Photo by University of Kansas Hospital Cambridge North Tower at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., will include 12 operating rooms.
By Dan Margolies
Dr. William Reed and his wife, Mary, have donated $1 million toward completion of an addition to the University of Kansas Hospital, KU announced Friday.
Reed is chairman of the hospital’s cardiovascular diseases department and helped re-establish its heart transplant program in 2012 with a $1.5 million donation. The addition, the Cambridge North Tower, is under construction just northeast of the hospital complex in Kansas City, Kan.
When completed in 2017, the 92-bed, eight-story facility will include 12 operating rooms and house two of the hospital’s fastest-growing specialties, neurosciences and surgical oncology, KU said in a news release.
So far the hospital has raised $38.6 million of the $100 million it hopes to receive from private philanthropic sources. The entire project was estimated last year to cost $279 million.
Civic leader Annette Bloch announced a $10 million challenge grant in November. Including the Reeds’ contribution, KU said it had raised nearly $5.84 million toward the challenge. The building also will include imaging and lab facilities as well as a pharmacy.
Reed, 87, and his wife donated $1 million toward construction of the hospital’s cardiovascular surgery center, which is named after them, in 2003. He recently wrote a book, “The Pulse of Hope: A Surgeon’s Memoirs from Poverty to Prosperity.”
Dan Margolies is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.
Hays Community Theatre will have auditions for its upcoming performance later this month.
Audutions for parts in “Legally Blond: The Musical” will be 6:30 to 9 p.m. May 26 and 27 at the Hays Arts Council, 1010 Main. Callbacks/makeup date will be May 28.
Performers are asked to bring a 16-bar selection from the song of their choice to be performed a capella. Cold reading material will be provided.
Those unavailable those dates should email [email protected], and off-stage crew members also are being sought.
“Legally Blond: The Musical” will be performed at 7 p.m. July 23 to 25 at TMP’s Dreiling Theatre, 1701 Hall.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Gov. Sam Brownback says he has been using private email and cell phones for official business since he was a U.S. senator.
Brownback said during a news conference Monday that he began the practice while serving in the U.S. Senate from 1996 through 2010. He said there were situations where it was unclear whether the communication was private or official. He said he can also be reached through his state email.
The disclosure that the governor uses private phones and email has raised concerns because documents related to them aren’t accessible under the Kansas Open Records Act.
Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt recommended recently that lawmakers fix the private email loophole in the records law.
Democratic Rep. Jim Ward of Wichita called the practice indefensible.
Ever do a little, polite, considerate favor for a friend, maybe trimming the grass on the sidewalk clear to your neighbor’s driveway, not just stopping at the property line?
Well, we saw one of those little, considerate favors last week on the floor of the House when legislators debated that tax-increase bill, the one that pulls about $400 million out of our pockets and deposits it in the State General Fund.
The favor, in the building where the public wants to know every detail of every bill and who voted for it and who voted against it, was simply not doing that.
Eventually legislators are going to have to pass a tax increase bill and a budget for the state. Those are going to be ugly votes. Nobody likes taxes, and legislators who stand for reelection next year—after those taxes have taken effect and are pulling money out of your wallet—don’t like voting for them.
And, no matter how the state’s budget turns out, we know that there are going to be disappointments, too little money for environmental projects, not enough for assistance to the poor, not enough cash to compete with other states to lure new industry and the resultant jobs to each community in Kansas.
Nope, nobody is going to like all of either the upcoming tax or spending bills, so the key is to vote on them just once, not over and over while citizens and the political community are keeping score.
Simple as it sounds, while the House was debating the widely hated tax increase bill, there was a courtesy provided to Republicans by Democrats.
In nearly two hours of debate, including an amendment that would have levied income taxes on those 330,000-plus Kansans who don’t pay income tax because they have incorporated their businesses in a manner that makes non-wage income exempt from taxes, there wasn’t a single call for a roll call vote that would have forced members of the House to have their names associated with the bill.
It was all voice votes, both to reject that tax-business-income amendment and to forward the bill to a publicly recorded final action vote (which failed).
That little leave-no-tracks courtesy for the House’s Republican (97) majority was provided by…the House’s Democratic (28) minority.
It just takes 15 hands in the air to force that politically dangerous roll call vote on amendments or forwarding the bill to a final vote, but Democrats who don’t like the bill didn’t force it.
While that means that there isn’t a firm number of House members who are apparently willing to vote on tax increases, it also means that Republicans who are willing to vote on tax increases don’t get identified this early in the tax-raising process—so lobbyists and the executive branch and others don’t target them for political opposition.
That’s a little courtesy provided to Republicans by Democrats.
Now…will that little courtesy be repaid?
It might be maybe an extra tenth of a percent reduction in sales tax on groceries, which Democrats like because it means poor Kansans—all Kansans, really, but Democrats tend to forget that the wealthy pay sales tax on groceries, too—save a little money.
Or it might mean that some Republicans could go for putting back some of those income taxes that Democrats maintain Republicans aren’t paying…though Democrats pay income taxes too, and luckily, there is no statistic on how many Democrats are income tax scot-free.
Or, it might mean that Republicans will just have to hold their noses and vote once on taxes. Just once.
Or, it might mean that Democratic House members next year get to keep parking in the Statehouse garage…instead of having to leave frequently to plug the meter…
Syndicated by Hawver News Co. 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.
All Misty Roper wanted was to have her young daughter watch her mom cross the stage to receive her diploma. She had no idea a simple email asking if someone could watch 5-year-old Natilee would get such a big response.
Elizabeth Noble, Hays, shows Natilee Roper, Wellington, how to hold a sign congratulating her mom at Saturday’s Fort Hays State University graduation.
Roper graduated with a bachelor’s degree Saturday through Fort Hays State University’s Virtual College. And Natilee got to watch her mom cross the stage and shake hands with President Mirta M. Martin.
Roper, a single mom, lives three and a half hours from Hays in Wellington. And before Saturday, she had never set foot on the FHSU campus.
Roper will complete work on her bachelor’s of general studies, with an emphasis in early childhood development, this summer. With her graduation approaching this semester, Roper asked a cousin to hang out with Natilee at graduation. When that plan fell through, and with no other family member to help her out, Roper thought she wouldn’t be able to make the trip to Hays.
Then she emailed FHSU’s Virtual College, explaining her situation. In a meeting with his staff, Virtual College Director Dennis King asked if anyone was available to help.
“I hope other single moms have the courage to go to school. That’s what pushed me through, to walk across the stage and have my daughter see me.” — Misty Roper
Nicole Frank, coordinator of adjunct support and engagement for the Virtual College, spoke up immediately.
Misty Roper and her daughter, Natilee, left, Wellington, meet with Nicole Frank and her daughter, Elizabeth Noble, before Saturday’s graduation at Fort Hays State University.
“I said, yes, I’d do it, and then I had to quit talking, I was getting choked up,” Frank said. Frank’s reaction came from remembering her own experience as a single mom.
She was receiving her master’s degree from Colorado State University a few years ago and wanted her 5-year-old twins, William and Elizabeth Noble, to be present to watch.
Frank wasn’t able to find anyone to watch the twins during graduation, so they didn’t get to participate in their mother’s big day.
Frank said she wanted to make sure that didn’t happen this time around, so she began conversation with Roper via email.
“I was shocked,” Roper said. “They emailed me just a couple days later, and I was tickled to death.”
Thinking Natilee would be more comfortable with another young girl present, Frank asked her own daughter, Elizabeth, now 8, if she wanted to go to graduation with her and help with Natilee.
“She was thrilled,” Frank said. “She just loves children, and she’s wishing she could babysit right now for a living.”
While Frank and Roper talked on the phone several times, they hadn’t met in person before Saturday morning.
“I was a little nervous, because I had never left her with anyone,” Roper said as the group gathered behind the lower bleachers before graduation.
However, Roper said that Frank’s and Elizabeth’s enthusiasm made her feel comfortable leaving her daughter with strangers. Natilee appeared to feel right at home as well as she waved at her mom and followed her newfound friends, with a backpack she and her mom had packed at home.
Staff in the Virtual College had also assembled a bag of black and gold FHSU mementos for Natilee, such as balloons, a water bottle, beads, shoe laces, a pom pon and T-shirts. The bag of goodies and Natilee’s stash in her backpack — and Elizabeth — kept the youngster busy during the ceremony that lasted more than two and a half hours. And they were there more than a half hour early.
“I can’t believe how good she’s being,” Frank said, admitting that her own daughter had a lot to do with that. “I told Elizabeth she could choose where to eat afterwards.”
Sitting high in the stands at Gross Memorial Coliseum, Natilee asked to be lifted up because she couldn’t see over all the people when the graduates arched in. Looking down on the coliseum floor, Natilee kept asking, “Where’s mommy?” and waved to any graduate who acknowledged the crowd.
“I had really built it up beforehand,” Roper said. “I had told her I would get to walk across the stage and shake hands with the president and that it was a really big deal.”
As Roper approached the stage, Frank and Elizabeth held up a sign they had made, stating, “Good Job Mommy,” while holding Natilee so she could watch her mom.
“I see Mommy!” she said, a big smile across her face. “Hey, Mommy,” she shouted, waving. Roper, of course, could neither see nor hear her daughter. But she knew she was there. Roper said she couldn’t thank Frank enough for making that possible.
“It gave me such peace of mind,” Roper said.
“I hope other single moms have the courage to go to school,” added Roper, who is thinking about starting work on her master’s immediately. Roper said. “That’s what pushed me through, to walk across the stage and have my daughter see me.”
MANHATTAN – Authorities in Manhattan are investigating a case of school vandalism.
Officers took a juvenile into custody after he reportedly vandalized a fire sprinkler head at the Manhattan High School West Campus on Friday.
The school experienced flooding and damage which was valued at approximately $1,500.00 of needed repair.
Manhattan High School Principal Greg Hoyt, staff and students evacuated the west campus building on Friday afternoon.
“The Manhattan Fire Department responded with a single truck,” Hoyt said in a media release. “Information from the alarm system indicated a “water flow” issue in the boiler room. Fire and school officials investigated the boiler room and found no evidence of any fire issue or potential. Further investigation revealed that a sprinkler head in a student restroom had been vandalized, causing the alarm to sound.
Students and staff were permitted back inside the building after approximately 30 minutes.
The student was released to his parents after being transported to the Riley County Police Department.
The vandalism came a day after Principal Hoyt released a statement asking for students not to participate in pranks for “Junior Takeover Day.”
Add Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen’s name to the list of rock and rollers turned authors.
The 57-year old guitarist’s new memoir, Adrenalized: Life, Def Leppard and Beyond, will be published on October 27.
Written with veteran journalist and author Chris Epting, the book is the first by a member of the group. In addition to Collen’s story it features never-before seen photographs of Collen and the band.
“It’s fascinating for even me to look back at my life from working in a factory at 16 years old to eventually traveling the world selling over one hundred million records and all the experiences that come with that journey,” Collen said in a statement.
“I realize that there is a constant evolution of ‘me’ that is still a work in progress even as I continue to be vital and dynamic in my same occupation for the past 35 years well into my late fifties.”
Def Leppard will be touring this summer with Styx and Tesla. The 48-date outing will kick off in Tampa, Florida, on June 23 and will wrap up in Jacksonville, Florida on October 17.
ELLIS–City employee health insurance options will be presented by a Blue Cross Blue Shield representative during tonight’s regular meeting of the Ellis City Council.
The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. in Ellis City Hall. The complete agenda follows.
AGENDA May 18, 2015
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF ELLIS
City Hall – Council Meeting Room
BILLS ORDINANCE REVIEW WORK SESSION BEGINS AT 7:00 P.M.
ROLL CALL AND MEETING CALL TO ORDER AT 7:30 P.M.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA (if needed)
1) CONSENT AGENDA
a) Minutes from Regular Meeting on May 4, 2015
b) Bills Ordinance #1973
(Council will review for approval under one motion under the consent agenda. By majority vote of the governing body, any item may be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately)
PUBLIC COMMENTS
(Each speaker will be limited to five minutes. If several people from the group wish to speak on same subject, the group must appoint a spokesperson. ALL comments from public on agenda items must be during Public Comment. Once council begins their business meeting, no more comments from public will be allowed.)
2) PRESENTATIONS OF AWARDS, PROCLAMATIONS, REQUESTS & PETITIONS (HEARINGS)
3) SPECIAL ORDER
a) Options 2015 Budget Request
b) Consider Request for Campground Passes – Ellis Alumni Association
c) Presentation on Employee Health Insurance Options – Blue Cross Blue Shield
4) UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a) Consideration of Employee Health Insurance
b) Consideration of Revisions to Water Conservation Documents
c) Update on Water Exploration
5) NEW BUSINESS
a) Consider Event Request for Traffic Control, Public Property Permit Application, and Noise Permit Application – Ellis High School Alumni Association
b) Consider Event Request for Traffic Control and Public Property Permit Application – Jack Wolf, USD 388 Cross Country
c) Consider Approval of Application for Local Incentives – Seams Like Olde Times Quilt Shop
d) Consider Renewal of Lamar Billboard Contract
e) Consider Purchase of Municipal Court Software
f) Discussion on Purchasing and Bidding Policy and Procedures
g) Consider Writing Rules of Order for Meetings
h) Discussion on City Dumpster Policy
i) Consideration of Live Web Feed of City Council Meetings
j) Consider Approval of Committee Appointments
6) REPORTS FROM CITY OFFICIALS
a) Administrative
1) Public Works
(1) Comparative Water Report
(2) KanCap Board/Council Training
(3) Consider Employee Change of Position
(4) Discuss Asphalt Acquisition
(5) Department Update
2) Police
(1) Department Update
3) City Clerk
(1) Notification from USDA on Loan Funds
(2) Department Update
4) Attorney
5) Mayor/Council
EXECUTIVE SESSIONS
7) ADJOURNMENT
109th Dist. State Rep. Troy Waymaster, R-Bunker Hill
May 15, 2015 Troy L. Waymaster, State Representative, Kansas House District 109
Tax Plans Emerge
With the ninetieth day of the Legislative Session looming, which was Saturday,May 16, we did see the emergence of two vastly different tax solution plans voted out of the House Taxation Committee.
The first tax plan, House Bill 2430, is designed to address a wide array of tax policies. There are numerous components to this tax policy, which mainly focuses on income taxes. HB 2430 would impose business income at an income tax rate for all businesses at 2.7%. This legislation would also impose an income tax rate on passive, rents, and royalties at a rate of 4.6%. House Bill 2430 would also increase the current sales tax rate from 6.15% to 6.5% effective on July 1, 2015. However, the current sales tax rate of 6.15% would not increase for the purchase of groceries.
The other tax plan, House Substitute for Senate Bill 270, was passed out of the House Taxation Committee on Wednesday, May 13, focuses more on sales tax increases. This proposal would raise the current sales tax rate from 6.15% to 6.85%, with the exception of food. For the purchases of food, the sales tax rate would be reduced to 5.9%. With these adjustments to the sales tax, the amount of funds generated is estimated to be approximately $271 million in fiscal year 2016. The other components of SB 270 are to eliminate all itemized deductions, except mortgage interest deduction, property taxes, and charitable contributions, tax amnesty, and decrease the bottom income tax tier for the 2015 tax year from 2.7% to 2.55%.
The House of Representatives debated and amended SB 270 on Friday, May 15; however it failed to pass out of the chamber by a voice vote.
Article V: Convention of States
I have received numerous emails regarding House Concurrent Resolution 5010, which would serve as Kansas’ application to Congress, under the provisions of Article V of the U.S. Constitution, for the calling of a convention of the states. The convention, if called, would limit the amendments to the Constitution that impose limits or restraints on the federal government.
This resolution would make the following findings and conclusions regarding the federal government: the federal government has created a national debt by improper and imprudent spending, has invaded the legitimate roles of the states through the manipulative process of federal mandates, does not to comply with the proper interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, and the solemn duty of the states is to protect the liberty of the people by proposing amendments to the U.S. Constitution for the purpose of restraining the abuses of power identified in the resolution. As of yet, the House has not voted on this resolution.
Marijuana Possession Penalties, Hemp Oil and Industrial Hemp
The House passed House Bill 2049, which reduces the criminal penalties for low level possession of marijuana. Under current law, a first offense of possession of marijuana is a class A nonperson misdemeanor, and any subsequent offense is a drug severity level 5 felony. This bill changes a first possession offense to a class B nonperson misdemeanor and changes a second offense to a class A nonperson misdemeanor. A third or subsequent offense would be classified as a drug severity level 5 felony.
This bill makes Kansas law less punitive toward nonviolent marijuana offenders by giving more flexibility for rehabilitation. Fewer offenders would lose job opportunities due to having a felony conviction on their record and would have increased opportunities to reform their ways and become productive members of society. The bill would also help keep these nonviolent offenders out of prison – the Department of Corrections estimates the bill would result in FY 2016 a savings of $671,000, and in FY 2017 a savings of $1.1 million and freeing up needed space for violent criminals.
During the floor debate on HB 2049, an amendment was added to the bill to legalize the production of medical hemp oil for the purposes of treating debilitating seizures. The language of the amendment was the same as that of a bill approved earlier in the session by the Health and Human Services Committee and would set up a regulatory structure for the preparation of this medical hemp that has very low levels of THC, the high-inducing chemical contained in marijuana. The legislation would allow those suffering from seizures access to an effective treatment.
Also added during the debate on the bill, was an amendment to allow the Kansas Department of Agriculture and/or any of the six Regents’ universities to do research on industrial hemp. A provision was included in the 2014 farm bill passed by Congress to allow state universities and state agriculture agencies to grow and do research on the crop without being penalized by the federal government. However, the provision only applies to states where industrial hemp is legal. The amendment would make the research done on the crop by KDA or by one of the Regents’ universities legal.
The House passed HB 2049 by a vote of 81-36.
Judicial Budget and Contact Information
The House passed our budget legislation for the Judicial Branch. The judiciary budget has been kept separate from the mega budget bill, and its approval will now give the House a position on the issue in conference committee with the Senate.
The committee’s budget would appropriate $131.2 million in fiscal year 2016 and $138.5 million in fiscal year 2017 to the Judicial Branch. The budget also includes an extension of the surcharge on docket fees, which is estimated to bring in another $9.5 million to the Judiciary. The budget also raises the fee for filing a dispositive motion to $195, which is expected to provide the Judiciary with another $574,000.
The House passed House Bill 2365 by a vote of 108-10.
If you have any concerns, feel free to contact my office at (785) 296-7672, visit www.troywaymaster.com or email me at [email protected]
It is an honor to serve the 109th Kansas House District and the state of Kansas. Do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts, concerns and questions. I appreciate hearing from the residents of the 109th House District and others from the state of Kansas.
Troy L. Waymaster,
State Representative
109th Kansas House
300 SW 10th
Topeka, KS 66612
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A new report says employment growth in Kansas has been lagging behind the rest of the nation.
Wichita State University’s Center for Economic Development and Business Research updated on Monday employment forecast. It shows that while employment grew by 2.1 percent nationally in the last 12 months, in Kansas it grew by just 1.1 percent.
The center’s updated employment also anticipates Kansas employers will add 18,868 jobs this year.
That represents a job growth of 1.4 percent this year in Kansas with a fraction of a percent growth in Wichita.
The updated 2015 forecast anticipates service sectors in the state will have the most growth, led by the professional and business sectors and the leisure and hospitality industry.
Federal and state government jobs are expected to decline.
Prairie View resident Roger Robison passed away May 15, 2015 at the Logan Manor in Logan, KS at the age of 75. He was born April 5, 1940, the son of Earl & Dorothy (Wilkinson) Robison.
Survivors include his wife Donna of the home; 2 sons, Rick of Norton & Rodney of Manhattan; 1 daughter, Rachelle Leggett of Logan; his brother, Merwyn of Ozawkie, KS; 2 sisters, Wanda Massey of Axtell, NE & Joyce Summers of St. Joseph, MO; 7 grandchildren, 1 step-grandchild & 1 great granddaughter.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday, May 19 at 2:00 p.m. in the Emmanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church, Stuttgart, with Pastor Joel Hiesterman officiating. Burial will follow in the Emmanuel Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5:00 to 9:00 Sunday & 9:00 to 9:00 Monday at the funeral Home.
Memorials contributions may be made to the Church or Logan Manor.
Online condolences: www.olliffboeve.com.
Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
HaysMed associate Penny Davis, Pharmacy Technician, was awarded the Kansas 2015 Pharmacy Technician of the Year by the Kansas Council of Health-System Pharmacists. The award was presented at their annual meeting held on April 25.
Davis was nominated by a fellow associate at HaysMed for the extraordinary work she provides the pharmacy department to help meet the needs of their customers. She serves as the lead on multiple projects and works with pharmacy technicians to ensure quality control within the Pharmacy Department.
“Mad Max: Fury Road” is a volatile piece of filmmaking that may be taking second chair to “Pitch Perfect 2” in terms of box office numbers, but it has undoubtedly won both critical acclaim and the hearts and minds of long-time fans of the franchise.
I will share in the critical acclaim for “Fury Road,” but I can’t claim a seat amongst “Mad Max” die hards. I respect the earlier films, but the post-apocalyptic “carmageddon” genre has never been my cup of tea.
This film has been hailed as a “once in a generation” film-going experience, amongst such titans as the original “Star Wars,” “2001: A Space Odyssey,” and “Avatar” I wouldn’t go that far. “Fury Road” is high-octane spectacle with a laser-sharp sense of world design and narrative direction, but it’s not a game-changer.
To the film’s great credit, once the theatre lights go dim, there is no escaping the dust-churned world of “Mad Max.” Everything from the costume and makeup design, to the vehicles, to the music, to the erratic, nearly- seizure-inducing camera work stitches this patchwork world together with no loose seam to be found. The force of vision that drives this movie is unstoppable.
Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron drive the movie forward with great performances and are pursued by a fantastic villain, full of presence and menace – played wonderfully by Hugh Keays-Byrne.
“Fury Road” isn’t for everyone. It’s a spectacular piece of filmmaking, but it is very much intended for the group of movie-goers who already enjoy this kind of experience. The real game-changers, the real “once in a decade” type films are the ones that change the game for everyone. “Avatar” was a game changer because it awed my mother, who wouldn’t watch the SyFy channel if you paid her. “Mad Max: Fury Road” isn’t a game-changer, it’s an incredible entry into the post-apocalyptic genre.
