Volunteers at the FHSU/Numana Swipe Out Hunger event in 2012.
FHSU University Relations and Marketing
The Fort Hays State University Global Leadership Project will help feed people suffering from malnutrition by packaging meals in its fifth annual SWIPE Out Hunger event Saturday, Oct. 24, from noon to 2 p.m.
The project is teaming with Numana, a non-profit from El Dorado, to package rice, pinto beans, soy and multivitamins for shipment.
Volunteers work in assembly lines for one-hour shifts from noon to 1 p.m. and 1 to 2 p.m. All-day volunteers are needed to work from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Registration is open to individuals and groups from the community and FHSU.
More than two dozen lawsuits against Ethicon, maker of a device used to treat uterine fibroids, have been consolidated at the Robert J. Dole Federal Courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas. CREDIT ROBERT J. DOLE FEDERAL COURTHOUSE
More than two dozen lawsuits alleging that a laparoscopic device used to break up fibroid tissue caused cancerous cells to spread in women’s bodies have been consolidated in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas.
The device, known as a power morcellator, was the subject of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning last November. The agency said it posed a risk of spreading unsuspected cancerous tissue, notably uterine sarcomas, beyond the uterus and shouldn’t be used on most women.
Lawsuits alleging manufacturers of the device failed to provide patients with adequate warning of the risks have been filed in more than a dozen states. The Wall Street Journal reported in July that a lawsuit filed against device maker Lina Medical ApS and expected to be the first to go to trial was settled on undisclosed terms.
Power morcellators are drill-like devices that surgeons can use to make small incisions and break up uterine fibroids. Most women develop such fibroids but they usually don’t cause symptoms.
In some cases, however, the fibroids can lead to prolonged menstrual bleeding, pelvic pain and other conditions.
The FDA estimated that about 1 in 350 women undergoing a hysterectomy or myomectomy – a surgical procedure to remove fibroids – for the treatment of fibroids is found to have an unsuspected uterine sarcoma, including a very rare and aggressive cancer called leiomyosarcoma.
Most of the suits consolidated in federal court Kansas City, Kansas, were brought against Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson voluntarily withdrew the device from the market last year. The cases have been assigned to U.S. District Judge Kathryn H. Vratil.
“There are other manufacturers of these devices, but it’s only the cases against (Ethicon) that were consolidated,” said Thomas J. Preuss, a Kansas City attorney representing a plaintiff in one of the actions.
He said Vratil has a lot of experience handling what is known as multi-district litigation, one reason the cases may have been consolidated here.
Dan Margolies, editor of the Heartland Health Monitor team, is based at KCUR. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.
TORONTO (AP) — Marco Estrada pitched one-hit ball into the eighth inning, giving Toronto’s tattered bullpen a rest and leading the Blue Jays over the Kansas City Royals 7-1 Wednesday to close to 3-2 in the American League Championship Series.
Troy Tulowitzki broke open the game with a three-run double off Kelvin Herrera in the sixth, giving him seven RBIs in the series. Edwin Encarnacion had walked with the bases loaded against Edinson Volquez, who seemed flustered by close calls against the Royals.
Estrada faced the minimum 20 batters before Lorenzo Cain walked with two outs in the sixth. Closer Roberto Osuna was perfect in the ninth.
Toronto forced the series back to Kansas City, where Yordano Ventura will start for the defending AL champions on Friday against David Price.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee has voted to issue subpoenas to five high-ranking officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs after the officials did not show up at a hearing Wednesday on alleged manipulation of the agency’s hiring system.
First District Congressman Tim Huelskamp serves on the House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs and its Health Subcommittee.
The department’s acting inspector general says two senior VA officials forced regional managers to accept job transfers — then stepped into the vacant positions themselves, keeping their pay while reducing their responsibilities.
The report said the officials also misused VA’s moving-expense system to claim more $400,000 in questionable moving expenses.
Diana Rubens, director of the Philadelphia regional office for the Veterans Benefits Administration, and Kimberly Graves, director of the St. Paul regional office for the VBA, face possible criminal prosecution.
Rubens and Graves skipped Wednesday’s hearing, as did three other VA officials.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A pet food company has announced plans to cut 44 information technology jobs in Topeka.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Hill’s Pet Nutrition will eliminate the 44 information technology jobs in Topeka over the next year. Hill’s told employees it will move some information technology jobs to centers owned by Colgate-Palmolive in New Jersey, Mexico City and India.
Hill’s spokeswoman Edisa Chacin says employees can apply for other information technology jobs in the company.
She says more than 900 people work at Hill’s operations in Topeka and Emporia.
2015 wheat harvest near Danville, Kan., in Harper County. Photo by Brittany Van Driesten (Courtesy NWF)
National Wheat Foundation
The National Wheat Foundation (NWF) launched the 2015 Wheat Harvest Photo Contest in June to celebrate America’s wheat harvest and wheat farmers. NWF is proud to announce the winners of that contest.
Over 300 photos were submitted through e-mail and shared on NWF’s Facebook page and website. NWF’s directors voted to determine the winning photos.
First place, receiving an iPad, is Michelle Jones. Michelle’s photo was taken near Broadview, Mont. The three runners up, each receiving a $50 gift card, are Brittany Van Driesten’s photo taken near Danville, Kan., in Harper County, Casey Graham’s photo taken near Simla, Colo., and Brenna Rietmann’s photo taken near Ione, Ore. The winning photos will be displayed in the Wheat Growers office in Washington, D.C.
“We are extremely honored to have launched this contest that truly showcased the heart of America’s wheat harvest,” said NWF chairman and Colorado wheat farmer, Dusty Tallman. “This contest was created to thank America’s wheat farmers, and the entries did a whole lot more than just sending thanks. The entries commemorated and illustrated the importance of our 2015 wheat harvest. Thank you to everyone who entered the contest and shared the American wheat harvest story.”
Gov. Brownback observes waterfowl and shorebirds at Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area near Great Bend.
KDWPT
GREAT BEND – Governor Sam Brownback visited Fort Hays State University’s Kansas Wetlands Education Center (KWEC) at Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area on Monday, October 19. Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) Secretary Robin Jennison introduced Gov. Brownback, who joined local city and county government officials, media representatives, and local legislators, to tour the center and discuss the importance of educating visitors about the value of wetlands and raising awareness of Cheyenne Bottoms.
Located four miles north of Great Bend in Barton County, Cheyenne Bottoms is the largest inland wetland in the U.S. and is a critical stopover for many migrating waterfowl and shorebird species. In addition to hundreds of thousands of waterbirds, this 19,000-acre wildlife area, operated by KDWPT, attracts more than 60,000 hunters and bird watchers annually from across the U.S. The Nature Conservancy manages 8,000 acres of wetlands adjacent the state wildlife area. The KWEC, which is owned and operated by Fort Hays State University, provides visitors a window to the wetland, literally. The center is surrounded by marsh and inside, visitors can learn interactively about the ecosystem’s history, biology and the value of wetlands in general. University and KDWPT staff have offices at the center.
“This is a fantastic facility,” Gov. Brownback said about the education center as he addressed Monday evening’s guests. “It’s important that visitors, especially our youth, learn about the role of wetlands and the story of Cheyenne Bottoms.”
After discussing the area’s value as a natural resource and local tourism attraction, Gov. Brownback listened to comments about how the area could be promoted and how it could be improved. It was pointed out that many Kansas residents fail to realize or may take for granted the fantastic natural resources Kansas has to offer.
On Tuesday morning, October 20, Gov. Brownback spent several hours on the wildlife area, observing waterfowl and shorebirds as they fed and rested on the area’s shallow pools and mudflats. Accompanying KWEC and KDWPT staff explained management efforts and challenges, and provided expert advice on shorebird identification.
“This has been a great morning,” Gov. Brownback said as the area tour concluded. “I appreciate what the people here are doing to maintain this area and ensure it’s here for future generations.”
abortionTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Court of Appeals is taking the rare step of having all of its judges hear a legal challenge to a ban on a common second-trimester abortion procedure to speed up the court’s review.
Supporters and critics of the law said Wednesday the court is signaling that it views the case as important and wants it to go quickly to the Kansas Supreme Court to settle whether the state can enforce the ban.
The law was supposed to take effect in July, but a Shawnee County judge blocked it while a lawsuit against it proceeds. Attorney General Derek Schmidt appealed.
Oral arguments in the case are set for Dec. 9.
Court officials believe it is the first time since 1989 that all judges will participate in such a hearing.
The Kansas State High School Activities association released brackets for this Saturday’s volleyball sub-state tournaments.
Hays High is the three-seed at the 4A-Division 1 sub-state in Buhler and will open with No. 2 seed McPherson. Abilene is the top overall seed and will take on Buhler.
TMP-Marian is the No. 1 seed at the 3A Norton sub-state and will take on the host Lady Jays at 2 p.m. Saturday. The winner will get the winner of four/five matchup between Minneapolis and Phillipsburg.
Beloit is the No. 2 seed and will take on seven-seed Russell. Ellsworth is the three-seed and they open with six-seed Hoisington in the other match. The winners face each other in the semifinals.
At the 2A Oberlin sub-state Ness City is the No. 1 and they will play the winner of the Oakley versus Oberlin play-in game. Atwood and Plainville meet in the four/five matchup and the winners will play in the semifinals.
Ellis is the No. 2 seed and they will open with seven-seed Trego. Hill City is the three-seed and the will take on six-seed St. Francis. The winners face each other in the semifinals.
Victoria earned the No. 4 seed at the 1A-D1 Hoxie sub-state. They will take on Triplains-Brewster in the first round. The winner gets top-seed Hoxie who earned a first-round bye.
Stockton is the No. 2 seed and will get an opening round bye. They play the winner of No. 3 Quinter and six-seed Greeley Co.
In the 1A-D1 Minneola sub-state La Crosse is the top seed and will get a bye in the first-round. They play the winner of the four/five matchup between Hodgeman Co. and Minneola.
Otis-Bison, the two-seed, also get a first-round bye and will play the winner of No 3 Satanta and No. 6 Kinsley.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas congressman Tim Huelskamp is resisting Paul Ryan’s appeals for GOP lawmakers to rally behind him as House speaker and questions the Wisconsin Republican’s interest in the job.
Huelskamp said Wednesday that conditions Ryan has outlined for taking the job leaves the impression with him that Ryan doesn’t really want to be speaker.
Huelskamp is a tea party favorite who represents the 1st District of western and central Kansas.
He is among the hard-line GOP conservatives who forced House Speaker John Boehner to announce plans to retire at the end of the month. Boehner stripped Huelskamp of plum committee assignments late in 2012.
Ryan is insisting on Republican unity and rules changes before he formally seeks the speaker’s job.
Huelskamp said, “I don’t think they are all reasonable demands.”
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Attorneys for a Kansas man convicted of killing a 14-year-old girl in 1999 have asked the court to vacate his first-degree murder conviction.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that lawyers for Floyd S. Bledsoe filed a motion Tuesday in Jefferson County to vacate Bledsoe’s first-degree murder conviction in the 1999 death of of Zetta Arfmann.
Bledsoe’s lawyers are members of the Midwest Innocence Project and are working the University of Kansas School of Law. They’ve asked the judge to release Bledsoe based on DNA evidence they say shows that two other men had contact with Arfmann’s body. Results of that DNA test became available earlier this year.
Bledsoe was sentenced to life in prison in 2000 and briefly released in 2008 before an appeals court reinstated his conviction.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say someone deposited 22 dead rabbits on individual driveways in a neighborhood on the city’s east side, but they don’t know much else about the incident.
Police spokesman Lt. James Espinoza told The Wichita Eagle it looked like the rabbits were thrown onto the driveways, rather than strategically positioned. He said the rabbits looked like they had been shot with more than a pellet gun.
Officers think the incident happened early Wednesday morning, and that the rabbits were wild. Espinoza says he hasn’t seen any cases like it.
He says Wichita Animal Control is in charge of investigating the incident, but the lieutenant who oversees animal control was out of the office Wednesday.
