TOPEKA (AP) -A spokeswoman for Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says the Republican is disappointed by a judge’s decision to block a new state law that bans a specific abortion procedure.
The governor is a strong abortion opponent. His spokeswoman, Eileen Hawley, released a statement saying Brownback is committed to “supporting a culture of life.”
Hawley called Kansas a “pro-life state” and said, “Kansas law should protect human dignity for all Kansans.”
The law bans a common procedure used during second-trimester abortions that opponents describe as dismembering a fetus. The law was scheduled to take effect next week.
Shawnee County District Judge Larry Hendricks ruled that there’s a substantial likelihood that the ban would create an undue burden for women seeking abortions.
His order will stay in effect while a lawsuit challenging the ban proceeds.
Brownback is also criticizing the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a key portion of the federal health overhaul and is not changing his stance on expanding Medicaid.
Spokeswoman Eileen Hawley said Thursday in a statement that the decision is disappointing and ignores the federal law’s actual language. The court’s majority upheld health insurance subsidies for consumers in states like Kansas that refused to set up their own online marketplaces.
Brownback and other Republicans blame the law championed by Democratic President Barack Obama for rising health insurance costs.
Kansas so far has refused to expand its Medicaid program to cover residents not eligible for subsidies.
Hawley said Brownback still believes the state must first provide services to the disabled and then ensure it can sustain an expansion long-term.
What does Fort Hays State University have in common with Ivy League schools?
For students at Shenyang Normal University in Shenyang, China, FHSU is on the same wish list as places of destination to visit, along with schools such as Harvard, Columbia and MIT.
Students from Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, China — one of Fort Hays State University’s main partners in China — check out an exhibit at FHSU’s Sternberg Museum of Natural History during a visit to Hays in June.
Twenty-one students from SNU who are earning a dual degree through their university and Fort Hays State visited the Hays campus last week.
Cindy Elliott, assistant provost for strategic partnership and dean of distance learning at FHSU, said their goals for the visit were threefold: 1) for the Chinese students to experience American culture; 2) for them to meet their professors in person; and 3) as a recruiting tool for FHSU.
“The opportunity for us is that possibly these students, when they graduate with their bachelor’s degree, they might return to the Fort Hays State campus as a graduate student,” Elliott said.
Shenyang graduates also have the opportunity to attend Fort Hays State on a one-year exchange program.
“It did serve as a good recruiting service,” said Phil Wittkorn, director of operations for Chinese partnerships at FHSU. “A number of them said they want to come here their junior year.”
A popular piece of the partnership between Fort Hays State and Shenyang Normal is the opportunity for the SNU students to attend school in America, at their “mother'” school in their junior year.
Several of their tours around town last week coincided with pre-tour presentations by campus personnel and community members.
Dr. Mark Bannister, professor of informatics and Dean of the College of Business and Entrepreneurship, gave a presentation on wind energy and then took the students to visit a local wind farm.
Dr. John Greathouse, associate professor of agriculture and chair of the department, gave the students a tour of the university farm. Dr. LeAnn Brown, assistant professor of management and marketing, talked to them about human resources issues.
Dr. Jill Arensdorf, associate professor of leadership studies and chair of the department, and Brett Whitaker, instructor of leadership studies, Virtual College International, took the Chinese students to an American baseball game, featuring the Hays Larks, the local collegiate summer team.
Henry Schwaller IV, instructor of management and marketing, talked to the students about entrepreneurship, then took them to City Hall and for a tour of Gella’s Diner & Lb. Brewing Co. in downtown Hays. Likewise, Dr. Greg Farley, professor of biological sciences and chair of the department, took them on to the Kansas Wetlands Education Center in Barton County.
A day before the students toured the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka, they attended a presentation on governmental affairs by Dr. Shala Mills, professor of political science and chair of the department.
They met Hays sculptor Pete Felten on Thursday, and the following day got to see Felten’s limestone sculptures of four famous Kansans in the rotunda of the State Capitol. Wittkorn said the students didn’t realize the significance of the statues until he told them they had met the sculptor the day before.
“Then it was, ‘Oh, wow, he must be famous!’ ” Wittkorn said.
While in Hays, the Chinese contingent visited FHSU’s Sternberg Museum of Natural History, home of the world famous Fish-Within-In-A-Fish exhibit, and swam at Hays Aquatic Park.
“We wanted it to be a total experience of the American culture,” Elliott said. Part of that, she added, was a must-do trip to Walmart, where they loaded up on Fort Hays State memorabilia, including T-shirts and caps.
“Oh, yes,” Elliott said, “they loved Walmart.”
From Topeka, the Chinese students traveled to Kansas City, where they enjoyed Oceans of Fun and Worlds of Fun before boarding a plane to see all the sights in the Washington, D.C. area, as well as visiting Boston and New York City — and Ivy League schools.
YATES CENTER- A Kansas teen was injured in an accident just before 12:30 p.m. on Thursday in Woodson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by Dalton J. Sicka, 19, Piqua, was northbound on Willow Road nine miles east of Yates Center.
The vehicle ran off the roadway, hit a culvert, overturned several times and ejected the driver.
Eagle Med flew Sicka to Wesley Medical Center.
He was not wearing a seat belt according to the KHP.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An advocacy group in Kansas is relieved that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a key part of the federal health care overhaul, but members of the state’s congressional delegation say they’ll still push for its repeal.
The high court on Thursday upheld health insurance subsidies for millions of consumers who purchased their coverage through a federal online marketplace. Kansas refused to set up its own exchange under the 2010 law.
The Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved called the high court decision “a huge victory for consumers.”
The Kaiser Family Foundation estimated that about 70,000 Kansas consumers were receiving subsidies averaging $231 a month.
But Republican Sen. Pat Roberts and GOP congressmen Tim Huelskamp and Mike Pompeo issued statements promising to seek repeal of the law.
Car vs. wheat-filled semi south of Gorham Tuesday afternoon. (Photo courtesy KHP Trooper Tod Hileman)
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
It’s summertime in Kansas and loaded wheat trucks are rumbling down the roads.
Kansas Highway Patrol Technical Trooper Tod Hileman, Troop D in Hays, is reminding drivers to be on the lookout for harvest traffic.
Hileman (@TrooperTodKHP) tweeted a picture Thursday afternoon of a crash between a passenger car and a wheat-laden semi-truck that occurred late Tuesday afternoon in Russell County just off I-70 near Gorham.
Two people were injured in the accident just after 4 p.m.
According to KHP, a car driven by Angela R. Eilts, 36, Gorham, left Interstate 70 at the 175 exit two miles south of Gorham.
The vehicle started to turn north, failed to yield to a northbound semi-truck filled with wheat, and was hit by the semi. The car rolled on the bridge.
Eilts and the semi driver, Zachary G. Dreiling, 20, Gorham, were transported to Russell Regional Medical Center. Two children in the car were not injured.
In his tweet, Hileman wrote “pulling out in front of a loaded harvest truck could have serious consequences.”
Adams, Brown, Beran & Ball, Chartered (ABBB) has announced its upcoming merger with the accounting firm of David A. O’Dell CPA, LLC effective June 29, 2015.
David O’Dell will join ABBB at their McPherson office, located at 200 S. Main, McPherson, Kansas.
“Our decision to merge was based on a number of factors, but for the most part we recognized that we share identical service philosophies – always putting clients first and focusing on giving back to the community,” said O’Dell.
O’Dell CPA, LLC was established in 1981. The firm is well-established in the McPherson community, as a locally-owned accounting and consulting firm.
“We have always had a great deal of respect for the team at David O’Dell CPA, LLC,” said Brian Staats, Managing Partner at ABBB. “Combining our resources and knowledge base is a tremendous win for our clients and our professionals.”
Adams, Brown, Beran & Ball, Chartered provides a wide range of traditional and non-traditional CPA and consulting services to clients throughout Kansas, including agriculture organizations, construction companies, feed yards, financial institutions, governmental and not-for-profit organizations, manufacturers, medical practices, oil and gas companies, professional service firms, real estate companies and small businesses. Founded in 1945, today the firm maintains 13 office locations throughout the state. For more information about Adams, Brown, Beran & Ball, please visit www.abbb.com.
Fort Hays State University received a grant of $15,397 from the Kansas Health Foundation Board of Directors to fund a “Healthy Reading for Kids: Food & Fitness Project” in Hays.
Healthy Reading for Kids addresses obesity among U.S. children and encourages healthy living and positive attitudes toward fitness and fruit and vegetable consumption.
“We want to introduce the students to a healthy lifestyle by using literature,” said Dr. Valerie Zelenka, assistant professor of teacher education and facilitator of the grant proposal and project.
Beginning in August, a team of 35 Fort Hays State University teacher education students will implement the project as part of an after school literacy tutoring program. The pre-service teachers will read books and engage in learning activities with approximately 120 students at Lincoln Elementary School over a 10-month period.
“It is important for the teacher education students to engage the students and integrate social and life skills through books because it benefits the child as a whole,” said Zelenka.
The grant will provide books on fitness and good nutrition, after-school snacks and recipe cards featuring healthy meals that students can make with their parents.
According to the foundation, KHF allocated more than $1.1 million during the spring 2015 cycle to help nonprofit organizations in Kansas accomplish 58 projects dedicated to improving the health and wellness of Kansans.
“The Healthy Reading for Kids project benefits not only the student teachers but our community,” said Zelenka. “This is our way of giving back and helping young students develop reading skills through topics that will help them grow.”
About the Kansas Health Foundation: The Kansas Health Foundation is a philanthropy dedicated to improving the health of all Kansans. For more information about the Kansas Health Foundation, visit www.kansashealth.org.
While most seminars involve hours of sitting and listening to speakers, Fort Hays State University adjunct instructor Brandon Nimz, Hays, spent his time at the Aikido Association of America’s national instructor seminar throwing people on the ground.
Aikido is a Japanese martial art that involves joint locks, throws and philosophical teachings.
Nimz owns Aikido of Northwest Kansas, Hays, teaches the FHSU Aikido Club and is on the scholarship committee of the Aikido International Foundation. His dojo has one of two pilot scholarship programs in the United States, which allow local students to study at the dojo for a discounted rate through donations. Twelve students are currently on scholarship.
He and several of his students joined aikidokas from all over the world in Chicago to learn about teaching methodology.
“It makes us think about basic things in a different way,” said Nimz.
Stephen Toyoda, president of the association, taught standardized basic techniques while other instructors taught classes on teaching children, running formal demonstrations and tests and massage. Nimz led first aid, CPR and defibrillator classes.
After classes, the aikidokas spent their time socializing with one another. Nimz said that networking is one of the most important aspects of the seminar because it allows the attendees to meet people they would not meet otherwise. Two young aikido students from Rhode Island Nimz met at the seminar are thinking of visiting the dojo in Hays.
“Bonds with other caliber aikido practitioners help us all grow and improve,” said Nimz.
For more information about Aikido of Northwest Kansas, click HERE.
The 5th Annual Jewell County Saddle Club Open Horse Show will take place at the Jewell County Fairgrounds Arena in Mankato June 28th following a rain delay.
Lesa Peroutek, a parent volunteer and show secretary for the event, said the show is a good opportunity for her daughter to participate in a majority of the horse riding events.
“What’s great about these smaller shows is you get to try a little bit of everything,” Peroutek said.
Showmanship, Western Pleasure, Reining, Pole Bending, and Barrel Racing are some of the included events.
Registration begins an hour before the show at 8am and events will go on through out the day. The unofficially affiliated 4H club event features riders from various experience levels, trainers that work with clients in various shows, and judges from an approved list from the 4H extension office.
“People should attend because we are working to improve our facilities,” Peroutek said, “We keep working on ways to make things more fun and run more smoothly. It’s just a fun show, and we give trophies for every single class.”
The show will have a concession stand, including rolls for breakfast, and a 50/50 Raffle that raises funds to help upgrade the arena.
Stalls are available upon request. $3 per class free with pre-registration or $4 day of show, or $20 unlimited classes per rider with pre-registration or $25 day of show. People of every age can participate, from 12 and under, 13 to 17, and 18 and up.
GREAT BEND -The Barton County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in locating a wanted suspect.
Brandon Dannebohm according to officials is known to carry a firearm and is considered armed and dangerous.
He has several warrants including a “No Bond Probation Violation” and another for “Possession of Methamphetamine”.
If you have any information regarding the location of Dannebohm, you are asked to contact Crime Stoppers of Great Bend at 620-792-1300 or 1-800-305-1300 or local law enforcement.
You do not need to give your name, just your information.
Lincoln Towncar involved in Thursday’s I-70 crash- KHP Photo
ENTERPRISE – Three people were injured in a pair of accidents just before 8 a.m. on Thursday in Dickinson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Lincoln Town Car driven by Brenda Sue Denton, 51, Rutledge, TN., was westbound on Interstate 70 just east of Kansas 43.
The vehicle left the roadway and entered the center median.
The driver lost control of the vehicle, crossed into eastbound lanes of traffic and struck a 2005 Mercury Montego driven by Joseph W. Wolford, 58, Abilene.
Denton and a passenger Kari D. Rose, 28, Bean Station, TN., were transported to Geary County Hospital.
Wolford was not injured.
All were properly restrained at the time of the accident.
Sheriff’s vehicle involved in Thursday’s I-70 crash -KHP photo
Just before 8 a.m. according to the KHP, a 2008 Ford Econoline van driven by Thomas Grant Anderson, 79, McPherson, was eastbound on Intersatate 70 at the Kansas 43.
The driver failed to yield to emergency vehicles at the earlier accident striking a Sheriff’s Vehicle with emergency lights activated.
The van rolled into the south ditch.
Anderson was transported to Geary County Hospital. He was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident according to the KHP.
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (AP) — Parents and children settled into their seats for a new animated Disney film got a quick jolt when a horror movie came on the southwest Ohio screen instead.
The Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News reports that a projectionist accidentally played “Insidious: Chapter 3” instead of “Inside Out.” A mother wrote about the incident on the newspaper’s Facebook page, saying her children were scared and she and other adults scooped up their kids and left.
The newspaper reports that a manager, who declined to be identified, says the parents got an apology and an upgrade pass to see the Disney Pixar movie in 3-D. A telephone message was left Wednesday at the Danbarry Cinema in Middletown.
The cinema’s site calls the Insidious movie “a chilling prequel” with violence and frightening images.
TOPEKA (AP) -A spokeswoman for Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says the Republican is disappointed by a judge’s decision to block a new state law that bans a specific abortion procedure.
