Fernando Neave-Ceniceros- photo Kan. Dept of Corrections
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Texas man whose life was ruined by a convicted child sex offender who stole his identity has seen his impostor sentenced in a federal courtroom in Kansas.
Marcus Calvillo of Grand Prairie, Texas, can now begin to repair the havoc left from a decades-long ordeal that prosecutors call one of the most devastating identity theft cases they’ve seen.
Fernando Neave-Ceniceros was sentenced Monday to a year and a day for misusing a Social Security number. His plea deal will help prosecutors clear his victim’s name more quickly.
Neave-Ceniceros says he feels bad and is sorry. He says he never meant to hurt anybody.
Calvillo told the court he is now 45 years old and would like to have what’s left of his life solely to himself.
HUTCHINSON— One of the four suspects in two Kansas home invasion cases will spend the next 20 years in prison. He was sentenced in Reno County on Friday.
Dakota Anderson, 19, Hutchinson, was convicted of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of aggravated robbery, one count of aggravated battery, two counts of aggravated burglary for two home invasions in May of 2014 in the 3600 block of Rockwood Drive and at a residence in the 3400 block of North Waldron in Hutchinson.
One of the victims, a 92-year-old World War II veteran testified during the trial that he was awakened by three men who hit him in the head with a gun and then forced face down on his bed with a gun to the back of his head.
He says he was then robbed of a number of items including his war medals including his purple heart and gold and silver stars, $450.00 in cash, his van and some of his late wife’s jewelry.
When allowed to speak at his sentencing, Anderson told the judge that what happened to the victims is tragic, but still claims he innocent. He plans an appeal.
Alice Faye Hobbs, 69, died Saturday, July 23, 2016 at the Hutchinson Regional Medical Center.
Alice was born Feb. 1, 1947 at Ransom, Kansas to Herman Oscar and Hazel Hoch Ummel. She attended Utica High School. In Sept. 1962 she married John E. Jennings and from this union cam 2 sons and 5 daughters.
In Oct. 1981 she married Joe M. Hobbs, who adopted her 4 children.
Alice is survived by her former husband, Joe, 2 daughters, 2 sons, one stepson, and one stepdaughter, a brother, Gary Ummel, a sister, Anna Meis, 14 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.
The funeral will be at 11:00 a.m. Thursday at Fitzgerald Funeral Home, Ness City. Viewing on Wednesday from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. with the family present from 7-8 and one hour before the service. Burial in the Ransom Cemetery.
Fort Hays State University’s Docking Institute of Public Affairs on Sunday released the results of a political poll which measured Kansans’ candidate and policy preferences on key issues.
The poll — conducted from July 11 through July 21 — showed a race too close to call in the Republican primary in the Big First congressional district between challenger Roger Marshall and incumbent Tim Huelskamp. Marshall polled at 40.9 percent, and Huelskamp was at 40.3 percent.
In the presidential race, Republican nominee Donald Trump held a comfortable lead over Democrat Hillary Clinton, 44 percent to 27 percent, among likely voters.
In other poll results, 60 percent of respondents were at least “somewhat dissatisfied” with President Barack Obama, while 77 percent were at least “somewhat dissatisfied” with Gov. Sam Brownback. Sen. Jerry Moran had 42 percent of respondents at least “somewhat satisfied.”
Three-fifths (60 percent) of those polled were at least “somewhat dissatisfied” with the Kansas Legislature.
About two-thirds (67 percent) would not vote for President Obama again, and 79 percent of respondents would not vote for Gov. Brownback again. Forty-five percent of respondents would vote for Sen. Moran if he were running for re-election today.
As for the Kansas economy, 25 percent of respondents rated it as at least “good,” and 37 percent rated it as “poor” or “very poor.”
More than two-thirds of respondents (69 percent) were at least “somewhat dissatisfied” with the Kansas Legislature’s handling of the school finance issue.
Less than half of respondents (46 percent) were at least “somewhat dissatisfied” with the Kansas Supreme Court’s handling of the school finance issue.
Almost one-third of respondents (32 percent) said they at least “somewhat support” the recently passed school finance bill.
Banning the sale of firearms to persons on the no-fly list received at least “somewhat support” from 71 percent of respondents.
Over half of respondents (52 percent) at least “somewhat support” banning the sale of military style assault rifles to citizens, while 41 percent at least “somewhat oppose.”
Forty-five percent of respondents at least “somewhat support” banning the sale of high capacity (over 10 rounds) magazines to citizens, while 45 percent at least “somewhat oppose.”
Almost half of respondents (49 percent) feel that transgender students should be required to use only the bathroom that matches their biological sex. One-fourth (25 percent) would allow transgender students to use the bathroom of the gender with which they identify.
Two-thirds of respondents (67 percent) feel the federal government overstepped its authority when issuing a mandate to allow individuals to use the bathroom of the gender with which they self-identify with and should, instead, allow the states to make their own regulations.
Nine newspapers in the state sponsored the poll: Salina Journal, Hutchinson News, Garden City Telegram, Great Bend Tribune, Lawrence Journal-World, Topeka Capital-Journal, Wichita Eagle, Hays Daily News and Ottawa Herald.
Isaiah Maxi is always looking for ways to give back to the Hays community. He was one of the players on the Fort Hays State University football team who handed out free books for children to read this summer.
And now, he has a free football camp next month and is asking for donations so he can hand out school supplies.
Maxi, a senior organizational leadership major from Kansas City, Mo., started a nonprofit organization, “Maximizing Lives,” to assist him in his charitable endeavors, such as the football camp.
“This was something I could do that would be easy and help the kids,” said Maxi, a wide receiver for the Tigers this fall. “I want to be more hands-on with the community. I want to give back to the community.”
The camp is Aug. 1-2 and Aug. 4-5 for children ages 4 to 12, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Pratt Optimist Park, Fifth and Pine. Campers can attend any day or every day.
Donations are appreciated to purchase school supplies. The school supplies will be passed out at a time to be announced later on Aug. 6 at Lewis Field Stadium.
Donations can be dropped off through Aug. 5 at Lewis Field Stadium from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and at the Hays Recreation Commission, 1105 Canterbury, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays except for Wednesday, when the HRC office is open until 6 p.m.
Photo by Andy Taylor Dr. Julie Stewart of the Community Health Clinic of Southeast Kansas spoke about the medical conditions of uninsured patients who visit her nonprofit clinic in Coffeyville. Many of them fall in a coverage gap and make too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to qualify for subsidized health insurance through the Affordable Care Act
Dr. Julie Stewart doesn’t want political candidates and elected officials to show up at her nonprofit medical clinic in Coffeyville for photo opportunities, grant announcements or organized tours.
Instead, the Coffeyville physician would like those officials to take a personal interest in the patients who have chosen Stewart’s Community Health Clinic of Southeast Kansas because they have no health insurance options.
“I want you to come help me take off their socks so you can see the sores of a diabetic patient who has no health insurance,” Stewart said. “And then I want you to get on the ground in front of them and wash their feet.”
Such medical procedures are more than commonplace for Stewart. In Coffeyville, medical providers and clinics have seen an increase in traffic since the October 2015 closure of Mercy Hospital in nearby Independence.
Stewart spoke Wednesday at a town hall meeting in Independence organized by the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, which is hosting a series of meetings as it works to build support for Medicaid expansion in an election year.
The Alliance is funded by several health philanthropies including the Kansas Health Foundation, the primary funder of the Kansas Health Institute, the parent organization of the editorially independent KHI News Service.
After Mercy Hospital’s closure, Independence and the surrounding area have become ground zero for the debate over Medicaid expansion and what it means for rural health care.
$5.9 million for Montgomery County
Since the start of 2014, when the main provisions of the Affordable Care Act took effect, 31 states and the District of Columbia have expanded Medicaid eligibility to adults earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Kansas is one of 19 states that have not expanded eligibility for Medicaid. The annual income limits in expansion states are $16,242 for an individual and $33,465 for a family of four. In Kansas, only adults with dependent children are eligible for KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program, and then only if their annual incomes are below 28 percent of the poverty level, which for a family of four is $9,216. Pregnant women, children and the elderly and disabled Kansans are eligible under less restrictive income caps.
Wednesday’s meeting in Independence was largely attended by political candidates and elected officials, which gave medical professionals like Stewart a platform to explain what they are experiencing since the closure of Mercy Hospital and how the lack of Medicaid expansion has sent the uninsured to emergency rooms, community clinics and jails for medical care.
Sheldon Weisgrau of the Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved in Topeka said Montgomery County has more than 3,600 uninsured residents, including about 1,400 who would be eligible for Medicaid under expanded eligibility.
“At $4,229 per person per year, that means Medicaid expansion would have brought $5.9 million to Montgomery County,” said Weisgrau, adding that expansion also could have led to the creation of as many as 38 medical jobs in Montgomery County.
Mark Woodring, CEO of Coffeyville Regional Medical Center, said the hospital continues to be challenged by the growing tide of uninsured persons who use its emergency room for medical care.
It is the only hospital in Montgomery County. Additionally, the hospital only receives about 20 cents on every $1 of reimbursed medical care.
“Tell me any other business that is guaranteed a loss of 80 cents on the dollar while dealing with more patients and surrounded by more needs,” Woodring said. He added that Medicare reimbursements were pared before Medicaid expansion became a topic of debate in Kansas.
That’s because the Affordable Care Act included provisions so that states would see a reduction in Medicare reimbursements for uncompensated care under the assumption that Medicaid expansion would reduce such care. Because Kansas has not expanded eligibility for Medicaid, hospitals like Coffeyville’s were forced to shoulder reduced reimbursement rates — and get nothing in return.
Woodring also said Coffeyville city taxpayers agreed to a half-cent sales tax initiative in April that will go toward the local hospital’s emergency department and medical operations. It marked the first time in Coffeyville history that a dedicated tax subsidy is used solely for a hospital’s services.
All other sales taxes related to the Coffeyville hospital have been dedicated to building and maintenance of facilities.
Vulnerable rural hospitals
Joanne Smith, former marketing director for Mercy Hospital, said the lack of Medicaid expansion was one of several factors that led to Mercy’s decision to close last year. She said had Medicaid expansion occurred when Mercy was going through a “discernment” process that began in 2014, the hospital could have received as much $1.6 million in additional Medicaid reimbursements.
The hospital had an estimated $3 million annual loss when it closed in 2015, so Smith said Medicaid expansion would not have solved all of Mercy’s financial woes.
However, it would have affected the bottom line to the point that closure may not have been a final solution. “Closure was one of several options confronting Mercy officials during its discernment, but it was just one of those options that no one ever thought would happen,” Smith said.
“No one would ever believe that Independence could be without a hospital.” Weisgrau encouraged Kansas residents to take their concerns to elected officials, especially those in the Kansas Legislature where Gov. Sam Brownback and other Republican legislative leaders have blocked discussion of Medicaid expansion. Opponents of expansion cite state cost-sharing responsibilities, which begin next year, and an aversion to enlarging government health care programs.
In Kansas, some 30 hospitals, most of them in rural markets, are considered vulnerable to closure because of the lack of Medicaid expansion, Weisgrau said.
“It would be a shame that we could lose more hospitals just to get candidates to pay attention to this issue … but that’s what will happen,” he said. That warning also went to the core of Stewart’s presentation, which contained anecdotes about uninsured patients whose conditions required advanced medical attention — far more than what her nonprofit clinic can provide.
“There are a lot of working Kansas who fall in the gap that has been caused by the lack of Medicaid expansion,” she said. “Change needs to happen.” — Andy Taylor is editor of the Montgomery County Chronicle.
At 2:41 p.m. on Sunday July 24, the Ellis County Fire Department was dispatched to a structure fire at 700 W. 48th St.
Twenty-two volunteer firefighters from the Ellis County Fire Department responded to the scene. This included four engines, three tankers, and a utility vehicle from county fire companies 4, 5, and 6. Upon arrival, the Company 5 fire chief established command reporting fire and heavy smoke coming from the two south bays. Due to the amount of fire, size of the building and temperature, the City of Hays Fire Department was requested to provide mutual aid. Water supply was provided by tanker shuttle operations.
The fire was under control at approximately 7:56 p.m. At 8:53 p.m., overhaul was complete and fire companies were started to be released from the scene. Company 5 remained on scene until 11:00 a.m. Monday, July 25.
The fire investigation was turned over to the Ellis County Sheriff’s Department and the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s office.
Other responding agencies were; Hays Police Department, Ellis County Sheriff’s Department, Ellis County Emergency Medical Services, Ellis County Public Works, Ellis County Emergency Responders Rehab Unit, and the American Red Cross.
Fatal crash on Monday north of Topeka- photo courtesy Luke Ranker, Topeka Capitol Journal
SHAWNEE COUNTY – A Kansas man died in an accident just before 10a.m. on Monday in Shawnee County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Dodge Charger driven by William Jay Fisher Fondren, 24, Topeka, was northbound on U.S. 75 at NW 46th north of Topeka.
The vehicle left the roadway and the driver over corrected.
The Charger traveled across the southbound lanes, rolled several times and the driver was ejected.
Fondren was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to First Call.
He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
CUSHING, Okla. (AP) — Authorities say they have found the body of a Kansas woman who went missing Sunday after skydiving in northern Oklahoma.
Lincoln County Emergency Management Director Wendi Marcy on Monday said authorities have alerted the Kansas woman’s family they found the body, but referred The Associated Press to county Sheriff Charlie Dougherty for other details.
Marcy said she did not know the name of the woman. Dougherty could not be immediately reached by phone or email.
Television station KFOR reports multiple law enforcement agencies had been searching for the woman after her parachute was found in a wooded area near Cushing, Oklahoma.
Marcy says she does not know how authorities identified the woman’s body.
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CUSHING, Okla. (AP) — Crews in Oklahoma are searching for a missing skydiver whose parachute has been recovered.
Local media report the skydiver, a woman in her 20s from Kansas, jumped around 3:45 p.m. Sunday near Cushing. Her parachute was found in a wooded area, but she wasn’t with it.
Red Cross volunteers in Cushing supporting search and rescue for missing skydiver. pic.twitter.com/TnOrN9ufBr
Multiple law enforcement agencies and the Red Cross are assisting in the search, and Lincoln County Sheriff Charlie Dougherty says crews will be working through the night.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas foster care and family preservation contractor says it has begun an internal review of allegations raised in a federal lawsuit that one of its caseworkers sexually harassed and coerced a mother seeking to regain custody of her children.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that St. Francis Community Services President and CEO Robert Smith discussed the allegations in a statement released Friday. The statement says St. Francis strives to “protect any individual entrusted to our care.”
The statement comes after the organization initially declined to comment, citing an open investigation.
A Sedgwick County woman is suing St. Francis and a former employee, accusing him of taking advantage of his authority over her. The lawsuit says chronic insufficient staffing led to inadequate supervision. The woman is seeking $75,000 in damages.
SHAWNEE COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities in Shawnee County have arrested a suspect in the shooting death of a driver who crashed into a Topeka apartment building.
Shane Seibert, 24, has been booked into jail on suspicion of first-degree murder and criminal possession of a firearm by a felon, according to a media release.
First responders found the driver, Xavier McCullough, 28, Topeka, unresponsive early Saturday after report of a one-vehicle crash into a building.
McCullough, the only occupant of the vehicle was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to the media release.
Police said the victim and suspect knew each other and had a dispute before the crash. Authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward.
ROOKS COUNTY — This week, Post Rock Family Medicine has been selected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as one of 516 awardees in 47 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia to help reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes among millions of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. Health care practitioners, such as Post Rock, participating in the Million Hearts® Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model will work to decrease cardiovascular disease risk by assessing an individual patient’s risk for heart attack or stroke and applying prevention interventions.
Post Rock includes all of the family medicine physicians in Plainville, Stockton and Palco.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death and a major contributor to disability in the United States. One in three deaths are caused by heart attacks and strokes, resulting in over $300 billion of health care costs each year. Currently, health care practitioners are paid to screen for blood pressure, cholesterol, or other risk factors individually. In testing a new approach, practitioners participating in the Million Hearts® Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model’s intervention group will use a data-driven, widely accepted predictive modeling approach to generate personalized risk scores and develop specific plans in partnership with patients to reduce the risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Accepted applicants were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group in accordance with the model’s randomized control design.
Overall, nearly 20,000 health care practitioners and over 3.3 million Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries will participate in the five-year model. Post Rock is participating in the intervention group and will work with Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries to determine their ten-year individual risk for a heart attack or stroke. Post Rock will then work with beneficiaries individually to identify the best approach or approaches to reducing their risk of having a heart attack or stroke – for example, smoking cessation interventions, blood pressure management, or cholesterol-lowering drugs or aspirin – and will explain the benefits of each approach. Each beneficiary will receive a personalized risk modification plan that will target their specific risk factors. Post Rock will be paid for reducing the absolute risk for heart disease or stroke among their high-risk beneficiaries.
“Our health care system historically often emphasized acute care over preventive care,” said Dr. Patrick Conway, CMS Acting Principal Deputy Administrator and Chief Medical Officer. “This initiative will enhance patient-centered care and give practitioners the resources to invest the time and staff to address and manage patients who are at high risk for heart attacks and strokes.”
The Affordable Care Act, through the creation of the CMS Innovation Center, allows for the testing of innovative payment and service delivery models, such as the Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model, to move our health care system toward one that spends dollars more wisely, delivers better care and makes individuals and communities healthier. Today’s announcement is part of the Administration’s broader strategy to improve the health care system by paying practitioners for what works, unlocking health care data, and finding new ways to coordinate and integrate care to improve quality. In March 2016, the Administration announced it reached its goal, nearly one year ahead of schedule, of tying 30 percent of Medicare payments to alternative payment models that reward the quality of care over the quantity of services provided to beneficiaries.
This model is part of Million Hearts, a broad national initiative co-led by CMS and CDC to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. Million Hearts brings together communities, health systems, nonprofit organizations, federal agencies, and private-sector partners from across the country to fight heart disease and stroke.
