TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A top Republican legislator is drafting a proposed constitutional amendment to prevent Kansas courts from shutting down public schools in lawsuits over education funding.
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback has called a special session for lawmakers to address a Kansas Supreme Court decision that said the state’s education funding system is unfair to poor schools. The court said schools will be unable to reopen after June 30, if lawmakers don’t act.
The Kansas Senate’s vice president, Sen. Jeff King, outlined his proposal amendment Thursday and said he plans to have the Senate Judiciary Committee review it next week. The Republican chairs the committee, which will meet with its House counterpart before the special session starts June 23.
If lawmakers approve King’s proposed amendment, it would go on the ballot in November.
Courtesy photoThree people from Tennessee face a variety of charges after Wednesday afternoon’s high-speed chase in Russell County.
According to Trooper Tod Hileman of the Kansas Highway Patrol, the driver of the car, Bianca Dreher, 21, Clarksville, Tenn., was arrested on suspicion of fleeing and eluding, driving under the influence of drugs, and transporting an open container.
The two passengers — Raymond J. Harris, 37, Clarksville, and Earnest E. Roberts, 24, Memphis, Tenn. — were arrested on suspicion of fleeing and eluding and transporting an open container. The two also had warrants out of Tennessee for parole violation, Hileman said.
The incident began Wednesday afternoon when a KHPO trooper clocked the passenger car doing 90 in a 65 mph zone. After checking the vehicle’s tag numbers, the trooper discovered it was sought in connection with a missing person report.
The high-speed chase that resulted ranged from the Russell-Barton county line to 3 miles south of Russell, where a second trooper deployed spike sticks and flattened all four tires on the car.
Hileman said the car wen about a mile on rims before stopping, adding that Harris and Roberts ran from the car when it came to a halt. Dreher surrendered immediately.
The KHP trooper who deployed the spike sticks apprehended one of the subjects, and the Russell County Undersheriff caught the other.
Hileman said the flagged license plate number was for Dreher, who had been reported missing and was being sought for a welfare check.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Government investigators say the Food and Drug Administration failed to force a recall of peanut butter and almond products for three months after advanced DNA testing confirmed salmonella contamination.
The Health and Human Services inspector general’s office says the FDA has allowed some food safety investigations to drag on, leaving consumers at risk. Such delays come despite new legal powers to force recalls and sophisticated technology to fingerprint pathogens.
The FDA’s top food safety official says the cases singled out by investigators are outliers — a selective sample in which recalls didn’t proceed quickly and efficiently in a matter of days.
Still, Deputy Commissioner Stephen Ostroff says food safety officials will now review slow-moving cases on a weekly basis.
Photo by Andy Marso/KHI News Service The Johnson County Area Agency on Aging provides housekeeping and attendant care services for Julia, left, a 96-year-old who lives in an Overland Park apartment. She met last week with her case worker, Monica Anderson, right.
Eleven agencies that provide support to help Kansas seniors stay in their homes are starting to put some on waiting lists following state budget cuts. The $2.1 million reduction to the state’s Senior Care Act programs was part of a package of cuts Gov. Sam Brownback made last month after the Legislature sent him a budget that didn’t balance.
Brownback and the Legislature have faced several budget crises since enacting large income tax cuts in 2012. The Senior Care Act cuts will affect in-home services that are provided to Kansans 60 and older who aren’t poor enough to qualify for them under the Medicaid frail/elderly waiver.
Jocelyn Lyons, executive director of the Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging (AAA) in Topeka, said in a news release that the decrease in funding “came as a complete shock” and represents about 30 percent of the program’s budget. “The cut to the Senior Care Act program challenges our agency in determining how our consumers will continue to receive services and avoid early nursing home placement,” Lyons said.
Lyons and her colleagues estimate that about 1,300 of the 4,500 Kansans currently served by Senior Care Act programs will be affected. The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services administers the program with the help of Area Agencies on Aging throughout the state that were created by the federal Older Americans Act in 1973 to help older adults “age in place” rather than move into nursing homes.
To do that, the program provides attendant care, respite for family caregivers, housekeeping and chore services, and adult day care. Monica Anderson, a case worker with the Johnson County AAA, said the agency has started to wait-list some Kansas seniors applying for housekeeping and attendant care services. “
We’re trying to serve as many people as we can,” Anderson said, “and we’re doing that by looking at their long-term care threshold scores when we go out and assess them.
Depending on their level of need, we’re kind of allocating hours — a few here, a few there.” Anderson said, for instance, that a senior eligible for six hours a week of attendant care might get two right away and be put on a waiting list for the other four.
Anderson recently visited a 96-year-old client named Julia in her subsidized apartment in Overland Park. Julia, who asked that her last name not be published, receives attendant care to help her climb in and out of her bathtub because she has a bad knee.
She also receives housekeeping services to keep her apartment tidy. The services are wonderful, she said, and living independently is good for both her and the state. “They always tell you the reason they do allow people to come here is it costs so much less than if they go to a nursing home, which, who wants to go to?” Julia said.
Anderson said Julia’s services cost about $500 a month, while a nursing home in Johnson County could cost 10 times more. Julia says she moved to the Kansas City area from London 70 years ago after marrying an American who was a reporter for Stars and Stripes covering World War II.
She survived the Blitz on London as a young woman, an experience she said may have contributed to the personality that drives her to continue wanting to live independently, without asking for daily help from her family. “I don’t want to be a problem to anyone,” Julia said.
Anderson has worked for the Johnson County AAA for 22 years. She said the budget cuts have taken a personal toll as she tells Kansans like Julia they will be placed on waiting lists for some of their services.
“When I have to go out and meet people in desperate need and say, ‘I’m sorry, we can’t accommodate all of your needs,’ it’s very difficult,” Anderson said.
Andy Marso is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team. You can reach him on Twitter @andymarso
Elizabeth DemasBy RANDY GONZALES
FHSU University Relations
Out of a job and needing money, Elizabeth Demas turned to selling Avon, something she did for fun while attending Fort Hays State University. She was so successful, she wrote a book to help other direct sellers.
Demas, who lives in Independence, Mo., graduated from FHSU in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in informatics. She was laid off in 2003 from her position with a major telecommunications company in the Kansas City area. In her first six months selling Avon, she reached more than $10,000 in sales. She eventually grew her Avon business to the point where she now has 100 members in her team and owns two licensed Avon Beauty Centers in the Kansas City metro area. Her Overland Park store has sold more Avon products than any other location in the country. In 13 years, Demas has sold more than $5 million of her company’s products.
The decision to write a book came from Demas’ desire to share her success story with others — and hopefully help them succeed. Demas’ self-published book, “From Knocking on Doors to Making Millions,” is available for purchase on Amazon.com.
“I realized, ‘Why not pass on that knowledge, help other people be successful,’ ” Demas said.
While conducting research for the book, Demas consulted other sales experts and found a common denominator for success.
“I interviewed 23 other direct sales experts in the industry,” she said. “The interesting thing, they’re all successful in different areas, but they’re passionate about it.”
Demas’ advice for recent college graduates is to realize they are unlikely to have just one career, one job, in their lifetime.
“I think just knowing that in this day and age a career is more fluid,” she said. “Everyone knows you don’t just get a job and get a gold watch 30 or 40 years later. Just know it’s fluid, and you’re at your starting point.”
Demas, 42, is constantly reinventing herself. From the telecommunications industry to selling Avon to writing a book — and now she recently was certified in Verbal Aikido, which is the philosophy of managing and transforming verbal attacks effectively and peacefully.
“It’s advanced communication skills with emotional intelligence,” Demas said.
Dr. Mark Bannister, dean of the College of Business and Entrepreneurship at FHSU, had Demas in several of his classes. He remembered her as a bright and enthusiastic student.
“I hope being an informatics major, she learned to innovate and become a lifelong learner,” Bannister said.
Demas’ son, Rahasya, just completed his first year in the Kansas Academy of Mathematics and Science program at FHSU this spring semester. KAMS is the state’s premier academic high school program for the best and brightest high school students.
“He was so bored, just sleeping through high school,” Demas said. “He was worried about leaving all of his friends, but I think he has a deeper bond with the kids in KAMS.”
“I think it’s very exciting when we have multiple generations of a family who attend Fort Hays State and believe this is a university that serves them well and opens doors for them,” Bannister said.
Opening doors is the key to direct selling. In her book, Demas details different ways to get a foot in the door — sometimes literally. The first part of the book is devoted toward determining what a person’s goals are. After that, it’s different sales techniques.
“The rest of the book is all the different ways you can sell (with) direct selling,” Demas said. “You kind of take the one (approach) that speaks to you. Everyone is looking for that magic bullet, that magic pill that is going to make them successful.”
It all goes back to finding your passion.
“What I did isn’t necessarily someone else’s path,” Demas said. “Everyone has to find their own path to success.”
Around 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Hays Police and Ellis County Emergency Medical Services responded to a rollover accident at the intersection of 23rd and Walnut streets.
A late-model Jeep collided with a late model Kia SUV in the intersection, causing the Kia to roll, where it came to rest upside down.
Both drivers sustained only minor injuries and did not require transportation for further medical care, according to HPD officers on the scene.
While responders worked to clear the scene, the intersection was closed for a short time.
Stephen Joseph Hickert, 66, died Tuesday, June 7, 2016, in Lawrence, Kansas.
Mr. Hickert was born December 11, 1949, in Norton, Kansas, to Barney and Beatrice “Tucky” (Schandler) Hickert. He shared a happy childhood with his 10 brothers and sisters on a Norton County farm south of Lenora. Steve was united in marriage with Jody Bowen on November 6, 1976, in New Almelo, Kansas. Their union was blessed with two children, Audrey Opal and Austin Jacob.
Steve was a farmer for 30 years—thanks to the unwavering support of his wife Jody and opportunity provided by Bob Boyd, Fay Kline, Wilbur Kline and Mike Bangle. Later he was an auditor for the Kansas Department of Revenue for 12 years.
Mr. Hickert was a 3rd Degree member of the New Almelo Council #3124 Knights of Columbus. He was a lifelong resolute Square Deal, New Deal, Fair Deal liberal Democrat and a sustaining member of the ACLU. Steve served his community as a Lenora Mercantile Association Co-op director, Graham County Conservation District supervisor, Northwest Kansas Groundwater Management District #4 director and Graham County Hospital director.
Steve was a people person. His great pleasure/vice in life was engaging in spirited conversation with friends and acquaintances while sipping coffee at local cafes or drinking beer at nearby watering holes. The new acquaintances invariably enlarged his circle of friends. Paradoxically, he was energized by the open, empty solitude of the Great Plains.
Steve is survived by his wife Jody Hickert of Lawrence; daughter Audrey Hickert and husband Jason Franchuk of Albany, NY; son Austin Hickert and wife Kiedra (Riedel) Hickert , grandsons John Stephen and Dean Louis Hickert all of Pueblo West, CO; mother Beatrice “Tucky” Hickert of Wichita; sisters Susan (Scott) Brown, Nancy Kreutzer, Beatrice (Ron) Heikes, Dianne (George) Witwer, Maureen (Bill) Salomon, Caroline (Dale) Schippers, and Colette (Jawad) Haider; brothers Bernard (Barbara) Hickert, Joseph (Gail) Hickert, and George Hickert; mother-in-law Phyllis Bowen; sister-in-law Shelly (Ed) Wente; brother-in-law Doug Bowen; 27 nieces and nephews; and seven great nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his father Barney Hickert, and brother-in-law Joseph Kreutzer.
Vigil Service: Monday, June 13th at 7:30 p.m. at St. Joseph Parish Center in New Almelo
Funeral Mass: Tuesday, June 14th at 10:00 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church in New Almelo with Rev. Kerry Ninemire and Rev. Joseph Kieffer officiating
Burial: St. Joseph Cemetery
Memorial Funds: In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to St. Joseph Catholic Church or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (Memphis, TN)
Visitation: Monday, June 13th from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. at the funeral home in Oberlin and after 5 p.m. at the church parish center in New Almelo.
Mildred Mary Finnesy, 84, of Paradise and Russell County, Kansas, died on Wednesday, June 08, 2016, at the Ellinwood District Hospital in Ellinwood, Kansas.
Mildred was born on September 14, 1931, in the family home north of Russell, Kansas. The daughter of John W. and Margaret E. (Stielow) Fuller. She grew up in the Rural Russell, Kansas, area and graduated from Waldo High School in the class of 1949. She graduated from Kansas State University in 1953, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Home Economics.
She met, fell in love and was united in marriage to Joseph Patrick Finnesy on August 26, 1957, at the Episcopal Church in Hays, Kansas. From this union Mildred and Joe were blessed with 2 daughters Kathleen and Karen. During the first few years of marriage, she worked as a teacher in Inman and Natoma, Kansas, and taught Home Economics.
When she gave birth to her daughter Kathleen, she gave up teaching and decided to become a fulltime homemaker and farm wife. She was a former member of the Russell St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church and was a member of the Paradise Dell E.H.U. She enjoyed reading, sewing, cooking and being a farm wife. Most of all, she enjoyed spending time with her family and close friends.
Surviving family include her husband Joseph P. Finnesy, of the home, daughters Kathleen Waitt and husband Jim of Great Bend, Kansas and Karen Polson and husband Brad of Manhattan, Kansas and a brother Stephen Fuller and wife Martha of College Station, Texas.
She was preceded in death by her parents and an infant son.
A celebration of Mildred’s life will be held at 10:30 A.M. on Friday, June 10, 2016, at the Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary in Russell, Kansas, with Pastor Roger Dennis officiating. Burial will follow at the Russell City Cemetery. Visitation will be from Noon to 8 P.M. on Thursday, June 09, 2016, at the mortuary with family to greet guests from 7 P.M. to 8 P.M. Thursday evening. Memorials may be given to the Russell Regional Hospital and sent in care of the mortuary. Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary of Russell is in charge of the funeral services.
Virginia Marie Noffsinger, 93, of Herington, Kansas, passed away on June 7, 2016 at the Village Manor in Abilene, Kansas.
She was born on March 28, 1923 in Osborne, Kansas to Paul and Rose Zimmerman. She attended the Osborne Schools and upon graduation from Osborne High School she married Dean Noffsinger in Smith Center, Kansas on November 27, 1941. Dean joined the Navy at the beginning of World War II and they were stationed at the naval base in New London, Connecticut. When Dean was shipped out, Virginia returned to Kansas.
When Dean returned at the end of the war, he became a Kansas Highway Patrolman and they lived in Phillipsburg, Kansas for many years then transferred to Hays, Kansas in 1964. Upon retirement from the patrol, they moved to Green Valley, Arizona. After Dean’s death in 2003, Virginia moved back to Kansas, residing in Ellsworth and then for the past seven years in Herington. She was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. She enjoyed the natural beauty of this world as was evident by her arts and crafts.
She is preceded in death by her parents, one brother, Paul Jr., one granddaughter, Emily, and her husband of 61 years.
She is survived by one sister, her four children, Larry (Vickie) Noffsinger of Highlands Ranch, Colorado; Linda (Ralph) Dewitt of Junction City, Kansas; Clayton (Debra) Noffsinger of Great Bend, Kansas; John (Rochelle) Noffsinger of Casper, Wyoming; eight Grandchildren; twelve Great-Grandchildren; numerous Step-Grandchildren, and Step-Great Grandchildren; one Great-Great Grandchild.
Cremation has taken place and she will be buried in Osborne County Cemetery next to her husband. A graveside service is planned for a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to be given to Dickinson County Hospice
Arrangements are by Dove Cremation & Funeral Service of Junction City.
Sarah Boyd Jedlicka, 98, passed away on June 7, 2016 at the Cedar Village Care Center in Ness City, Kansas. She was born on November 21, 1917 in Pittsburg, Kansas, the daughter of Richard and Gabriella (Blair) Taylor.
She was a member of the Ness City First Baptist Church where she taught Sunday school and was the choir director. She was also active in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union where she held numerous local, national, and international leadership positions. She was an elementary teacher in the Ransom school district for many years. She also taught piano at the Ness City Grade School for several years.
She was joined in marriage to Marian Kimble shortly before he was killed during World War II. She married Will Roger Funk in 1951, who died on May 28, 1968. She married Frank Jedlicka on Friday, January 16, 1970 in Ness City. Frank preceded her in death on March 12, 2012.
Survivors include two sons, Terry and his wife Ruthie Funk, and Dean and his wife Mackey Funk; two grandchildren and three great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husbands; brother, Richard Taylor and sister, Mary Lee McGee.
Funeral Service will be on Friday, June 10, 2016, 10:00 A.M., at the First Baptist Church, Ness City. Burial in the Ness City Cemetery. Friends may call at Fitzgerald Funeral Home on Thursday from 9:00 A.M. until 9:00 P.M. with the family present from 7 – 9 P.M.
Memorial contributions may be given to the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union.
Robert Duane Krum died peacefully in his sleep on Friday, June 3, 2016 at Holiday Resort Nursing Home in Salina, Kansas at the age of 56. He was born on September 10, 1959 in Iowa City, Iowa. He lived in Smolan, Kansas with his caregiver and friend Linda Sutor and had previously worked at Columbia Windows in Lindsborg, Kansas. He was a long time dialysis patient and loved spending time with his fur baby Nick. After enjoying a beautiful day outside his body decided it was time to go rock out in heaven. He will be missed.
Robert leaves behind his daughter Jennifer Hamrick and husband Kyle along with their children, Matthew and Alicia, all of Statham Georgia; and brothers William Darrel Krum, Michael Lee Krum and Bruce Wayne Krum.
He was preceded in death by his parents Shirley and Darrel William Krum, and brothers Louis Allen Krum, and David Paul Krum.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, June 11, 2016 at Salemsburg Lutheran Church in Smolan. Visitation will be Friday evening from 5:00-7:00 pm at the church. His final resting place will be at Pleasant View Cemetery near Palco, KS. Memorials are suggested to Fresenius Kidney Care in Salina and may be sent in care of Plumer-Overlease Funeral Home, 320 SW 2nd Street, Plainville, KS 67663.
The Second Annual Commemorative Great Western Cattle Drive will be held July 4 in northeast Sherman County.
Enjoy authentic 1882 horseplay with the cowboys as they celebrate 106 years of America on July 4 in northeast Sherman County. The Second Annual Commemorative Great Western Cattle Drive will roll at historic Homestead Ranch 19 miles northeast of Goodland at 4 p.m. Mountain Time. This living history event has added a farrier demonstration. The demonstration will show visitors how the important task of shoeing horses was done on the trail as well as other related activities from the era.
“Last year, over 200 people enjoyed the cattle drive,” Trail Boss Ken Klemm said. “We look forward to seeing old friends and new faces this year.”
After attending the cattle drive, head to Sherman County Fairgrounds, 417 N. Main, Goodland, for Freedom Fest. Carnival rides begin at 6 p.m., entertainment at 7 p.m. and fireworks at 9:30 p.m.
In 1882, cowboys drove great herds of longhorn cattle to rail heads in Ogallala, Neb., and points north along the Wallace Branch of the Great Western Cattle Trail. The Wallace Branch extended into Canada. It’s the cattle trail portrayed in the novel and TV miniseries “Lonesome Dove”. Homestead Ranch’s site once held Bray Post Office, Sherman County’s first. The ranch was also home to a water hole. Cowboys driving the great herds of longhorns north stopped at the Bray Post Office, the first post office north of Dodge City, to get news from home.
The National Park Service is considering the Great Western Cattle Trail for National Historic Trail status. The trail is a feature on the newly designated Land and Sky Scenic Byway.
NORTON–The Dane Hansen Foundation will announce a $500,000 grant award to Valley Hope during a public ceremony on Thu., June 16, 2016. This award will facilitate the renovations to the company’s treatment facility and headquarters located in Norton.
Valley Hope launched operations in Norton, Kansas, in 1967 with a 15 bed substance use disorder treatment facility. The treatment facility, located in Norton, was the first facility opened by the organization and remains in operation today. Valley Hope currently offers residential and outpatient addiction treatment services at 16 centers in seven states, including 5 facilities in Kansas.
The behavioral health industry continues to grow to meet the growing need of those in need of addiction treatment. In efforts to continue organizational growth, meet the needs of the community and remain competitive in this industry, Valley Hope has gone through a rebranding effort. Valley Hope will unveil its new brand that encompasses the path individuals that are afflicted with a substance abuse disorder experience; the deep decline into a valley of despair but through Valley Hope’s love and respect these individuals are able to climb out of this valley to a life filled with hope and promise.
Dane Hansen Foundation will announce the grant award given to Valley Hope. Pat George, Valley Hope CEO, will share the vision for the renovations at the company’s treatment center and headquarters in Norton, Kansas. He will also unveil the organization’s new brand.
The grant announcement and rebrand unveil event will start at 12:30 p.m., June 16. A reception will follow. The event will be held at the Heaton Building, 107 S. State Street, Norton.
Valley Hope President and CEO Pat George will be joined by Kansas Secretary of Commerce, Antonio Soave, state of Kansas legislators, Valley Hope Board members, Dane Hansen Foundation Trustees and local leaders.
VALLEY HOPE