Two Kansas Lottery players have each claimed large prizes from the January 13 Powerball drawing, according to a media release from the Kansas lottery.
A Garden City man claimed a $1 million Powerball cash prize Wednesday morning. The lucky winner, who wished to remain anonymous, matched the first five numbers, but not the Powerball to win the large cash prize!
The Garden City winner picked his own winning numbers on a $10 ticket and was literally two digits away from matching the Powerball number and winning the record-breaking Powerball jackpot of $1.6 billion. The winning numbers in the January 13 Powerball drawing were 04-08-19-27-34 Powerball 10. The winning numbers the winner had picked were 04-08-19-27-34 Powerball 08.
The winning ticket was purchased at Food Mart 3, located at 1505 Buffalo Jones Ave. in Garden City. For selling the $1 million winning ticket, the store is eligible to receive a $1,000 selling bonus.
In addition, a Manhattan woman has also claimed a $50,000 cash prize from the January 13 Powerball drawing. The winner, who asked the Lottery to keep her identity a secret, matched four of the first five Powerball numbers and the Powerball on a $10 Quick Pick ticket. Her winning numbers were 04-08-19-34-52 Powerball 10.
The winning ticket was purchased at Short Stop 12, located at 2010 Tuttle Creek Blvd. in Manhattan.
Janine Kisner, RN in special nursing services, is HaysMed’s newest DAISY Award winner.
Kisner was selected from a group of blinded nominations voted on by the HaysMed Practice Committee. The Practice Committee consists of staff and supervisors from a variety of departments across HaysMed. Nominations are received from patients and family members, physicians, volunteers and Associates for nurses in inpatient, outpatient and clinic settings.
“Her nomination epitomizes teamwork, leadership and customer service,” said Terry Siek, VP of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at HaysMed. “We are so fortunate to have nurses of her caliber and dedication working at HaysMed.”
The DAISY Award is a nationwide program that rewards and celebrates the extraordinary clinical skill and compassionate care given by nurses every day. HaysMed is proud to be a DAISY Award Hospital Partner, recognizing one of our nurses with this special honor every quarter.
To nominate a HaysMed nurse for the DAISY Award online, go to www.haysmed.com/daisy-award. For more information, call (785) 623-2388
Nearly one-quarter of social workers with the Kansas Department for Children and Families left the job in a yearlong period ending Dec. 1, 2015, and job vacancies increased by more than two-thirds at the same time.
DCF Secretary Phyllis Gilmore told the House Children and Seniors Committee on Tuesday morning that recruitment and retention were areas of focus for the agency, and its strategic plan also pointed to a need to hold on to employees. But that’s a challenge for DCF in part because social workers can make more money with other employers, she said.
“One of the problems for our agency is needing more social workers,” she said. “We are not really competitive with salaries.” Most DCF social workers earn $38,000 to $50,000 annually, department spokeswoman Theresa Freed said. The numbers include social workers in child protective services, adult protective services and independent living and foster care programs, she said.
The turnover rate for DCF social workers was 24.4 percent from Dec. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2015, according to the agency. That was a slightly higher rate than in the previous two years. Vacancies also rose, and the number of social workers employed at DCF fell. On Dec. 1, 2014, there were 373 social workers and 40 vacant positions.
A year later, DCF had 323 social workers and 67 vacant positions — a 67.5 percent increase in vacancies. Turnover among social workers hasn’t caused safety concerns, Freed said. “Although we are working hard to fill our social work vacancies, child safety has not been compromised due to the shortage of social workers,” she said.
DCF has taken steps to improve retention, including equipping social workers with mobile devices, Freed said. Those will allow social workers to fill out reports without driving to a DCF service center and to contact law enforcement if they feel unsafe while on the job, she said.
The department also has offered incentives to social workers willing to work in areas of the state where recruitment is particularly difficult, such as rural regions of western Kansas, Freed said.
The incentive varies by area and position but could be as much as several thousand dollars in additional salary, she said. DCF also expanded the definition of who could serve as a child protection specialist to include licensed social workers with a bachelor’s degree, licensed master’s-level psychologists, licensed clinical psychotherapists, licensed professional counselors, and licensed marriage and family therapists.
When DCF announced the expansion in November, Gilmore said people in those professions are qualified to do child welfare work. “We are excited to welcome these professionals who are well-trained in the world of child welfare to work alongside our social workers who are often overburdened with heavy caseloads,” she said in a news release. “
As a licensed social worker, I know the job can be physically and emotionally draining, and our social workers deserve to feel supported.”
Sky Westerlund, executive director of the Kansas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, questioned whether counselors and therapists would be able to do social work. DCF social workers have to recommend services to help a family to function or recommend removing a child if that isn’t possible, she said.
“Those professions are skilled in conducting therapy and their license allows for therapy work, but (child protective services) is not a job in therapy,” she said. “Rather, child welfare work involves a great deal of assessment, engagement with reluctant families, asking questions and evaluating the very safety of a child or children.”
Social workers also need to know how to write the reports the court system would use in child placements, Westerlund said, and are required to complete safety training because they enter potentially volatile situations.
“Changing the title does not change the work, and it is social work, not therapy,” she said. Social workers generally get into the profession because they want to help families, Westerlund said, but need small caseloads and adequate time, resources and training.
Comparatively low pay also may drive some to leave state employment, she said. “That is not likely the first reason, but it can be the final motivator to find a different job for better salary and job satisfaction,” she said.
“DCF is only one of many options for licensed social workers to begin and build a career.” Special investigators and other support staff also have helped with case management duties to free social workers’ time,
Freed said. Special investigators aren’t required to have a college degree, though DCF says most have a background in social work or law enforcement. The number of social workers employed at DCF has fallen since 2012. According to department data, it employed 402 social workers on Dec. 1, 2012; 373 on the same date in 2013 and 2014; and 323 on the same date in 2015.
Vacancies have fluctuated in both directions, from 57 in 2013 down to 40 in 2014, and up to 67 in 2015. Some of the fluctuations may have come from decisions to eliminate vacant positions, however, because the total of filled and vacant positions has fallen from 430 in 2013 to 390 in 2015. Turnover rates were 20.1 percent in the year ending Dec. 1, 2013, and 18.8 percent in the year ending in December 2014.
Megan Hart is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team. You can reach her on Twitter @meganhartMC
TOPEKA– Students from across the state recently put their creative talents to work to help spread the message about the importance of smoke alarms and fire safety by participating in the Fire Safety Poster contest conducted annually by the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
The agency is delighted to announce the winners of this contest, including four western Kansas students, who will see their posters featured on a display in the Capitol Building rotunda, on the FireMarshal.ks.gov website, and printed in the 2016 Fire Safety Calendar.
The competition kicked off in October in conjunction with Fire Prevention Week. The poster contest is designed to support the fire safety education efforts of local fire departments.
“Teaching fire safety to our youngest learners in Kansas is critical to promoting a safer Kansas for the future,” said State Fire Marshal Doug Jorgensen. “We very much appreciate the efforts of all students who participated, and the schools and teachers who recognize the importance of ensuring their students know about this important subject.”
Schools across Kansas, both public and private, encouraged participation from their students, emphasizing the importance of having working smoke alarms near sleeping areas in all homes. In Kansas, nearly two-thirds of home fire deaths result from fires reported at night between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. when most people are asleep.
The Poster Contest was divided into three categories: Kindergarten through Second Grade, Third and Fourth Grades, and Fifth and Sixth Grades.
Bragging rights goes to Ellinwood Grade School in Ellinwood, as two of their students were winners in two different categories. Reece Stickney, a first grader, won in the K-2nd Grade Category, while Evan Ringwald, a fourth grader, won in the 3rd-4th Grade Category.
Earning the top spot in the 5th-6th Grade Category is Lauren Schutter, a sixth grade student at Mill Creek Valley Junior High in Paxico.
Several students’ entries are being recognized as “Honorable Mentions” and their posters will be featured in the annual Fire Safety Calendar along with the winners. Their posters will also be displayed in the Capitol Building rotunda.
Students earning Honorable Mention include:
· Kori Simmons, Kindergarten, Gridley Elementary, LeRoy, Kansas
All poster submissions will be displayed in the State Capitol rotunda Jan. 19-22.
The three state-wide winners will be invited to meet Governor Sam Brownback and Fire Marshal Doug Jorgensen at a ceremony in the Governor’s office Thu., January 21, when they will be presented with a certificate.
According to recent rankings published by OnlineSchoolsCenter.com, Fort Hays State University is part of the top 20 choices in the nation for earning a Master of Science in education administration, a Master of Science in nursing and a Bachelor of Business Administration online.
“We strive to seek out the best in order to guide potential students towards a unique and fulfilling college experience, and Fort Hays State stood out among many,” said Rowan Jones, researcher for OnlineSchools.
At FHSU, students can earn a Master’s through the Virtual College for $253.07 per credit hour and a bachelor’s for $194.14 per credit hour.
Students earning a Bachelor of Business Administration online can major in management, management information systems, marketing, human resources, or international business and economics.
Others in the top 20 include Florida State University, University of Florida, University of Alabama, University of Wyoming, and University of Illinois at Chicago, Western Governors University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Louisiana State University and John Hopkins University.
HFD responds to a fire at 4601 Coolidge Drive on June 5, 2015.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
The city of Hays Fire Department has an annual budget of $2.5 million and Fire Chief Gary Brown wants residents and taxpayers to “know how their money is being spent.”
The fire department’s mission is “to protect the lives and economic well-being of the people of Hays from the effects of fires, accidents and related emergencies.”
In the just-released HFD 2015 annual report, Brown also stressed “the job of the Hays Fire Department is to be prepared, so we do a lot of training.” Firefighters average three hours a day of in-service training, with a total of 8,000 training hours last year.
Hays has a Public Fire Protection Class 3 Rating by the Insurance Services Office and is in the top 9% nationally of the 48,754 rated communities. Hays is in the top 5% of the 1,200 Kansas rated communities.
The insurance industry determines the risk analysis of the city by evaluating the 911 emergency dispatch system, the Hays water supply and the fire department’s performance to determine fire insurance rates for homeowners and business owners; less risk means lower rates.
HFD responded to 2,251 calls in 2015, 80% of which were Rescue/EMS (Emergency Medical Service) calls. Fire emergencies came in at 13% with Hazardous Conditions at 6%.
That’s in line with national statistics, according to Brown, with 70 to 80% of all fire calls made for rescue/EMS. In 2014, Kansas fire departments reported 8% fire, 63% rescue/EMS and 29% hazardous condition calls for service. Not all Kansas fire departments respond to EMS emergencies.
Brown also highlighted several other statistics from the HFD 2015 report:
On-duty crew arrived at 90% of calls within nine minutes of notification of the emergency to dispatchers
One qualified firefighter on-duty at airport fire station during scheduled or large charter air passenger flights
Average of 6 duty alarms each day; 6 general alarms each month; and 4 recall alarms a month
Hosts the Northwest Kansas Regional Rescue Team for building collapse, confined space, trench cave-in, and high-angle rescue
Mutual Aid Agreements with the cities of Ellis, Victoria and the Ellis County Rural Fire District; the cities of WaKeeney, Russell, Great Bend and Ellsworth; and the Kansas State Association of Fire Chiefs Mutual Aid Network
Annual operational check and flow test of all city fire hydrants
Provides fire suppression, fire code enforcement, public fire safety education, fire cause and origin investigation, technical rescue, emergency medical services, disaster preparedness, and airport rescue and firefighting
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Kansas officials seeking to reinstate the death penalty for three men, including two brothers convicted in a crime spree known as the “Wichita massacre.”
In an 8-1 ruling, the justices say the Kansas Supreme Court was wrong to overturn the sentences of Jonathan and Reginald Carr, for murders in Sedgwick County in December 2000 and Sidney Gleason, who was convicted for murders in Barton County in February 2004.
The state court said juries in both cases should have been told that evidence of the men’s troubled childhoods and other factors weighing against a death sentence didn’t have to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The lower court also had ruled that the Carr brothers should have been sentenced separately.
Reginald and Jonathan Carr
The Supreme Court says the Kansas court’s reasoning was flawed on both counts.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Prosecutors say they may upgrade murder charges against a Kansas man and wife accused in the death of a child who authorities believe is the man’s missing 7-year-old son and may have been fed to pigs.
Wyandotte County Deputy District Attorney Sheri Lidtke told a judge Tuesday that charges against Michael and Heather Jones may be upgraded to premeditated first-degree murder in the coming weeks.
She didn’t say what evidence prosecutors may have to support the new charge, which carries a minimum 50-year prison sentence. The Joneses are currently charged with felony murder, which carries a life sentence but parole eligibility after 20 years.
Authorities found remains of a juvenile on the family’s property in November. Tests to identify the remains are pending.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Washburn University will offer early retirement incentives to help balance its budget while enrollment is declining.
The university’s Board of Regents approved the incentives Tuesday. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports employees over 61 who retire at the end of the spring semester will receive a lump-sum payment worth 100 percent of their annual base salary, or up to $125,000, whichever is less.
Employees who retire in June 2017 will receive half that amount.
Washburn also will contribute to the health care coverage of employees who retire before they reach 65, until those employees become eligible for Medicare.
School employees have until Feb. 19 to decide if they’ll accept early retirement. The school expects to save $1.2 million annually by leaving vacancies unfilled or hiring younger employees who earn less.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — A former Hutchinson teacher has left nearly $1.4 million to three Hutchinson groups.
The Hutchinson Daily News reports money from Deborah Mosier will go to the Hutchinson Public Library, The Boys and Girls Club and the Hutchinson Community Foundation.
Library director Gregg Wamsley says the gift comes without any designations for how it should be used. The gift comes just as the library is starting renovations to its building.
Getting into real estate might be a tough nut to crack, but after only three years, real estate agent Adam Pray has gone from a beginner in the business to quickly become well-known in Hays and now has opened his own agency, The Platinum Group, in a renovated office space in the Chestnut Street District at 116 E. 11th.
Even though becoming a real estate agent requires a lot of work, the process was a labor of love for Pray.
“I first got into real estate in 2012. I really had a love for real estate. We had a few rentals and enjoyed that part of it,” he said.
Pray was in insurance before and looked for an opportunity to decrease business travel, so real estate seemed a natural fit. But soon after getting into the business, he realized he could do things differently.
“Once I got into the real estate business, there were a few things I felt could be done better,” he said. “I just feel like we are behind the times, in general.”
After watching agents outside of Hays, he decided on a new approach.
“I was watching agents in other towns do transactions, and they were using technologies we don’t use here, and I just felt we could be doing things more effectively and efficiently,” he said. “We could be more convenient for the customer and save the agent more time. … That’s what led to Platinum Group.”
With the agency, he hopes to bring a different real estate experience to customers in Hays, allowing the group to excel.
“I’ve always wanted to own my own business,” he said. “It’s kind of a win-win.”
“I really feel like a lot of my personal success and our success so far in our young company life is how we treat the customer,” he added, “Consequently, it’s called the platinum rule — treat others like they want to be treated. … We go above and beyond. People don’t ask for some of the services we provide, but we do them anyway. If they do ask, even if it is something we don’t provide, most times we will help them out.”
And Pray believes opening the agency in Hays comes at a good time.
“I think real estate is great in Hays. We have a great market. We have a lot of really great people here and it’s a fun market,” he said.
While opening an agency so quickly is notable enough, Pray plans on expansion, as well.
“Eventually in the future, we are going to add on. There are other agents that have expressed interest in working with us, and I see foresee in the next couple of years us growing as a company,” he said. “Our goal is to be known as the source for anything real estate-related in Ellis County.”
The Platinum Group will host an open house on April 1.
