SALINA – The family of the 17-year-old Salina teen, shot to death in a case of mistaken identity on Wednesday night, issued a statement Friday.
Danny Saum, father of Allie Saum:
“Losing my daughter has left a hole in my heart that will never ever be filled. My only comfort comes from her faith. I know God will carry us through this. Allie was a joy. Her smile, her laugh made everyone around her happier. She cared so much about others and took care of me as much as I took care of her. She truly loved her family and friends. Our relationship was special. I was the parent, but we were also best buds. We laughed together all the time. She even put up with my jokes and would humor me with her beautiful laugh. She was just so happy. Her smile alone could make anything better. I am grateful for each and every day I got to spend with Allie.”
In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Allie Saum Memorial Fund in care of Sunflower Bank at any of the three Salina locations. Address:2070 South Ohio, PO Box 800, Salina, KS 67402
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A bill that would have required some Kansas universities to publicize information on their graduates’ average salaries, student loan debt and employment has stalled in a House committee.
House Education Committee chairman Ron Highland, a Wamego Republican, said he adjourned a hearing on the bill early Thursday to prevent members from tabling it until next session. He said he doubts the committee will have time to address it again before the Legislature breaks for the year.
Supporters of the bill have said it would help prospective students decide which university to choose by requiring those institutions to provide prospectuses comparing the average economic outcomes of their graduates from each degree.
Critics of the measure have said its requirements would be too expensive for universities.
KANSAS CITY- A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just before 5 a.m. on Friday in Wyandotte County.
The Kansas Turnpike Authority reported a Chevy Impala driven by Shaniah Leslie, 18, Lawrence, was westbound on Interstate 70 at milepost 225. The vehicle hydroplaned, struck the median wall and overturned.
Leslie was transported to a local hospital for treatment
She was properly restrained at the time of the accident according to KTA.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita music teacher who resigned in March has been charged with having sexual relations with a student.
The Wichita Eagle reports 25-year-old Alan J. Martens was charged Thursday in Sedgwick County District Court with unlawful sexual relations. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for later this month.
Prosecutors say Martens engaged in “sexual intercourse, lewd fondling or touching, or sodomy” around March 4 with a female 16 or older who was a student at Wichita Heights High School, where Martens was in his first year of teaching.
A March 13 police report says a principal reported four students witnessed an incident involving another student at the high school.
Martens’ attorney wasn’t available for comment Friday afternoon.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A new government ranking shows Kansas no longer leads the nation in wheat production after the drought-plagueds2014 crop.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Friday that the state has dropped to second behind North Dakota in wheat production. Kansas farmers brought in just 246.4 million bushels of wheat during last year’s drought. The state grew 12.2 percent of the nation’s wheat that year.
The only farm commodity where Kansas still ranks first in production is sorghum for grain. The state grew 199.8 million bushels of sorghum last year, accounting for more than 46 percent of the nation’s crop.
Kansas has 28.5 million acres of cropland, the second highest acreage in the nation and 7.3 percent of the U.S. total.
Mary Jo (Klaus) Grizzle, age 46, of Hays, passed away Thursday, May 7, 2015 at her home. She was born November 4, 1968 in Hays, Kansas to Joseph L. and Janet (Urban) Klaus. She attended Hays schools and graduated from TMP- Marian in 1987. She married Richard Grizzle in Hays, Kansas on March 11, 2000.
Mary worked for Enersys of Hays for 24 years currently as a Traffic Coordinator. She was a member of Westview church in Hays. She enjoyed camping and being outdoors, working out with friends at the Hays Rec. and traveling to family members homes for visits.
She is survived by her husband, Richard of Hays; two sons, Gregory Timmons and Josiah Grizzle both of Hays; three stepsons, Richard Grizzle Jr. of Spokane, WA, Jeremy Grizzle of Hays, and Joshua Grizzle and wife Margo of Ellis, KS; her parents, Joseph L. and Janet Klaus of Hays; two brothers, Bill and Bob Klaus of Hays; three sisters, Karen Cederberg of Centennial, CO, Sharon Basinger of Littleton, CO and Debbie Nunnelee of Highlands Ranch, CO; a father-in-law, Leon Grizzle of Russell, KS and two step grandchildren, Keisha and Kaishen Brack.
She was preceded in death by her mother-in-law, Ernestine Grizzle; a niece, Samantha Mader and a nephew, Christopher Ehrlich.
Funeral services will be 10:30 AM, Monday, May 11, 2105, at Westview Church in Hays. Burial will follow services at Ft. Hays Memorial Gardens Cemetery.
Visitation will be Sunday 6 PM – 8 PM at Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel, 2509 Vine, Hays, KS 67601
Memorial contributions are suggested to her son’s education fund.
Condolences may be left by guest book at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or emailed to [email protected].
A proposal to allow prior authorizations for Medicaid reimbursements on mental health drugs passed its final legislative hurdle Friday.
The measure, which was requested by Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration as part of a budget proposal and projected to save $8 million, passed the House 82-31 as part of a small health conference committee package. It passed the Senate 31-6 earlier in the week and now heads to the governor’s desk.
Until Brownback signs the measure, state law will continue to prohibit any regulation of mental health drugs under Medicaid.
Mental health advocates argued against a bill to repeal that statute, saying it was necessary to ensure there were no delays in getting effective drugs into the hands of people with severe and persistent mental illnesses who could be a danger to themselves or others without the drugs.
Administration officials said the current law kept them from preventing reimbursements for prescribing patterns — especially for young and old patients — that do not fit Food and Drug Administration guidelines for the drugs in question.
But the advocates came together with the administration on the revised bill that was part of the conference committee report that passed this week. It allows the secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to require prior authorization for new mental health drugs, subject to a review by an independent advisory board that includes psychiatrists, pharmacists and other health care professionals.
“This is a workable compromise that can lead to positive outcomes for patients and provide more clarity for prescribers,” said Kyle Kessler, executive director of the Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas.
The conference committee report passed this week also included a non-controversial provision mandating Medicaid reimbursement for donor breast milk for babies in neonatal intensive care units.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has increased the threat level at bases across North America. Officials say the incremental boost will likely mean heightened vigilance and more random bag or vehicle checks.
The baseline level went from A to B, although most military installations — including the Pentagon — were already at a slightly higher level of protection than level A. There are four levels, A through D.
Army Col. Steve Warren says the increase was not triggered by a specific event. He says it was due to a generally heightened threat environment, which would include the recent terror threat and attempted attack surrounding a provocative cartoon contest in Texas.
The alert level was approved by Adm. Bill Gortney, head of U.S. Northern Command.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A top Kansas education official has testified in court about how the state trimmed aid to public schools by nearly $54 million under a new law.
Deputy Education Commissioner Dale Dennis faced questions Friday in Shawnee County District Court. A three-judge panel is considering whether to block the new school funding law that took effect in April.
The law scrapped a per-student formula for distributing aid to the state’s 286 school districts. The state will give districts “block grants” instead.
Four districts who sued the state over education funding hope to show that the new law harms them. Dennis testified about how the new law cut aid districts expected to receive this year.
But the state notes aid is still higher than it was during the 2013-14 school year.
Hillary’s run for the presidency should be dead in the water! It’s insanity to vote for her.
As I do so often in some of my writings, let me note again the hypocrisy and partisanship of liberal mainstream media. How in the h— could a Republican running for president get media to stand down if a Republican was involved in a number of scandals, as is Democrat Hillary?
Les Knoll
She is currently involved in a bunch of scandals and is allowed, by mainstream liberal media, to “hide out” and avoid any questions from the press.
It’s true, some Democrats are really nervous about her run, but she is the party’s frontrunner. It’s insane to think the Democrat Party can’t find a better candidate. Hillary was a mediocre Secretary of State with no significant accomplishments. Do Democrats really want to relive all the garbage that seems to follow Bill and Hillary? Some pundits have called it the sleazy Clintons.
Let’s not forget Bill Clinton, as president, barely avoided impeachment for lying under oath about his affair with Lewinsky. Let’s not forget a number of women accused him of sexual assault. When he was governor of Arkansas, he was known as a womanizer and that didn’t change when he got to the White House. The Clintons sure can’t claim to be role models for other married couples. Their marriage is as weird as it gets.
I will never ever understand how some can boast he is the most popular Democrat of all time. That is absolutely mindboggling. The Clintons have the record for stretching the truth, that is, until Obama became president, but the Clintons are a very close second.
There were numerous Hillary scandals when Bill was president. Same old, same old as Hillary isn’t coming clean now about Benghazi, destroying emails on a private server as Secretary of State, and helping the Clintons amass a fortune (well over 100 million) while she does public business with foreign governments at the same time Bill does private business with those same governments – and the money flows like water from a broken dam into the Clinton Foundation and into their own personal bank account.
Clintons and Clinton supporters claim it is all circumstantial. Yup, chances are a hundred to one that it is nothing but coincidence that the two are doing business in a foreign country at the same time and with the same people.
Any Republican would be indicted by now. As liberal Democrats, there are rules for Clintons completely separate from those that apply to others, especially if the others are Republicans. However, as big as the latter scandal has become who knows where this could lead? Many people are in prison, convicted on circumstantial evidence. Who knows? Can the Clintons get away with another scandal? The way in which they are becoming multi-millionaires within a few short years as Hillary was Secretary of State is huge, perhaps bigger than any of their other scandals.
Chances are there will be no due process for these people, meaning agencies like the Department of Justice, State Department, FBI, etc., will do nothing. The people in this country are the ones getting shafted about due process because government will look the other way – most likely.
Besides the Clinton’s ending up in the top 1% of income earners as money flows in, the private email server scandal and Benghazi scandal needs to be investigated as well. Why did Hillary erase some 30,000 emails if she had nothing to hide? And, a reminder, four great Americans died in Benghazi, Lybia under Hillary’s watch for lack of security against terrorists and then Hillary lied about what caused the attack.
For Dems to claim the Clinton Foundation does a lot of good charitable work is laughable. Only ten cents of every dollar goes to charity and the rest are benefits for Clinton supporters.
Some 1,100 donations were made to the CF and not disclosed. Some donations were made by foreign governments that have massive human rights violations. What’s behind these donations? Are favors expected in return?
To support Hillary under the circumstances (pun intended) is insanity. Anybody else would have dropped out of the presidential race by now. But maybe the tip of the iceberg is that she can’t drop out since all those donating to CF and the personal coffers of the Clintons fully expect something in return when she becomes president. And, that could possibly be compromising our national security as did the sale, under Hillary’s watch, of our uranium to Russia as Russia passes that on to Iran for their nukes.
If polls show that one of the biggest problems Americans have today is a total lack of trust in our government, why in the world would we vote for a person who feels she has no obligation whatsoever to be transparent? God help America, literally, if she ever becomes our next president. Elections have consequences, and, although a different issue, for poor defenseless unborn babies too.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The city of Winfield is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in a shooting that left one man dead and another critically injured.
Winfield Police Chief Danny Parker said in a statement Friday that 32-year-old David Towles was shot to death Monday night at a Winfield home. Forty-year-old Richard Webster also was shot and remains in critical condition.
Parker has said he does not believe the shooting was random.
He says witnesses told police someone walked into a home, fired shots and left.
Runners in the Hays 2013 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
Twenty-year breast cancer survivor Mary Juenemann Braden plans to be front and center early Saturday morning at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in downtown Hays.
Braden was 43 years old when a routine mammogram by a Hays doctor revealed her breast cancer. Her 43-year-old niece, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, will travel from Colorado Springs with her family to also participate.
This is the third year for the Komen race in Hays–the smallest community in the country to host the annual fundraiser–according to Jennifer Teget, chairperson of the local race.
Braden said she and the many “Sisters of Survivorship” are “treated like queens” during the event.
“I don’t know how many survivors really celebrate their survivorship. They go through their treatment and do everything. But until there is an event–something that really marks that survivorship–I think a lot don’t really realize what a big deal it is…until they have that special moment to say ‘Oh my God, I DID do it. I’m here,'” she said in a whispered voice.
“Of course, men get breast cancer too, but female breast cancer survivors really do have a ‘sisterhood,’–it’s such a part of our identity,” Braden said.
“Last year the Hays Breast Care Center at the Dreiling/Schmidt Cancer Institute received a grant of $45,861 from monies raised in Kansas during the Komen Race for the Cure,” Teget said. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment received $122,884 for its program “Early Detection Works” which provides low-cost breast screenings for women ages 40 to 64.
Jennifer Teget, Hays race chairperson, and Mary Juenemann Braden, Hays breast cancer survivor
Donations to the Hays Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure may be made online. Seventy-five percent of the funds raised go to 95 counties in Kansas; the remaining 25 percent is used by Komen to fund breast cancer research.
Registration starts at 7 a.m. Saturday in Hays Municipal Park, the 5K starts at 8 a.m. with the Family Fun Walk at 9:15 a.m., and the event concludes with the awards ceremony and survivor celebration at 10 a.m. A survivor breakfast will be served at 8:30 a.m.
During their Thursday night work session, Hays City Commissioners discussed rehabilitation of the crosswind runway at the Hays Regional Airport. City staff is recommending the low bid from National Sealant & Concrete, Wisconsin, for $651,672. It is contingent upon Federal Aviation Administration grant funding.
According to Hays Assistant City Manager Paul Briseno, approximately 90 percent of the cost would be reimbursed by the FAA, with the city responsible for the remaining 10 percent.
All the National Sealant & Concrete bids are below the engineer’s estimates.
In other business, commissioners discussed an extension of allowable watering hours for newly seeded warm season lawns, which requires a permit. They also looked at a resolution authorizing the sale of general obligation bonds for completed improvements in the Golden Belt Estates 5th Addition and the 46th Street 2nd Addition.
SALINA – The family of the 17-year-old Salina teen, shot to death in a case of mistaken identity on Wednesday night, issued a statement Friday.
