BOSTON (AP) — Mike Moustakas’ two-run double capped a four-run ninth inning that carried the AL Central-leading Kansas City Royals to an 8-6 comeback victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
Moustakas also had a solo homer and RBI double for Kansas City, which salvaged a split of the four-game series.
Boston led 6-4 going into the ninth. After left fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. threw out Omar Infante trying for an inside-the-park homer for the first out, Kansas City rallied with four hits against Junichi Tazawa (2-6), tying it on Eric Hosmer’s two-run single. Moustakas hit a bases-loaded double to right.
Chris Young (9-6) retired one batter and Wade Davis got the final three outs for his 11th save.
ABILENE, Kan. (AP) — A multi-million dollar fundraising campaign is underway to update exhibits and education about President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The Wichita Eagle reports that the Eisenhower Foundation began raising money three months ago. The money will go toward improving the Eisenhower Presidential Museum, Library and Boyhood Home, its website and education programs. The museum is located near Eisenhower’s boyhood home in Abilene, a town of about 6,800 residents in north-central Kansas.
Foundation executive officer Meredith says that the update is important because new details have been emerging over the past two decades about Eisenhower’s presidency. She says the museum needs to be revamped so it can get Eisenhower’s story up to date.
Sleichter says it’s not yet known how much money will need to be raised over the next five years.
STOCKTON — Two people reportedly died at Webster Lake near Stockton over the weekend in unknown circumstances.
Late Friday, according to locals at the scene, emergency response teams responded to a call of two people found unresponsive at the lake in a vehicle with Ellis County tags.
Both occupants later were declared dead.
It is unclear at this time who initiated the response, but locals reported that ambulances and police responded to the call, and efforts to save the couple were unsuccessful.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation and other area agencies are unable to comment. Calls to the KBI have yet to the returned.
Hays Post will update the story as soon as more information becomes available.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger look ready for the regular season.
The immediate future for Jordy Nelson seems far more uncertain.
The Green Bay Pro Bowl wide receiver limped off with a potentially serious left knee injury in the first quarter of the Packers’ 24-19 preseason loss to the Steelers on Sunday. Nelson landed awkwardly while trying to cut after making an 8-yard reception on Green Bay’s opening drive and did not return.
Rodgers completed 4 of 5 passes for 57 yards during two series of work, with one drive ending with a touchdown run by Eddie Lacy and the other with Rodgers getting sacked by James Harrison for a safety.
Roethlisberger played into the second quarter, connecting on 11 of 14 for 100 yards a score. Pittsburgh Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey left with a left ankle injury in the first quarter and did not return.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas mathematician who is suing county and state officials for the right to audit the 2014 election results says she’s not optimistic she’ll win her case.
Beth Clarkson is a Wichita State University mathematician who says her calculations from the November election showed suspect patterns. The Wichita Eagle reports she is suing Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and the Sedgwick County election commissioner for access to the ballots.
Kobach says two state statutes prevent the county from releasing ballots for Clarkson to audit.
Clarkson filed an unsuccessful suit in 2012 and told supporters in an Aug. 19 newsletter that several lawyers have told her she would lose this case, too.
She says that despite her doubts about her lawsuit’s chances, she remains committed to pursuing the audit.
MANHATTAN–Kansas farmers are encouraged to be especially cognizant during wheat planting season to select wheat varieties with high resistance to fungal diseases as well as to apply fungicides to seed before drilling wheat this season. Wheat flag smut was detected in Kansas earlier this summer and with potential yield and trade implications from the fungus prevention in the upcoming crop will be important.
“Research has shown that the use of certified seed combined with fungicide seed treatments, which are very economical, are highly effective in preventing the presence of flag smut and is an important tool in successful mitigation of the disease,” said Jeff Vogel, KDA’s Plant Protection and Weed Control program manager. He noted that producers and seedsmen should follow proper protocols to ensure that a thorough and even application of fungicide is made to the seed to ensure a high level of product efficacy.
A wheat industry working group was assembled this summer to determine best voluntary management practices and mitigation strategies to help ensure that the presence of the disease, which is considered a harmful organism by some international trading partners, does not spread or increase in 2016.
While the most effective way to break the disease cycle, which can lie dormant in the soil for as many as four or five years, is using fungicide treated seed, other recommended strategies include avoiding early planting conditions that place seed into warm moist soils, which are known to favor infection by the flag smut fungus and to consider crop rotation with non-host crops such as soybeans, sorghum and corn, to reduce the risk of the disease emergence. Continuous wheat often favors and creates ideal conditions for wheat diseases to flourish.
K-State Research and Extension’s Seed Treatment Fungicides for Wheat Disease Management publication is an excellent source for wheat seed treatments frequently used.
KDA’s mission is to serve farmers and protect plant health in order to help ensure the continued strong contribution of agriculture to the state’s economy. It is important to use as many voluntary strategies as possible to mitigate this disease which could have international trade implications in the future.
As part of the President’s Climate Action Plan – Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued two proposals to further reduce emissions of methane-rich gas from municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. Under this week’s proposals, new, modified and existing landfills would begin collecting and controlling landfill gas at emission levels nearly a third lower than current requirements.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential more than 25 times that of carbon dioxide. Climate change threatens the health and welfare of current and future generations. Children, older adults, people with heart or lung disease and people living in poverty may be most at risk from the health impacts of climate change. In addition to methane, landfills also emit other pollutants, including the air toxics benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and vinyl chloride.
Municipal solid waste landfills receive non-hazardous wastes from homes, businesses and institutions. As landfill waste decomposes, it produces a number of air toxics, carbon dioxide, and methane. MSW landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the U.S., accounting for 18 percent of methane emissions in 2013 – the equivalent of approximately 100 million metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution.
Combined, the proposed rules are expected to reduce methane emissions by an estimated 487,000 tons a year beginning in 2025 – equivalent to reducing 12.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, or the carbon pollution emissions from more than 1.1 million homes. EPA estimates the climate benefits of the combined proposals at nearly $750 million in 2025 or nearly $14 for every dollar spent to comply. Combined costs of the proposed rules are estimated at $55 million in 2025.
This week’s proposals would strengthen a previously proposed rule for new landfills that was issued in 2014, and would update the agency’s 1996 emission guidelines for existing landfills. The proposals are based on additional data and analysis, and public comments received on a proposal and Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking EPA issued in 2014.
EPA will take comment on the proposed rules for 60 days after they are published in the Federal Register. The agency will hold a public hearing if one is requested within five days of publication.
More information: https://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/landfill/landflpg.html
SALINA – Sunflower Bank has raised $39,221.79 for Make-A-Wish Kansas. Sunflower customers and non-customers alike helped by making donations to Make-A-Wish at their local Sunflower Bank branches.
“We were thrilled to partner with Make-A-Wish,” said Mollie Carter, president and CEO of Sunflower Bank. “I can think of nothing more important than helping the children in our communities’ dreams come true with the assistance of Make-A-Wish. We are fortunate to be in a position to help.”
As part of Sunflower Bank’s commitment to supporting the communities they serve, they partnered with local Make-A-Wish chapters from April 1st through June 30th to raise funds and awareness for this important cause. In addition to supporting organizations like Make-A-Wish, Sunflower team members also volunteer several thousand hours of service each year in their communities.
“Sunflower Bank embodies the spirit of a true community partner,” said Dr. April S. Abernethy, CEO of Make-A-Wish Kansas. “We are overwhelmed with the generosity its members across the state have shown to us during this campaign.”
A child with a life-threatening medical condition can be referred to Make-A-Wish by an immediate family member, guardian, healthcare professional, or the child. Make-A-Wish volunteers work with the family to ensure the wish is a memorable experience for the child and their family.
Photo by Andy Marso Steve Gieber, executive director of the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities, leads a brainstorming session Thursday during the Kansas Disability Caucus.
Kansans with disabilities from across the state gathered this month in Topeka for a two-day caucus centered on employment, which many said remains hard to get and maintain.
Participants in the 13th Kansas Disability Caucus split into three regional groups in the afternoon. People in the eastern Kansas group raised concerns about transportation, navigating the social services maze and the limitations of state employment initiatives.
“One of the themes was just that employment in general isn’t working,” said Steve Gieber, executive director of the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities, as he summed up the eastern Kansas session.
Boosting the employment rate of Kansans with disabilities has been a goal of Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration for years and state funds have been funneled to provide incentives for employers.
But it remains a huge challenge and as recently as last October, less than 20 percent of Kansans with disabilities were in the workforce.
Participants in this year’s disability caucus said that some housing and public businesses like restaurants still aren’t accessible to people with disabilities, 25 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the landmark federal law meant to provide access to public life.
Caucus participants said the lingering problems with accessibility create barriers to employment. A shortage of networking opportunities and employers’ to provide reasonable accommodations for workers with disabilities also continued to be problems.
Others said they need more help navigating government programs like Social Security Disability Insurance and Medicaid because they’re afraid that earning more money could threaten their medical coverage.
The meeting led to calls for more self-advocacy and more teamwork between Kansans with all type of disabilities to fight for their rights under the ADA.
Photo by Andy Marso Susanne Hindman, from Olathe, said she needs more emotional support as she challenges the termination of her employment.
Susanne Hindman, from Olathe, said she needed emotional support for her legal battle with her former employer. After she was fired, she filed a discrimination complaint with the Kansas Human Rights Commission and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, an experience she called “terrifying.”
“There’s really no support out there for me,” Hindman said. “I’m flying alone. We encourage each other to speak up for ourselves and advocate for ourselves and then we leave each other out to dry.” Caucus participants were encouraged to get in touch with the closest branch of the Self Advocate Coalition of Kansas or Centers for Independent Living.
At another session, the three managed care organizations (MCO) that administer Kansas Medicaid through KanCare gave presentations about their efforts to assist clients with disabilities in finding employment. Services provided include some transportation to and from work, resume help, interview coaching and assistance in identifying workplace accommodations. Angie Reinking,
United HealthCare’s outreach specialist, highlighted the company’s Empower Kansas grants, a three-year program to provide $1.5 million to support community programs that seek meaningful employment for Kansans with disabilities.
“We as an MCO want to be part of the answer to that ongoing challenge,” Reinking said. “We know people want to be employed, we know there’s some good programs and there’s some good services out there, but there’s some gaps and some frustrations.”
The Working Healthy program was the focus of another session. It allows Kansans with disabilities to purchase Medicaid as they increase their income so that they don’t have to fear losing their coverage and having to purchase more expensive private insurance. One theme that emerged was that social isolation also plays a role in employment challenges.
Johnna Godinez, a Topekan who works with the Kansas Youth Empowerment Agency, said people with disabilities tend to withdraw, especially if they’re newly disabled. That makes it hard to find a job.
“It’s a competitive world out there, Godinez said, “and we need to raise our expectations of ourselves so that we can compete.”
Andy Marso is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.
CHICAGO (AP) — New research finds that chances of dying from very early breast cancer are small but the disease is riskier for young women and blacks. Those disparities have been seen previously in more advanced cancer.
Death rates 20 years after diagnosis totaled about 3 percent for women whose breast cancer was confined to a milk duct. The death rates were twice as high for those younger than 35 and in blacks — but still lower than those with more common invasive breast cancer.
The findings will likely add to the debate over how to treat these early kinds of tumors.
Researchers analyzed government data on more than 100,000 women diagnosed with DCIS — ductal carcinoma in situ.
The study was published Thursday in the journal JAMA Oncology.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 20-year-old man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a drive-by shooting in Topeka.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Damieon Michael Ortega-Brown entered the plea Friday in Shawnee County District Court. He also pleaded guilty to criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied dwelling or vehicle, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The charges were tied to the June 2014 killing of 19-year-old Patrick M. Lightbourn Jr. Senior assistant district attorney Matt Patterson said Ortega-Brown was at a party before the shooting but left after there was a fistfight. Patterson said Ortega-Brown later returned and fired at people who had been involved in the altercation.
Under the plea, Ortega-Brown faces a sentence of nearly 19 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 2.
WICHITA- Four people were injured in an accident just before 5 p.m. on Saturday in Sedgwick County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Ford Focus driven by Donna Wilson, 71, Wichita, was northbound on 151st Street W at the stop sign.
The driver failed to yield and collided with a 2002 Saturn S driven by Randolph Kibler, 57, Salina, that was eastbound on Kansas 96 in the intersection.
Kibler, passengers in the Saturn Theresa Kibler, 56, Scott Andrews, 37, both of Salina and a passenger in the Ford Mary Blosser, 67, Haysville, were transported Wesley Medical Center.
Wilson was not injured.
All were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
BOSTON (AP) — Mike Moustakas’ two-run double capped a four-run ninth inning that carried the AL Central-leading Kansas City Royals to an 8-6 comeback victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
