June 2015 – Page 17 – Hays Post Archive

Kan. congressional delegation unhappy with court’s Obamacare decision

Posted on June 25, 2015June 25, 2015

WASHINGTON – Members of the Kansas congressional delegation had similar feelings on the Supreme Court’s King v Burwell decision, which upheld federal subsidies for insurance bought through Obamacare’s federal exchanges.

Senator Jerry Moran wrote on his facebook page, “I have serious concerns about the impact of today’s Supreme Court decision to uphold Affordable Care Act subsidies on our constitutional principle of separation of powers.

Laws should be applied as actually written and passed by Congress, rather than subject to the unauthorized discretion of the executive branch.

As Justice Scalia rightly stated, this decision “rewrites the law…we should start calling this law SCOTUScare.”

As the ACA continues to be implemented, its damaging consequences include higher costs for individuals, families and employers, constrained economic growth, and increased IRS intrusion in our daily lives.

This is unfortunate, as a different decision in this case would have provided Congress with an important opportunity to correct course and implement policies that would actually reduce health care costs for Americans and increase choice for individuals and families.

Senator Pat Roberts stated in a media release, “The Supreme Court’s decision today does not take away from the fact the Obamacare is fundamentally broken and that the administration has recklessly implemented this law, damaging our health care system as a whole and jeopardizing Kansans’ health care.

Every day Obamacare continues to hurt millions—just last week the administration released the proposed premium increases for 2016, rising to as high as 38 percent for some in Kansas. Doctors are becoming increasingly unavailable to their patients, and employers continue to cut jobs and hours. I will continue to fight for real reforms to our health care system that lower costs, lift the burden on our job creators, and restore the all-important relationship between a doctor and their patient.

We don’t need to fix Obamacare, we need to fix health care.”

Rep. Tim Huelskamp said the Supreme Court decision refused to bail out congress. “Without the Supreme Court to bail out Congress, it is now time to act,” said the First District congressman.

“For four years, we have waited, begged and pleaded for Republican leadership to allow us to debate and pass a patient-centered replacement. Now is the time to act – now is the time to keep our word to the American people. After 58 votes to repeal Obamacare in part or in whole, I call on our Republican leadership to use Reconciliation to put a full repeal of ObamaCare on the President’s desk.”

Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins said she was committed to finding a solution. “Today’s disappointing decision does not change the hardships that folks around Kansas and across the nation are facing as they continue to deal with the uncertainty and failed promises of the President’s broken healthcare law. While the healthcare delivery system had problems prior to the President’s healthcare law, under his fundamentally flawed law it is still not working and remains just as burdensome, confusing, and expensive as the day it came into existence. I remain committed to fixing this mess and implementing better healthcare solutions that lower costs and empower patients to choose the care that’s right for them.”

KFIX Rock News Queen To Release New “Queen Bohemian Lager”

Posted on June 25, 2015June 25, 2015

Queen is about to rock the beverage industry with the announcement of a new line of beer.

The band will launch Queen Bohemian Lager, a new brew timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the release of the group’s arena classic, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Billboard reports.

Described as a “golden hoppy” beer, the bottles will be adorned with an image from the band’s famed 1975 album, A Night at the Opera.

The beer has three “GMO Free” ingredients, including Czech Soft water, Moravian Barley Malt, and Saaz Hops, according the website RNRDrinks.com.

Queen Bohemian Lager will first debut in Europe this summer before being marketed to the rest of the world. A twelve-pack will cost you a little over $31, with a full case running about $57.

Queen previously released a vodka brand, Killer Queen, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of that song, and the wine Queen Millionaire Waltz.

“Like” KFIX on Facebook.

Barton County man drowns in above-ground pool

Posted on June 25, 2015June 25, 2015

GREAT BEND – A rural Barton County man died in a swimming accident on Wednesday.

The Barton County Sheriff’s office reported officers responded to a location in the 200 block of South US 281 Highway, to a possible drowning.

Upon arrival deputies and EMS discovered the victim, identified as Ryan R. Fanshier, 36, rural Great Bend, had been removed from an above ground pool.

He was not breathing.

Members of the Great Bend Fire Department, who worked on the victim for an extensive period of time at the scene, employed CPR and advanced lifesaving measures.

Fanshier was transported to Great Bend Regional Hospital and was later pronounced deceased by the attending physician.

The Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the County Coroner is investigating the incident. It appears that Fanshier dove into the swimming pool and hit the bottom of the pool with his head, possibly causing head and neck injuries. The incident is being considered accidental in nature.

After Charleston

Posted on June 25, 2015

Charles C. Haynes is director of the Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum Institute.

The brutal murder of nine people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17 was an act of “racial terrorism” — to quote NAACP President Cornell Williams Brooks.

It was also a chilling assault on fundamental freedoms guaranteed every American under the First Amendment — the freedom to worship, the freedom to speak out for justice, and the freedom to assemble and organize for change.

What happened in Charleston must not be reduced to a story about a mentally disturbed “lone wolf” — as often happens when a young white man commits mass murder.

If we are honest, this attack is part of a larger story about the state of our culture — a culture in which white supremacist groups thrive, racism infects many institutions (including law enforcement) and indifference to injustice helps keep millions of people trapped in an endless cycle of poverty.

Mother Emanuel — as congregants lovingly call their church — was targeted because it is an historic symbol of the long struggle to overcome those ills.

Since its founding in 1816, Emanuel AME has been burned to the ground by white supremacists, twice closed down by city officials, and outlawed for some thirty years. But today the church still stands, having won its religious freedom the hard way.

Leaders of the church — from Denmark Vesey, a founder of the church and a freed slave executed in 1822 for organizing a slave revolt, to Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the pastor of the church killed in last week’s attack — can always be found on the front lines in the battle for social justice.

Black churches like Mother Emanuel are frequent targets for racial terrorism because, to quote Cornell Brooks again, “our churches have been at the crossroads of freedom.”

Throughout American history, black churches have served as the organizing center for African Americans managing, in the words of historian C. Eric Lincoln, “to survive obstruction” and endure as “the symbol of hope and determination.”

In a 2013 speech, Rev. Pinckney — who was also a state senator — describes the intersection of freedom and faith that is the legacy and mission of the black church in America:

“Could we not argue that America is about freedom — whether we live it out or not — but it is really about freedom, equality and the pursuit of happiness, and that’s what church is all about. Freedom to worship, and freedom from sin, freedom to be fully what God intends us to be, and freedom to have equality in the sight of God. And sometimes you gotta make noise to do that. Sometimes, you maybe have to die, like Denmark Vesey, to do that. Sometimes you have to march, and struggle, and be unpopular to do that.”

Now come the painful funerals, the heartfelt eulogies, and the outpouring of support for the grieving families.

But after the dead are buried and the media moves on, what will be the legacy of the “Charleston shooting”?

As I write this, Confederate flags are being removed from government spaces and symbols across the South — a welcome, if long overdue step in the right direction.

But if it took the murder of nine people in a church to get those in power to remove a symbol inextricably tied to white supremacy and violence, what will it take to bring about true social justice for African Americans in South Carolina and throughout America?

Ferguson, Baltimore, Charleston: It’s time to go beyond symbolic gestures and find the moral courage and political will to combat racism and hate by building a more just, equitable and compassionate society for every American.

For that, we will need to make a lot of noise.

Charles C. Haynes is vice president of the Newseum Institute and executive director of the Religious Freedom Center. [email protected]

Hays Mall nearing completion of first phase of redevelopment

Posted on June 25, 2015

By RICKY KERR
Hays Post

Following demolition of the former Montana Mike’s and a bank drive-through, contractors are in the process of resurfacing the Hays Mall parking lot, as well as continuing interior improvements at the facility.

“We are asking all customers to park to the south of our main entrance effective June 22 so we can make way for a bigger and better parking lot,” announced The Mall at Hays Facebook Page.

Everything is on schedule for development and lighting for the interior and parking lot should be installed by the end of July, said Josh Vickery, DP Management director of new development.

New LED lighting will double the intensity in parking lot for increased visibility, he said.

New ceramic tile is also in the process of being laid on the interior of the mall.

The planned second phase of rehabilitation will include a new front of the building, landscaping, awnings and new exterior doors.

Mall developers will spend approximately $3.1 million on interior and exterior improvements from an additional 1 percent sales tax on sales generated on mall property, a funding mechanism known as a Community Improvement District, which was approved by the Hays City Commission last year.

Vickery said DP Management is also working to get new businesses into the mall.

“There’s a ton of interest with development,” he said. “We are working on several retailers right now, but I can’t name anybody.”

Vickery did hint that one potential retailer is an apparel store and another is a national franchise sporting goods store, among smaller tenant shops. DP is also working with restaurants to build at the former Montana Mike’s location.

Vickery said Mall at Hays Facebook Page will regularly offer updated information on development.

Kansas judge finds state right to abortion and raises another issue UPDATE

Posted on June 25, 2015June 25, 2015

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) —An anti-abortion leader in Kansas says a judge’s decision to block a new abortion law has renewed her group’s interest in changing how Kansas Supreme Court justices are selected.

A county judge on Thursday temporarily blocked a law that bans a common second-trimester abortion procedure that critics call dismembering a fetus. The case will likely get to the Kansas Supreme Court.

Currently, a lawyer-led nominating commission screens applicants for the Supreme Court and picks three finalists, then the governor appoints one.

Mary Kay Culp, executive director of Kansans for Life, says one of her group’s top priorities is changing that process, which would require amending the Kansas Constitution.

Her group prefers that justices be elected by voters, but it also supports eliminating the commission and allowing the governor to appoint justices with Senate confirmation.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) —An anti-abortion leader in Kansas says a judge’s decision to block a new abortion law has renewed her group’s interest in changing how justices are selected to the Kansas Supreme Court.

Currently, a lawyer-led nominating commission screens applicants for the Supreme Court and picks three finalists. The governor then appoints one, without needing confirmation from lawmakers.

Mary Kay Culp, executive director of Kansans for Life, says one of her group’s top priorities is changing that process, which would require amending the Kansas Constitution.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) —The judge who blocked a new Kansas abortion law says the state’s constitution protects a woman’s right to have an abortion separately from the U.S. Constitution.

Shawnee County District Judge Larry Hendricks cited a 2006 ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court in which justices said the protections in the state for abortion are generally in line with what the U.S. Constitution offers.

Attorneys on both sides said Hendrick’s ruling Thursday is significant. They say that if his ruling is upheld, the Kansas Supreme Court could grant more protections on abortion than the U.S. Supreme Court does. Abortion opponents have feared such a result, because they’ve pushed in recent years for new restrictions.

The law that Hendricks put on hold would ban a procedure that abortion critics describe as “dismembering a fetus.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas judge has blocked the state’s first-in-the-nation ban on an abortion procedure opponents refer to as “dismemberment abortion.”

The decision Thursday from Shawnee County District Court Judge Larry Hendricks came in a lawsuit filed from the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights. The center represents two Kansas abortion providers and argued the law would force women to undergo riskier procedures or forgo abortions.

The judge’s order will stay in effect while he considers the lawsuit further. The new law was supposed to take effect July 1.

It bans a second-trimester procedure that anti-abortion activists call “dismemberment abortion” and was model legislation from the National Right to Life Committee. Kansas was the first state to enact it.

The state’s lawyers argued that there are safe alternative abortion methods.

Wichita State professors share views on changing political climate

Posted on June 25, 2015June 25, 2015

Wichita State University

You don’t have to follow politics to know that different factions of American government can’t seem to get along. Partisan ideology has created a sharp divide between the Democratic and Republican parties that has bled over into everyday life. As the rhetoric heats up ahead of the 2016 presidential battle, those divisions promise to become even more pronounced.

American politics wasn’t always this way, though. With contenders putting their names in the hat for the upcoming battle, two of Wichita State University’s most venerable faculty members, Professor Melvin Kahn and Associate Professor Kenneth Ciboski, prefer to handle their political differences old-school – with mutual respect and intellectual integrity.

Ciboski, an avowed Republican, has been teaching at WSU for 47 years and is a regular commentator on KMUW 89.1 FM. Although his original academic field of expertise was the former Soviet Union, Ciboski is considered a Renaissance man among WSU’s political science instructors, qualified in all areas of the department. Annual exit exams with new graduates and alumni interviews frequently single Ciboski out as the professor most accessible to students.

Click here for a transcript of the interview.

Kahn, a staunch Democrat, has taught at WSU for 45 years after nine at Southern Illinois and Indiana State. A self-described “lifelong political junkie,” Kahn’s specialty is political parties and interest groups. In 2004, he served on the Democratic Platform Committee. Kahn has a reputation at Wichita State and among politicos as an expert who doesn’t permit partisanship to interfere with his ability to relate to people of all political persuasions, particularly his students. Kahn cites his own son – a top Republican Party fundraiser – as an example.

Both Kahn and Ciboski have watched the political climate in the United States change over the years, and although they approach the same subject from opposing viewpoints, they have become close friends.

“Well, we are,” Ciboski said. “He thinks wrongly about some stuff, but he thinks the same about me. I think it’s a benefit to the student to hear about competing viewpoints.”

Kahn agreed, adding that the good-natured tone of their dialogue is important in today’s rancorous climate.

“I think the kind of politics that we have now, whereby if working with someone from the other party sets you up for a primary challenge, is something that is not healthy.

“I think it is important that the university be a place of free inquiry,” Kahn said, “and not just be oriented to one viewpoint. Our students like the idea that we have a department with people who aren’t in lockstep; that they can be exposed to various viewpoints. I think that’s a real asset to our majors.”

To share their perspective on the past, present and future of America’s political climate, the two professors recently sat down for a candid interview with a group of WSU students.

Subaru recalls 72K vehicles; automatic brakes may not work

Posted on June 25, 2015

DETROIT (AP) — Subaru is recalling some 2015 vehicles to fix a software problem that could cause the automatic braking system to fail.

The recall covers about 72,000 Outback, Legacy, Impreza and XV Crosstrek models with the company’s Eyesight Driver Assist system.

If a switch that turns on the brake lights fails, the automatic braking system won’t work and the car won’t react to an obstacle. Subaru says in documents posted by U.S. safety regulators that the problem can increase the risk of a crash.

The problem was discovered in development of new vehicles. Subaru says it could take too long for the car to tell the driver that the assist system shouldn’t be used.

Dealers will reprogram the system for free. No dates have been scheduled to notify owners.

Commercial insurance renewal, wastewater plant rehab on city agenda

Posted on June 25, 2015

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The date for a public meeting regarding the wastewater facility rehabilitation plan will be set this evening during the Hays City Commission meeting.

The city plans to apply for a State Revolving Loan (SRF) to pay for the $28 million project.

The public meeting will include a discussion of the new proposed effluent limits, the evaluation of treatment alternatives, the costs to construct the proposed alternatives, the costs to operate the facilities, and the anticipated impacts on
the sewer user rates. It will also discuss the environmental impacts of the proposed
project. The public attending the meeting will be given the opportunity to provide
comments and ask questions related to the project.

Other agenda items for tonight’s city commission meeting include renewal of the city’s commercial insurance plan for 2015/2016 and a resolution accepting the final plat of the Tebo First Addition located at 43rd and General Hays/Vine Street.

The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in Hays City Hall, 1507 Main Street.

The complete agenda is available here.

HPD Activity Log June 24

Posted on June 25, 2015June 25, 2015

The Hays Police Department responded to 10 animal calls and 13 traffic stops Wednesday, June 24, 2015, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Animal At Large–2700 block Vine St, Hays; 6:56 AM
Suspicious Activity–1100 block E 30th St, Hays; 6/23 10:20 PM; 6/24 9:38 PM
Probation/Parole Violation–1200 block Fort St, Hays; 1:17 PM
Criminal Trespass–2900 block Vine St, Hays; 12:20 PM; 12:40 PM
Fraud–1000 block W 27th St, Hays; 2:06 PM
Civil Dispute–2700 block Augusta Ln, Hays; 2:36 PM
Animal Bite Investigation–1000 block Reservation Rd, Hays; 2:53 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–11th and Allen, Hays; 4:10 PM
Found/Lost Property–3000 block New Way, Hays; 5:06 PM
MV Accident-Private Property–500 block W 27th St, Hays; 5:05 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–2500 block Vine St, Hays; 5:43 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–12 AM
Disturbance – General–1000 block E 8th St; 8:10 PM
Intoxicated Subject–3400 block Vine St, Hays; 11:14 PM
Welfare Check–200 block Castillian Blvd, Hays; 11:19 PM

Supreme Court upholds nationwide health care law subsidies

Posted on June 25, 2015

MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has upheld the nationwide tax subsidies under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, in a ruling that preserves health insurance for millions of Americans.

The justices said in a 6-3 ruling Thursday that the subsidies that 8.7 million people currently receive to make insurance affordable do not depend on where they live, under the 2010 health care law.

The outcome is the second major victory for Obama in politically charged Supreme Court tests of his most significant domestic achievement.

Chief Justice John Roberts again voted with his liberal colleagues in support of the law. Roberts also was the key vote to uphold the law in 2012.

Justice Anthony Kennedy also voted with his more liberal colleagues.

Royals Roundup with Steve Physioc

Posted on June 25, 2015June 25, 2015

Royals broadcaster Steve Physioc talks Kansas City Royals baseball. Listen every couple of weeks for the Royals Roundup on KAYS (1400-AM).

Investigation continues of crash that critically injured 2 Kan. teens UPDATE

Posted on June 25, 2015June 25, 2015

HUTCHINSON -Law enforcement authorities in Reno County are investigating a Wednesday afternoon accident that critically injured two people.

The Reno County Sheriff’s office reported a pickup driven by Dawson L. Lehman, 18, was westbound on 43rd Avenue from Rayl Road.

The driver lost control of the vehicle. It traveled into the ditch and rolled.

First responders found two occupants lying in the road.

Aaron Powers and Dalton Stoecklein, both 15, were flown to a Wichita hospital for treatment.

Both suffered head injuries and had not been wearing seat belts according to the sheriff’s office.

Another passenger Reighn Armstrong, 15, was taken by EMS to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center for treatment.

A fourth passenger Samuel Tarbox, 15, was treated at the scene and released with permission from his parents.

Lehman was not injured. The accident remains under investigation.

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HUTCHINSON -Law enforcement authorities in Reno County are investigating a Wednesday afternoon accident that critically injured two people.

The Reno County Sheriff’s office reported a pickup driven by Dawson L. Lehman, 18, was westbound on 43rd Avenue from Rayl Road just after 1 p.m.

The driver lost control of the vehicle. It traveled into the ditch and rolled.

First responders found two occupants lying in the road. They were flown to a Wichita hospital for treatment. They had not been wearing seat belts according to the sheriff’s office.

Another occupant was transported to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center by Ambulance. All three were under the age of 18.