WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The fight over a move by the Legislature to defund the Kansas judiciary’s budget has now landed in the federal courts.

A court notice shows Kansas has moved the lawsuit filed by four judges to U.S. District Court in Topeka.

The attorney representing the judges said Monday he is confident that whether it is heard in state or federal court the measure defunding the courts would be found unconstitutional. No decision has been made on whether to oppose the venue change.

Legislation passed this year nullifies the judicial branch’s entire budget if a 2014 law stripping the Kansas Supreme Court of its ability to appoint chief judges is struck down.

Kansas contends the lawsuit raises a federal due process claim.

The case is now before U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree.

GODDARD, Kan. (AP) — A south-central Kansas school has been honored for its efforts to help the environment.

The Wichita Eagle reports the National Wildlife Federation has named Eisenhower High School in Goddard one of its top 10 Eco-Schools. The honor recognizes the school’s commitment to wildlife protection, sustainability and environmental education.

Eisenhower High School has built an outdoor classroom, planted about 300 culturally significant plants and become a certified wildlife site and monarch butterfly way station. Last year, students recycled more than 15 tons of paper, 600,000 bottles and 300 pounds of aluminum cans.

Teacher Denise Scribner was instrumental in landing the award and is a state finalist for the Presidential Award of Excellence in Math and Science Teaching. Her work also earned the school the Kansas Green School Award in 2014.

NEW YORK (AP) — General Mills is recalling 1.8 million boxes of Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios produced at a plant in Lodi, California, saying the cereal is labeled gluten-free but actually contains wheat.

The recall affects Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios that were made in July. The Minneapolis company says wheat flour was inadvertently used in a system that normally processes gluten-free oat flour.

The use of wheat flour means the cereals are not gluten-free, and people with conditions like wheat allergies or celiac disease who consume it might suffer an allergic reaction or discomfort.

General Mills Inc. said Monday it will take the cereals out of warehouses and off store shelves, and says customers who cannot eat wheat should contact the company for a replacement box or a full refund.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The president of the Kansas State Rifle Association is retiring because of health problems.

The Wichita Eagle reports Patricia Stoneking announced her retirement in an e-mail to members this weekend. Stoneking says she’s retiring because of the severity of health issues she’s had for months and that doctors have told her to minimize stress.

As leader of the Kansas NRA affiliate for a decade, Stoneking helped the association grow into a major player in Kansas politics. She was also the main proponent for a bill signed into law this spring that eliminated the training requirement to carry a concealed firearm.

Kathleen Wade, association vice president, will assume the duties of president, and Moriah Day, a staffer for Secretary of State Kris Kobach, will lead the group’s political action committee.

JUNCTION CITY- A Fort Riley soldier charged with aggravated indecent liberties with a child, three counts of aggravated criminal sodomy, one charge of rape, and four counts of sexual exploitation of a child has been convicted.

A Geary County Jury on Monday found James Henning, 40, guilty on ten counts including manufacturing child pornography with his 8-year old daughter, who was the victim in this case.

Police arrested Henning on November 25 at his East 12th Street residence in Junction City. He will be sentenced on January 7.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man charged as a juvenile with plotting to kill four adults at a Topeka high school has pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated assault.

As part of Monday’s plea agreement, four counts of soliciting first-degree murder were dismissed.

Prosecutors say the defendant tried to hire two people to kill the adults at Topeka West, where he was a student. He was 17 when he was arrested in January 2014.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the man was released on a recognizance bond to the supervision of relatives. Sentencing is Dec. 8.

A Shawnee County judge denied prosecutors’ request to try the suspect as an adult. However, the man will face a longer sentence as an adult if he doesn’t meet the requirements of his juvenile sentence.

HUTCHINSON – The second of two inmates suspected of beating another Reno County Correctional Facility inmate so severely that he was taken to a Wichita hospital made a court appearance Monday for the reading of formal charges.

Now, both William and Antoine Alexander are charged by the state with a single count of aggravated battery. The minimum sentence on the charge is three years and two months in prison. The maximum is 14-years and four months in prison.

The two are accused of beating Darrell Beachy, 30, on September 26, in one of the pods at the new Reno County jail.

The cases will move to a waiver-status docket on Oct. 28, and both are jailed in this case with bonds of $7,500.

 

BY ANDY MARSO

Advocates for elderly and disabled Kansans are anxiously awaiting the publication of the state’s plan to combine seven Medicaid waivers into one.

The waivers currently provide home and community-based services for people within a range of support categories, including developmental disability, physical disability, traumatic brain injury or frail/elderly.

Janet Williams, who runs an Overland Park company that provides services for brain injury survivors, said the waiver integration plan is a hot topic for people in her line of work.

“It’s all anybody’s talking about,” Williams said.

Officials with the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services initially said they planned to post details of the proposal on Sept. 30.

But Angela de Rocha, a spokeswoman for the agency, said in an email Tuesday that was not a hard deadline and the plan may not be published until late this week or early next week.

Waivers allow states to try new ways to deliver and pay for Medicaid services. The waivers at issue allow Kansas to provide longer-term care in home and community settings rather than institutional ones.

State officials say combining the seven waivers will reduce bureaucracy and allow enrollees to receive services that better fit their individual needs, rather than being constrained by a disability label.

But advocates for Kansans with disabilities have expressed anxiety about the overhaul.

Williams said she hopes the result will protect the rights of Kansans with the most severe disabilities to remain in their homes rather than live in institutions.

“Combining waivers to me is watering down what’s available to people with the most significant disabilities,” she said. “You can’t design a waiver that’s going to meet every need. That’s why you’ve got individual waivers.”

The waiver integration plan was also on the agenda when a new advocacy group for case managers met Sept. 17 at an Overland Park church.

Minutes from that meeting show that while some of the case managers saw the potential for positives to come from the change, they believed it had to be done carefully to avoid losing services.

Others said problems with the eligibility process for the individual waivers should be addressed before they’re combined. KDADS will seek public comment on the proposal after it is posted.

Williams, whose company has lately seen people with brain injuries struggle with the amount of documentation required to qualify for the waiver, echoed that sentiment.

Matt Fletcher, associate executive director of Topeka-based developmental disability provider network Interhab, said the waiver integration plan is “potentially the most profound change to service delivery in the last 20 years or so.”

He said that includes KanCare, the state’s recent move to place nearly all Medicaid services in managed care administered by three private insurance companies.

Fletcher said much of the discussion in the disability community about waiver integration has focused on the state’s “very aggressive timeline” for completing the change.

State officials expect to submit their plan to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by the start of 2016. If CMS signs on, the state plans to implement the changes by July 2016.

“It might behoove the state to have perhaps a slower timeline that allows for greater amounts of collaboration so we make sure we can do this in best possible way,” Fletcher said.

In that sense, he said it might be a good sign if the waiver integration plan is not released Sept. 30 as originally expected.

“If they don’t feel like it’s ready, then move the timeline back,” Fletcher said. “That’s responsible.”

 

Andy Marso is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.