ARMA – Two people were injured in an accident just before 10 p.m. on Saturday in Crawford County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Ford pickup driven by Kevin E. McDaniels, 56, Arma, was northbound on U.S. 69
The driver and passenger were arguing.

The passenger struck the driver in the face. The pickup went off the right side of road and struck a ditch embankment.

The driver and a passenger Joyce E. McDaniels, 54, Arma, were transported to Via Christi.

The KHP reported both were properly restrained at the time of the accident.

By Andy Marso 

Rep. Don Hill, a Republican from Emporia, introduced a bill last year that would have raised the state’s cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack.

The bill died in the House Taxation Committee, where the chairman, Rep. Richard Carlson, a Republican from St. Marys, did not deem it worthy of a hearing.

This year, with the state facing a budget crisis after slashing income tax rates, Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration introduced an identical tobacco tax as part of a package to plug the projected $700 million deficit. To sell the plan to legislators, the administration sent the Kansas Department of Revenue’s new legislative liaison: former Rep. Richard Carlson. Carlson’s about-face illustrates the tension surrounding the public health community’s item of greatest interest this session.

A host of anti-cancer groups and other health advocates view the tobacco tax increase as good policy — regardless of the budget situation — that would save lives and save the state money on health care costs. But they face conservative Republican majorities in the House and Senate that are resistant to any new taxes and have put the tobacco tax on the table this year only because the state is so strapped for cash.

Even their most powerful ally — the governor — seems a reluctant supporter.

“Well, I’m not too excited about them (either),” Brownback said Thursday when told legislators are not enthused about the tobacco tax and an accompanying alcohol tax increase he proposed. “Somebody was complaining that well, we don’t seem to be pushing the taxes.

Well, I’m not excited about that. But what happens in this process is you get your budget set and then figure out OK, what can we do, trying to stay as pro-growth oriented as we can, to try to have the revenues we need to meet the budget the Legislature wants? I’m sure if everybody could do it, we’d do all the budget and no taxes.”

Opponents of the tobacco tax have seized on that ambivalence. At times they’ve conceded the health benefits of the tobacco increase but have urged legislators to push that from their minds and refocus on their distaste for taxing and spending. New tobacco lobbyist Tobacco companies, while largely staying out of the public debate, have hosted luncheons with guest speakers outlining the potential pitfalls of the increase and upped their lobbying clout.

The Wichita Eagle was the first to report that the nation’s second-largest tobacco company, Reynolds American Inc. (RAI), hired Brownback’s former chief of staff, David Kensinger, as a lobbyist.

RAI already retained the services of five lobbyists from Hein Government Consulting. But the addition of Kensinger was notable because he was one of a select group of lobbyists who received emails outlining the governor’s budget proposal — including the tobacco tax increase — before it was released publicly.

Kensinger declined to say  when he began talking with RAI about representing it. “I have the same policy (with RAI) as I do with all my clients,” Kensinger said. “Call my client.” Bryan Hatchell, director of communications for RAI, didn’t respond to email and phone call requests for comment on when the company began talks with Kensinger.

Brownback said he did not believe giving Kensinger a sneak peek at the budget had provided him with an unfair advantage on other lobbyists in securing the contract, or given RAI an edge in fighting the tax. He did say he wished Kensinger was not lobbying for “that group, but he’s free to do what he is doing.” The governor also said he hoped the pro-tobacco tax side would prevail because he wants the state to continue moving toward consumption taxes instead of income taxes and because of the positive health effects of the tobacco tax.

Brownback said he got the idea to propose the tax from the University of Kansas Cancer Center, whose director, Roy Jensen, has been one of its most outspoken advocates. The governor said a commitment to decreasing the state’s smoking rate was key to the cancer center earning the National Cancer Institute designation. “We’re going to try to get this across the line, and it will be a good public health issue,”

Brownback said. Hill, the Emporia legislator who proposed the tax increase last year at the request of the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network, said Kensinger’s hiring gives some insight into how serious RAI is taking the tobacco tax fight. “The corporate interests that have huge bucks are going to be strategic about who’s badging up for them, and they found a willing representative,” Hill said.

Committee testimony Kensinger’s official connection to the administration ended in April 2012, but his ties to Brownback date to 1994. His new role with RAI raises questions about how strenuously the administration will pursue the proposed tax increase. The administration has sent Carlson to testify for it in committees, but he has focused solely on its potential to close the budget gap. A Department of Revenue spokeswoman said he was not available to comment for this story.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has provided written testimony about the health benefits of a tobacco tax increase but has not pressed the point verbally at hearings.

When asked about the administration’s role in the tax talks, Hill said executive branch officials “haven’t been a factor at all, so far.”

There appears to be no sense of urgency among legislative leadership either. Chairmen of the House and Senate tax committees said last week that they will take no action on bills containing alcohol and tobacco tax increases until they return for the veto session in May. In the interim, they will receive updated revenue projections that will let them know just how dire the budget situation is.

“Everybody believes it’s prudent to not have any tax proposals under consideration until we really know what hole may need to be filled,” said Rep. Marvin Kleeb, a Republican from Overland Park who chairs the House Taxation Committee. Sen. Les Donovan, a Republican from Wichita who chairs the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee, agreed it would be premature to assess the bill before the revenue numbers come out.

But he said the bill was worth consideration. “It has merit,” Donovan said. “The more people you get to not smoke, the healthier the state’s going to be. But the more people who don’t smoke, the less revenue you’re going to get.”

‘Tax that saves lives’ Public health advocates from several organizations have pointed to research on tobacco tax increases in other states that show higher taxes spur people to quit, but the states still collect more revenue because the taxes paid by those who continue to smoke outweigh the revenue lost by those who quit. They’ve also been trying to sell legislators on its health benefits, regardless of the budget situation.

Reagan Cussimanio, a lobbyist for the Cancer Action Network, has repeatedly called it “the only tax that saves lives” and said she believes the message is getting through.

“The political realities are that you have a Legislature that doesn’t fully know their revenue situation,” Cussimanio said. “But I do think they’re starting to understand the health impact.” But the bill faces opposition from multiple wings of the Legislature.

Rep. Michael Houser, a conservative Republican from Columbus, said he would not be voting for it because he feared it would drive tobacco consumers in his border district across the state line. He said others feel the same. “I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Houser said.

Hill said he supports the measure because of its public health benefits and said the best tobacco tax is “the one that won’t yield any revenue” because it has spurred everyone to quit using tobacco. But he acknowledged that’s unlikely to happen and said the tobacco tax is imperfect in that it falls disproportionately on lower-income Kansans.

That could hurt its chances in the House, he said. “There’s a lot of opposition out there, even among a big number of people that acknowledge we need to have some revenue enhancements,” Hill said. “It is a regressive tax, and I don’t see any possibility at all it passes unless it’s part of a package that will include, among other things, some income tax.”

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

MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — A new government study finds about 3 out of 4 older teens are driving, but rates vary widely by state and city.

Hawaii had the lowest percentage of teen drivers, at 53 percent. North Dakota and South Dakota had the largest, at about 90 percent.

The teen driving rate was as high as 85 percent a decade ago but has been declining.

The study released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found roughly 75 percent of teens 16 and older are drivers.

By Ashley Booker

Kansas mental health caseloads have increased since 2006, in part because the stigma attached to seeking mental health treatment has gone down. But in some cases, mental health advocates say, people struggle to access treatment because of budget cuts and transportation issues.

With mental health centers facing more demand for services amid funding challenges, they are looking for new ways to support their clients, according to Sheli Sweeney, advocacy and member services coordinator of the Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas. Services in schools While all 26 community mental health centers across the state work with local school districts, only about half of the centers have clinicians in the schools, Sweeney said.

She said it depends on whether the mental health centers or school districts can financially support staff in the schools and if Medicaid funds are available for the services in bigger districts.

 

“If we had more money and more staff, we would probably have a staff member in every school we could possibly afford (to put) one into,” Sweeney said. “But right now that’s not very feasible.”

For more than 15 years, master’s-level social workers from the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center’s WRAP program have worked in the Lawrence and Eudora school districts.

According to Marilyn Hull, program and communications officer at the Douglas County Community Foundation, these workers identify and address mental health issues in children where they spend most of their day: in their schools.

But Bert Nash Center is dealing with a decreasing federal grant as Kansas school districts face budget cuts. With fewer clinicians able to work in the schools, Bert Nash Center saw a drop in the number of children and families served, Hull said.

Janice Storey, director of child and family services at Bert Nash Center, said the center is providing the middle range of WRAP staffing — it’s not the highest it’s been, but it’s no longer at its lowest. This is due to financial commitments from county officials and community members, who understand how effective WRAP services are in helping the well-being of children, she said.

Providing a lift

Bert Nash Center also is looking for ways to help when school’s not in session. The Douglas County Community Foundation  is providing a $15,000 grant to the Bert Nash Center so it can purchase a vehicle to transport children and families who can’t access the center’s services.

Storey said the center hopes to purchase the mini-bus from a local dealership before the summer. While the grant likely won’t cover the vehicle’s cost, Bert Nash Center will pay for the additional costs and vehicle training.

“For the summer, our focus (for the mini-bus) will be on our summer programming,” she said. “But beyond that our scope will be much wider.”

During the summer, Bert Nash Center provides camps for children with mental health issues who struggle with peer interactions. The van will be used to take groups of children into the community, where they interact during activities and learn how to manage their symptoms.

The transition from summer back to school is easier if a child receiving therapy attends the camp, so they don’t lose the skills they’ve developed during the school year, Storey said.

But when summer comes, these children may not have access to transportation and their therapy stops.

Rep. Barbara Ballard, a Democrat from Lawrence, is on the board of directors at Bert Nash Center. She said that regular therapy is important for people facing mental health issues.

“You have to be pretty consistent on a normal basis,” Ballard said. “That’s why you end up often with the same therapist, or you go with the group and you’re with the same people in the group.”

While Lawrence has a public transportation system, it’s not always manageable for children to ride alone, Storey said.

She said WRAP counselors at the Eudora elementary school are identifying and talking with families about whether they need transportation before the camps start in June.

“We are excited to get kids from Eudora in these groups,” Storey said.

Early treatment vital

Rick Cagan, executive director of the Kansas chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said transportation is a common challenge for people with mental health issues.

Cagan said most Kansas towns, especially those in rural areas, don’t have public transportation.

One in 10 children live with a serious mental or emotional disorder, and about half of those children are getting treatment, Cagan said. Providing treatment while they are young is vital, he said, because 75 percent of lifetime cases of serious mental illness begin between age 14 and 24. –

Although televideo service has expanded mental health treatment for rural residents, he said little progress has been made on transportation options.

“Our best opportunities to improve well-being and longevity for recovery from serious mental illness are to intervene at a younger age,” Cagan said.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The retrial is underway in Douglas County for a man accused of strangling his wife so he could collect $300,000 in life insurance money.

The Lawrence Journal-World  reports that 56-year-old Martin Miller is charged with first-degree murder in the July 2004 death of his 46-year-old wife, Mary Miller. His 2005 conviction was overturned last year.

Martin Miller’s former mistress, Carrie Parbs, testified Friday that Miller talked about divorcing his wife and marrying her. Parbs said Miller later backed out of the idea when he thought of how it would affect his finances, business, church and children.

Douglas County Coroner Erik Mitchell began testifying Friday about his finding that asphyxiation was the cause of death. The defense blames the death on natural causes. Mitchell’s testimony will continue Monday.