansas and Missouri Rivers. Armstrong previously represented water supply stakeholders on the Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee, a stakeholder advisory committee for the Army Corps of Engineers.
He is originally from Goodland and holds a degree in Political Science from Kansas State University and a law degree from the University of Kansas.
“I’m pleased to appoint Michael to this position, because I know his expertise will be a benefit to the Kansas Water Authority as they work on solutions to preserve one of our state’s most precious resources,” Merrick said in a news release.
The KWA is responsible for advising the Governor, Legislature and Director of the Kansas Water Office on water policy issues. They also ensure that water policies and programs address the needs of all Kansans as well as serve as advisors of the Kansas Water Vision and Kansas Water Plan. The KWA was established in 1981 and consists of 13 voting members who are appointed by the Governor or Legislative leadership. State agency directors serve as ex-officio members.
KWA meetings are held throughout the year and for information and upcoming meetings, visit www.kwo.org.
For the fifth consecutive year, Bank of Hays, 1000 West 27th, has been listed among Seifried & Brew (S&B) LLC’s 2014 Top 15th Percentile of Community Banks.
S&B is a community bank risk management firm located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Selection was based on Bank of Hays’ exemplary performance in balancing risk and reward based on the bank’s S&B Total Risk/Return Composite Ranking.
Bank of Hays Chief Executive Officer Randy Walker said banks listed as Top 15th Performers were chosen for thriving despite the recent financial turmoil. “This supports S&B’s belief – and ours – that conservative, traditional community banking is the strength of the financial system,” he said in a news release.
A total of 620 banks nationwide were included in the ranking. Only 23 of those were from Kansas and Bank of Hays was the only Hays bank listed.
Bank of Hays also has branches in Hanston (Hanston State Bank), Jetmore (The Farmers State Bank of Jetmore) and Lewis (Bank of Lewis).
An official with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Tuesday that the department still expects the Legislature to pass a bill that will allow agency officials to regulate mental health drugs.
State law currently bans prior authorization or other regulatory tools for antipsychotic drugs covered by Medicaid.
An attempt to roll back that ban this year failed due to opposition by mental health advocates, but a compromise measure that would establish an independent advisory panel to develop guidelines for antipsychotic regulations has passed committee and is awaiting House and Senate votes once the full Legislature returns Wednesday for what’s known as the veto session.
“Hopefully as soon as you guys get back in full force, we can get that through,” Aaron Dunkel, deputy secretary of KDHE, told the Robert G. (Bob) Bethell Joint Committee on Home and Community Based Services and KanCare Oversight.
Dunkel said the advisory panel established by Senate Substitute for House Bill 2149 would meet quarterly and examine issues like the unusually high rate of antipsychotic medications prescribed to Kansas children on Medicaid. Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration formed its budget proposal under the assumption that the Legislature would allow for mental health drug regulation, which was estimated to save the state general fund about $8 million. Mental health advocates have expressed skepticism that the state will realize those savings.
Andy Marso is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.
The Hays USD 489 Board of Education proposed a cap on sick leave and paid time off during Tuesday’s negotiation with local members of the Kansas National Education Association.
The board’s proposed contract caps paid time off — including sick and bereavement leave — at 11 days a year and caps accumulated leave at 80 days instead of the current contract’s unlimited amount.
KNEA co-chairwoman Kathy Wagoner asked if the plan would be grandfathered to allow older teachers counting on their days of accumulated leave as compensation when they retire.
“We are not in the private sector where you get a bonus or incremental raises because of evaluations,” Hays KNEA co-chair Cathy Wagoner said. “We only see that at the end of our careers in terms of a severance check, and in the severance check, there is sick leave and paid time off that we didn’t use because we wanted to be there for our students.”
Co-chairwoman Kim Schneweis added teachers who have a good attendance record are usually good teachers who don’t want to leave their students and questioned why paid leave would not be considered “merit” pay, especially when saving the district money in lieu of hiring a substitute for the day.
The board asked the KNEA members to come back to next week’s meeting with a plan to grandfather the proposal of capping accumulated leave and adding additional time off in form of bereavement days.
Baseball has spring training, football’s got its training camps. But for a political junkie like me, nothing compares with the opening of the presidential primary season.
Some 19 candidates, give or take, recently swarmed a Republican forum in New Hampshire in search of a kind word and a smile from voters there. They spent much of their time arm-wrestling each other over who hated Hillary Clinton more.
Candidates who couldn’t even spell Benghazi, let alone find it on a map, emerged as experts on the death of our ambassador in a terrorist attack there in 2012. Hillary’s fault, naturally.
I thought it was great.
I have fond memories of covering presidential campaigns in New Hampshire, a state that seems entirely sane — unlike some of the politicians who come seeking its favor.
It was there, for example, that I had my brush with greatness: an exclusive face-to-face interview with Ronald Reagan. Actually, it was more like shoulder-to-shoulder.
It was 1980. Reagan, the former governor of California, was making his run for the Republican nomination. I didn’t think he had much of a chance. He was too old for the part, for one thing, but I thought it might be fun to follow him around for a day.
We went from one picturesque little town to another, always met by friendly, enthusiastic crowds, until we got to a junior high where he was scheduled to speak and where I decided to take a bathroom break.
As I walked to the boys room, the smiling crowd parted before me and formed a lane, as though in welcome.
“I hadn’t realized I was this popular up here,” I said to myself.
I went inside, and moments later in walked Ronald Reagan. He took ownership of the urinal next to me.
Drawing on my experience as a crack political reporter, I said: “How’s it going, Governor?”
And he replied: “Oh, pretty well. I always do well up here.”
And that was it, the whole interview.
I spent the rest of the day following him around. I found him remarkable. He gave exactly the same speech at every stop with exactly the same inflection on every word, the catch in his voice at precisely the same moment.
His theme was essentially that he would bring back that time when respect for the United States was so universal that an American could walk through any revolution in the world without fear simply by putting an American flag in his lapel.
Nonsense, of course, but the New Hampshire crowds ate it up. I was sure, however, that Reagan, charming as he was, couldn’t sail so weak a vessel all the way to the nomination, let alone the presidency. He would be found out as an entertaining fraud and dismissed.
To make a long story short, I was wrong.
Still, I miss New Hampshire when the smell of hypocrisy is in the air.
I judge this group of Republican candidates to be superior to the ill-fated slate in 2012. They are, for the most part, much smarter. There’s no Michele Bachmann for one thing.
Even Texas Governor Rick Perry, another member of the double-digit IQ club, has started wearing glasses to make himself look smarter.
A few of them — Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, John Kasich — seem reasonable, for Republicans. And no one would call even the more flamboyant hopefuls, like Rand Paul and Chris Christie, dumb.
Even the minor players are substantial people. Ben Carson, who didn’t make the New Hampshire forum, was a brilliant neurosurgeon. And Carly Fiorina, the lone woman in this crowded field, headed Hewlett-Packard.
It’s true that most of the candidates looked more like vice-presidents-in-waiting than incipient commanders-in-chief. But that’s always the case early on. They’ll sort themselves out as the months go on.
To tell you the truth, it promises to be much more interesting than watching Hillary running against herself.
OtherWords columnist Donald Kaul lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. OtherWords.org.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A school finance summit was postponed a day after leaders of conservative think tank said they were concerned it would be a one-sided event because they were not invited.
However, organizers of the event scheduled for May 7 at Wichita State University said they postponed the summit because state lawmakers would be in session and unable to attend.
The Wichita Eagle reports the meeting was planned to talk about new block grant funding for schools.
Dave Trabert, president of the Kansas Policy Institute, says he was glad the event was postponed and hoped his group would be included if it is held.
USD 489 BOE graph proposing new teacher contract hours
By KARI BLURTON Hays Post
A proposal by the Hays USD 489 Board of Education to add seven days to teacher contracts, increase daily hours and increase students contact time was presented at Tuesday’s contract negotiations meeting to members of the local Kansas National Education Association.
The board presented graphs comparing USD 489 with 17 other school districts suggesting Hays teachers worked less hours and had fewer hours of student contact time than other schools across the state.
“You can see right now that Hays is ranked in lower quarter compared to all these other schools and that is what is concerning to us,” board member Sarah Rankin said. “With our proposal, it moves us up much higher on that graph.”
The board’s proposed contract calls for teachers to work 7.75 hours per day instead of the current 7.25. It also would require teachers to arrive to school 40 minutes prior to the start of school and stay 35 minutes after the end of school, adding an overall 30 minutes to the current teacher work day.
USD 489 BOE graph proposing new teacher contract days
Board member Greg Schwartz said the arrival and departure times of each day could be negotiated with the principal.
“There is probably a lot more room for discussion as far as what the appropriate time will be. … When we looked at it we looked at lots of factors — daycare, dropping (kids) off at school, a lot of things that would factor in,” Schwartz said. “Our focus is to add more plan time and student contact time and get us to where others are at.”
Related: Union questions board proposal to cap sick, leave time.
Hays KNEA negotiating team members questioned the accuracy of the information, pointing out some schools showed higher contract hours because student-contact hours were low.
“These colorful bar graphs … is that all we have to work?” Schneweis asked. “Nobody works that schedule. … You say we work the minimum and we only work these hours. Nobody is working that schedule.”
“If that is the case and everybody is working these hours, then what is the big deal in adding more contract hours and contract days?” Schwartz asked.
“Because if you are going to expand that, then that is going to expand the extra time out of us,” Schneweis said. “From what I can tell, you are asking us to do that for free.”
Board member Lance Bickle said the proposal is not “set in stone” and will be discussed further.
The next KNEA negotiations meeting is May 6 at 5:30 p.m. at Rockwell Administration Center.
Five students from the Department of Leadership Studies participated in the recent Washburn Leadership Challenge Event hosted by the Washburn University Leadership Institute, Topeka.
The FHSU team took second place overall in the college division and won the Innovation Award for presenting the most creative and innovative solutions throughout the competition.
This annual event provides students the opportunity to participate in a real-life experience by simulating a real-world challenge. This year, students were challenged to address the one of three issues — poverty, crime, or unemployment in the fictitious city of Metropolis, Kan.
The FHSU team chose to address the issue of unemployment, which would also address issues of poverty and crime. While attempting to address these issues, the students encountered obstacles such as a department leader calling in sick, constant incoming emails, and mid-day meetings.
Students were also tasked to design a final presentation to share at the “Metropolis Cares Expo.”
The students were accompanied by their mentors, Kaley Klaus, graduate teaching assistant, and Dr. Jeni McRay, assistant professor of leadership studies, Virtual College International. Students who participated in the event are listed by hometown.
ELLIS — The Ellis City Council will meet in special session at 6 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall.
Newly elected council members will be sworn in, and the council will hear a presentation from Driggs Design Group on waterline and street improvement projects.
The complete agenda is below:
——
ELLIS CITY COUNCIL
Special Meeting Agenda
City Hall – Council Chambers
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
CALL TO ORDER 6:00 P.M.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA
BUSINESS TO BE CONDUCTED:
• Administer Oath of Office to Newly Elected Official
• Presentation by Buck Driggs, Driggs Design Group, on Waterline Improvement Project and Street Improvement Project
• Consider Approval of Kansas Department of Health & Environment Loan Documents and Authorize Mayor’s Signature
