AUGUSTA –A Kansas man was injured in an accident just before 5p.m. on Wednesday in Butler County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1948 Harley Davidson driven by Josh C. Meyers, 40, Augusta, was eastbound on U.S.54 just west of Indianola Road.

The motorcycle developed a fuel leak igniting both the driver and the vehicle.
Meyers was transported to St. Francis Medical Center.

He was not wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Civil War-era home north of Topeka that was thought to have been a way station on the Underground Railroad has been demolished.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Rhode Island abolitionist William Owen constructed the two-story building in 1858. The children of E.J. and Francis O’Hara, who sold it at a 2006 auction, said abolitionist John Brown was a frequent visitor. They also said Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman stayed there for a week before serving in the Civil War.

But the home was severely damaged in an October 2009 fire. A Topeka Fire Department report estimated the damage at $129,600.

The home stood on property owned by the trust of John D. Debacker, who died in 2012. His widow, Flora Debacker, confirmed Wednesday that workmen demolished it Tuesday.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A newly released report says the number of forcible sex offenses reported on the University of Kansas campus has gone up for a second straight year.

The university’s Clery Act Annual Security Report released Oct. 1 says there were 24 forcible sex offenses reported on campus in 2014. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that’s up from 13 reported offenses in 2013, and three reported in 2012.

Capt. James Anguiano with the university’s Office of Public Safety says the increase in reported offenses doesn’t necessarily mean it’s happening more often, but rather that more incidents are being reported.

The Clery Act requires universities to release data on crimes reported on or near campus.

By ANDY MARSO

Kansas officials announced Tuesday they will delay for six months a plan to consolidate Medicaid support services for Kansans with various disabilities.

The leaders of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services said they want to use the time to gather more information from people who would be affected by the changes.

“After discussions with consumers, providers and other stakeholders, we have decided to take additional time to incorporate stakeholder feedback,” KDADS Secretary Kari Bruffett said in a statement.

Advocates for Kansans with disabilities had expressed concern about the pace of the potentially momentous change. They cheered Tuesday’s decision.

“The question I think in everyone’s mind has been, ‘Why the aggressive timeline?’” said Matt Fletcher, associate executive director of InterHab. “So this is a highly encouraging sign.”

Fletcher’s group represents people who provide support services to Kansans with developmental disabilities.

They’re one of the several groups of Kansans who, through Medicaid waiver programs, are eligible to receive home and community-based support services they otherwise would receive in nursing homes.

There also are waivers for Kansans with physical disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, autism and other types of disabilities — seven in all.

State officials months ago announced their intention to combine the seven waivers into two sets of services: one for children and one for adults. They said their intent was to streamline the process and not restrict people to certain services based on a disability label.

The details of the integration plan were expected to be released Sept. 30, with a public comment period to follow. If approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the plan was to go into effect July 1, 2016.

But the state was not ready to unveil the draft plan last week and now doesn’t plan to implement it until Jan. 1, 2017.

“The purpose of waiver integration — which includes broadening the array of services available to truly personalize care plans — has not changed, but we have extended the time period for accomplishing it,” Bruffett said in the statement.

Ami Hyten, assistant director of the Topeka Independent Living Center, said the Kansans with physical disabilities that her organization serves wanted more specifics about what their services would look like after integration.

“There’s just ongoing concerns that folks are having with potential service restrictions and reductions,” Hyten said. “That’s kind of the overarching concern — that people don’t want to have fewer choice available to them or more complicated processes for accessing the services they need to remain living in their own homes.”

She said a more measured approach by the state is “really the best option for all people involved.”

Susan Mosier, KDHE secretary, said the state wants Kansans with disabilities to be at ease before changes are made.

“We want to ensure that we have the details of how waiver integration will work firmly in place before we move ahead,” Mosier said in the statement. “We want our consumers to be confident that their concerns have been addressed.”

Fletcher said service providers stand ready to help the state accomplish that goal.

“There are a large number of providers with a great deal of expertise in their respective fields who would willingly come to the table and help the state craft improvements to how persons with disabilities receive supports,” Fletcher said.

Andy Marso is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says he’s not considering additional spending cuts or new tax increases to keep the state budget balanced in the face of disappointing tax collections.

Brownback said Wednesday he’s confident the state will get through its short-term budget problems. He said he’s working on measures, without being more specific.

In July, August and September, the state’s tax collections were a total of $67 million less than anticipated, a shortfall of 4.7 percent.

The state increased sales and tobacco taxes in July to keep its $15.4 billion budget balanced. Later that month, Brownback’s administration made $63 million in budget adjustments.

Brownback ruled out further tax increases, saying, “We’re not going that route.”

But he also said he thinks the state can manage without spending cuts.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — County election officials in Kansas could have canceled many of the more than 31,000 incomplete voter registrations when a federal judge has the next hearing in a lawsuit challenging the effort.

U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson on Wednesday set a Dec. 4 hearing on a request from attorneys for two northeast Kansas residents to block the culling of registration records ordered by Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

Most incomplete registrations are for people who have failed to comply with a 2013 state law requiring new voters to document their U.S. citizenship. The two northeast Kansas residents also are challenging the law.

Robinson set the hearing in December to allow both sides to file written legal arguments. Kobach said during a court teleconference that canceled registrations can be retrieved electronically.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — More than 100 employees have been evacuated from a General Mills plant in Kansas City after an alarm sounded indicating a carbon dioxide leak.

General Mills spokeswoman Kelsey Roemhildt says firefighters and hazardous materials crews were called to the plant Wednesday morning after a carbon dioxide alarm went off at the plant.

She said the plant’s 110 employees were evacuated as a precaution, and that there were no reports of injuries.

She said the leak has been isolated and that crews are assessing the area before allowing employees to return to work at the plant, which mills and packages flour.

The Kansas City Star reports that in 1994, a carbon dioxide leak at the facility killed a worker.