Sugarcane aphid, cold tolerant grain sorghum, pearl millet and more are on the agenda
Sugarcane aphids, sorghum hybrids, summer annual forages and economic considerations linked to inputs are among the topics at the 2016 Fall Field Day on Aug. 24, hosted by the K-State Research and Extension Agricultural Research Center at Hays.
The day starts with registration at 9:00 a.m. and the welcome and field tour by K-State scientists at 9:30 a.m. The tour includes:
* Development of Cold Tolerant Grain Sorghum – Ramasamy Perumal, sorghum breeder;
* The Search for New Herbicide Options in Grain Sorghum – Phil Stahlman, weed scientist;
* Tillage X Nitrogen X Sorghum Hybrid: Sorting out the Mix – Augustine Obour, soil scientist;
* Summer Annual Forage Comparisons: Production and Quality – John Holman, cropping systems agronomist; and
* Improving Pearl Millet for the Great Plains – Desalegn Serba, millet breeder;
Following a complimentary lunch, presentations in the auditorium include:
· * Sugarcane Aphid: Current Status and Management – JP Michaud, entomologist; and
· * Inputs, Returns and Breakeven Production in a Challenging Market – Mark Wood, agricultural economist with Kansas Farm Management Association.
More information about the field day is available by calling 785-625-3425. Information about the research center is available online at www.wkarc.org.
In December 2015, federal inspectors found incidents where hospital staff and patients weren’t protected from violent and inappropriate behavior. The hospital subsequently lost $1 million in monthly Medicare payments. ISTOCK
Years of problems at Osawatomie State Hospital reached a crisis point in the fall of 2015, when the sexual assault of a hospital employee by a patient triggered two failed inspections and the loss of federal funding.
Kansas had relied more on OSH after it reduced the number of state hospital beds in the 1990s. The idea was to put more money into community mental health services, but that hadn’t happened since the early 2000s — and those services actually lost money during the Great Recession.
The problems for OSH became worse in 2011, when the state used early retirement incentives to trim the hospital’s workforce but lost too many experienced employees. It all added up to fewer employees at OSH trying to take care of more patients with stagnant resources.
Inspectors from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found problems with treatment, patient safety and understaffing at OSH in 2014 and 2015. In one case, understaffing contributed to a patient’s death.
Still, they were willing to give the state more time to remedy the problems.
Lack of security checks
For a while, it appeared OSH was making progress. The hospital consistently stayed at or below capacity for the first time in years in 2015 because of an admissions moratorium. Renovations prompted by federal inspections were gradually removing safety hazards and funding stayed stable, though it remained below pre-recession levels.
According to a report from federal inspectors, a mental health technician was taking gowns to a male patient’s room during the night shift on Oct. 27, 2015, when the patient grabbed her, covered her mouth and sexually assaulted her. Two patients who were in the hall at the time said they heard screaming, went to the room and shoved the male patient, who had a history of domestic violence, off the worker.
When inspectors investigated the attack, they found security staff had falsified records to indicate they were performing regular checks, when in fact they weren’t. In interviews, three administrative staff members said they had been told that security employees weren’t performing checks, and a fourth said the hospital didn’t have enough nursing staff to adequately supervise the units.
According to the report, an administrative employee “revealed they had received reports from the hospital’s supervisory staff, prior to (the employee) being attacked, that they had concerns with security rounds staff incorrectly performing the required 10-minute security rounds. Some of the concerns were that security round staff are standing around talking with (mental health technician) staff, not performing their rounds, and leaving the unit before their replacement arrives.”
Inspectors also noted that the lack of supervision placed patients who might be suicidal at greater risk, because they had unsupervised access to bathroom fixtures that could be used for hanging.
“The cumulative effect of the systemic failure to supervise the provision of care, to perform required safety checks and to protect suicidal patients from hanging risks placed all patients receiving services at risk for harm,” the inspection said.
A letter from CMS, dated Nov. 27, noted it could cut off Medicare payments to OSH immediately due to its “ongoing non-compliance” but wouldn’t do so because of the hospital’s importance to an already strained mental health system. CMS officials gave the hospital one more chance to salvage its federal funding.
During a follow-up inspection in December 2015, CMS found more incidents where both staff and patients weren’t protected from violent and inappropriate behavior.
The inspectors found that a male patient with a conviction for criminal sodomy had been placed in a wing of the hospital with mostly female patients.
Female patients reported that the male patient touched them inappropriately, and he had what apparently was consensual sex with a female patient who had a history of suicide attempts, self-injury and attacks on other patients.
A staff member told the inspector that employees had raised concerns about placing the male patient with a history of sexual violence in a female wing, where a number of patients with severe needs were being treated.
“The case mix in this unit is loaded so heavy with high-risk patients that it is the ‘perfect storm,’” an OSH employee told inspectors.
Despite the concerns expressed by staff, neither patient was moved until their sexual encounter was discovered.
The inspector also said staff hadn’t taken steps to calm another male patient who had shown signs of agitation and potential violence before he punched and kicked staff members and stabbed another patient with a plastic utensil.
One staff member said other staff didn’t respond when a patient tried to hit him or her, and the nurse on duty “rolled her eyes” when the staff member spoke up, according to the inspection.
The incidents convinced federal officials that the hospital wasn’t doing enough to maintain a safe environment for staff and patients. CMS decertified OSH in December 2015, costing the hospital about $1 million in monthly payments for Medicare-eligible and uninsured patients.
John Worley, who became superintendent of OSH in August 2015, said staff tried to do their best, but stress, fatigue and a sense of “doom” from trying to implement the many changes inspectors wanted reduced their ability to work effectively. In addition, frequent turnover made it difficult to keep everyone fully trained, he said.
“There were very many things that were being requested through the hospital,” he said. “Some things just slid off the plate.”
‘Systemic failure’
CMS called the violence at OSH, and staff’s response to it, evidence of “systemic failure.” The hospital’s former superintendents largely agree.
Don Jordan, who was superintendent of OSH from 2002 to 2005 and secretary of the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services from 2006 to 2011, said psychiatric hospitals will never be free of violence, but the inspections indicate employees ignored basic safety protocols.
Worse, the final inspection report showed that direct-care employees weren’t doing required checks on patients, he said.
“When you can watch a unit for an hour and nobody does their job, that’s the problem,” he said. “If that’s not a systemic failure, I don’t know what is.”
Some former leaders of psychiatric hospitals placed the blame for the violent incidents at the top — with hospital and state leaders.
Steve Feinstein, who was superintendent at OSH from 1994 to 1998, described the inspection findings as “absolutely shocking.” The problems suggest a disconnect between the hospital’s leadership and front-line staff, he said, and a need for managers who have to the authority to identify and fix issues.
Don Jordan, who was superintendent of Osawatomie State Hospital from 2002 to 2005, said psychiatric hospitals will never be free of violence, but federal inspections from 2015 indicate employees ignored basic safety protocols. CREDIT HEARTLAND HEALTH MONITOR FILE PHOTO
“If those things had been found in a private hospital, people would have been fired right at the very top,” he said. “Some of these nursing problems are so egregious it’s almost unbelievable they happened in this day and age.”
Steve Ashcraft, superintendent of OSH from 2011 to 2013, defended current superintendent John Worley, who took over in August 2015. He laid blame on the state, however, for hiring people who lacked experience with mental health patients for leadership positions at a psychiatric hospital.
Worley “is very competent, but he’s an anomaly,” he said. “He can’t do everything himself.”
The problems involving violence and a lack of oversight may have had more to do with a lack of stability among leadership than any particular superintendent’s actions, some suggested. OSH had four superintendents from 2011 to 2015, not counting Wes Cole’s brief interim stint.
Stability is critical in psychiatric facilities, so front-line staff can focus on observing the patients for signs of trouble, said Walt Menninger, former CEO of the Menninger Clinic, which was based in Topeka until 2003.
“You want an environment that is fairly stable, so ideally the person working on the line with the patient … can focus on that job with 90, 95 percent of their attention,” he said. “If there is a problem with a higher level … if you have to divert some of your attention to wonder what is happening up there, you’re going to miss signals down here.”
Next: While significant improvements are under way at Osawatomie State Hospital, experts say Kansas needs to examine its mental health system as a whole to avoid a future crisis.
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
On Tuesday, August 2, 2016 from 5-8 p.m. at the Hays Aquatic Park, the Hays Police Department will be hosting a Community Night Out with FREE admission to swim.
FREE hot dogs and hamburgers will also be served for the first 1,000 people in attendance.
This event is in conjunction with National Night Out, which is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, better places to live. Together, we are making that happen.
The Hays Police Department would like to thank our sponsors that helped make this event possible:
Fraternal Order of Police Hays Lodge 48, Pepsi, Crawford Supply, Phaze 2, Walmart, Dillons, City of Hays, Eagle Communications, and Hays Recreation Commission.
Join the Hays Police Department for some community fun August 2nd at the Hays Aquatic Park.
KANSAS CITY–On National Child Vehicular Heatstroke Prevention & Awareness Day, Sunday, July 31, KidsAndCars.org is urgently calling upon the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require driver reminder technology in all vehicles that will help to prevent the tragedy of babies and toddlers dying in hot cars.
“Since 1990 more than 775 children have died in these preventable tragedies. Where is the outrage?” stated Janette Fennell, president and founder of KidsAndCars.org, the only national nonprofit child safety organization dedicated solely to preventing injuries and deaths of children in and around vehicles. “Automakers have already added numerous reminders to make sure we buckle up, don’t leave keys in the ignition, don’t leave our headlights on and many more. We think a driver reminder chime to save a child’s life should be just as important as preventing a dead car battery.”
So far this year at least 23 children have died of heatstroke in vehicles, nearly as many as the total for last year, KidsAndCars.org reports. Four died over the July 22-24 weekend in the states of Florida, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Texas.
In 2012 Congress directed NHTSA to study technological fixes to prevent children from being left alone in vehicles and called on NHTSA to take faster action. However, a July 31, 2015, article in the Detroit News stated “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has no plans to require automakers to add in-vehicle technology that would alert parents who leave young children behind in hot cars,” the article said. This is despite the fact that NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind has said, “There’s no reason we can’t have technology backstops.”
These “backstops” could be developed and installed in new vehicles. “We must all insist on technology to help prevent parents and caregivers from unknowingly leaving children alone in vehicles and enduring a lifetime of pain, sorrow and grief,” Fennell said. In 2016 one manufacturer has introduced a reminder system in one of their 2017 models. But that is only in one vehicle model in the entire United States. “NHTSA needs to report back to Congress as directed about the potential use of other technology, including sensors that could alert a driver or passerby that a child is alone in a vehicle,” she added.
“There can be no compromise on safety for children in and around motor vehicles,” stated Henry Jasny, senior vice president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should set standards for technology to alert drivers when an infant or young child is left behind in a vehicle. We already have systems that alert drivers who leave their headlights on or when the gearshift is not in park. The technology to alert drivers when a child is inadvertently left in the vehicle is also available. NHTSA should put it to use.”
Trunk releases, the result of a years-long campaign by KidsAndCars.org, are an example of a successful, inexpensive solution. Required in all vehicles starting in 2002, they prevent child entrapment, saving an untold number of lives. “We know of no deaths in a vehicle equipped with a trunk release,” Fennell said.
Educational efforts, such as KidsAndCars.org’s “Look Before You Lock” program, also help to raise awareness among new parents and caregivers, but are only a partial solution. “It’s impossible to educate every parent and grandparent as well as other family members, caregivers and babysitters about the dangers,” says Susan Auriemma of KidsAndCars.org.
“We encourage individuals in all communities to take action if you see a child alone in a vehicle. Try to find the driver of the vehicle, call 911 and if the child seems to be in imminent danger, break the window furthest away from the child to rescue them,” stressed Amber Andreasen director of KidsAndCars.org. The organization offers a small tool called resqme™, an all-in-one window breaker and seat belt cutter that fits on your keychain. The spring-loaded device is tapped on the corner of a car window and the glass is shattered. (https://bit.ly/15NMOWj)
HAYS – Jacob Boston had four hits, Mike Mioduszewski added three and both drove in two runs to lead the Hays Larks to a 6-3 comeback victory over Dodge City Saturday night at Larks Park. The Larks (37-10), who won both halves of the Jayhawk League regular season, clinched the Jayhawk League Championship Series two games to none to give them their ninth Jayhawk League title and third in five years.
After the Athletics (28-20) scored a run in the first and two in the third to grab a 3-0 lead, Boston hit a two-run single in the sixth to close the gap to one. Mioduszewski’s two-run single an inning later gave the Larks the lead for good. Mioduszewski scored on a bases-loaded walk then Jeff Deimling added an RBI single to cap the four-run inning.
Sam Reed (2-1) pitched a perfect seventh to get the win. Daulton Lieker worked a scoreless eighth and ninth for his first save.
Starting pitcher Shane Browning allowed three runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts and two walks over six innings.
Both the Larks and A’s now advance to the Championship Week of the NBC World Series and will begin pool play sometime next weekend. The Larks will have one final home game when they host the Fairbanks Goldpanners Wednesday at 7 pm.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Mitch Moreland hit a game-ending homer with two outs in the ninth inning and the Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals 2-1 on Saturday night.
Moreland’s 17th homer landed in the second deck of seats in right field.
Brooks Pounders (1-1) had gotten the first two outs in the ninth before Moreland homered for the fourth time in five games. He had two homers Thursday night when Texas won 3-2 in the series opener against the Royals.
Matt Bush (4-2) pitched two scoreless innings, with one strikeout.
Both starting pitchers, Royals right-hander Ian Kennedy and Rangers lefty Martin Perez, allowed one run over seven innings.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Kansas City Royals closer Wade Davis headed back to Kansas City on Saturday night for an MRI on his right arm.
Davis spent time on the 15-day disabled list earlier this month with a strain in his forearm.
In his last appearance Wednesday, Wade allowed four of the first five Los Angeles Angels hitters he faced to reach. He issued three walks for the first time as a reliever and threw his first bases-loaded walk since Sept. 7, 2013.
Davis has a 1.60 ERA with 21 saves in 23 chances in 35 appearances this season. His last save was July 22 against Texas.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A pocket version of the U.S. Constitution has become a best-seller on Amazon.com.
The 52-page pamphlet printed by the National Center for Constitutional Studies sells for $1 and was in the Top 10 best-selling books on Amazon on Saturday afternoon. The site produces an hourly list of its best sellers.
Capt. Khan embodied the best of our values when his actions saved his unit. Last night, his parents told his story:https://t.co/3z8Wvf8Xdg
The Constitution emerged as a best-seller days after Muslim-American lawyer Khizr Khan, whose son was killed while serving in Iraq, flashed a pocket Constitution and offered to lend it to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a speech at the Democratic National Convention.
The version Khan used at the convention did not appear to be the same as the one that became popular on Amazon.
A message sent to Amazon seeking sales details for the Constitution pamphlet was not immediately returned.
BROWN COUNTY –One person died in an accident just before 12:30a.m. on Saturday in Brown County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2012 Chevy Silverado driven by Cole C Bergen, 27, Orleans, NE., was eastbound on 270th Street two miles east of Sabetha.
The vehicle went across roadway into the north ditch.
The driver overcorrected. The vehicle traveled back across roadway, hit a tree head-on, flipped, caught fire, and entrapped the driver.
Bergen was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Popkess Funeral Home. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
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BROWN COUNTY – Law enforcement officials are investigating a fatal accident just before 12:30a.m. on Saturday in Brown County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a vehicle was eastbound on 270th Street two miles east of Sabetha.
The vehicle went across roadway into the north ditch.
The driver overcorrected. The vehicle traveled back across roadway, hit a tree head-on, flipped, caught fire, and entrapped the driver.
Name of the victim has not been released while the investigation is underway.
Lawrence E. Breit, age 92, died Friday, July 29, 2016, at Hays Medical Center Hays, Kansas. He was born October 27, 1923, in Bison, Kansas to Joseph and Anna Margaret (Urban) Breit.
He was raised in Bison and was disabled. He worked at the Reed Center in Hays and has been with Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas for over 30 years. He lived at St. John’s of Hays and then Via Christi Village Care Center.
Survivors include two sisters, Victoria “Vicky’ Befort, Great Bend, KS; and Millicent ‘Millie” Werth,
Wichita, KS.
Services will be at 1:00 P.M. Wednesday, August 3, 2016, in the Chapel at Via Christi Village Care Center Hays, Kansas. Inurnment will be at St. May’s Cemetery in Lorretto, Kansas.
Memorials to DSNWK or Via Christi Village Care Center.
Cline’s-Keithley Mortuary of Hays, 1919 East 22nd Street, Hays, Kansas 67601 is in charge of
arrangements. Condolences can be left by guestbook at www. clinesmortuary.com or via e-mail to [email protected].
CLEVELAND (AP) — Outfielder Billy Burns was traded from the Oakland Athletics to the Kansas City Royals on Saturday for outfield prospect Brett Eibner.
Oakland also placed left-hander Rich Hill on the 15-day disabled list with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand, a move retroactive to July 20.
Burns, who has been playing at Triple-A Nashville, hit .234 with 12 RBIs in 73 games with Oakland this season. Eibner batted .231 with three homers and 10 RBIs in 26 games for the Royals.
Hill is 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA in 14 starts and hasn’t pitched since July 17, when he threw only five pitches before leaving due to the blister.
Hill was scheduled to start Sunday but was scratched after experiencing discomfort during a throwing session Friday. Right-hander Sonny Gray will take Hill’s turn against Cleveland.
Left-hander Dillon Overton was recalled from Nashville to start Saturday night against the Indians.
Leo Dinkel, age 92, died Friday, July 29, 2016, at the Good Samaritan Society of Hays Care Center. Services are pending at Cline’s-Keithley Mortuary of Hays, 1919 East 22nd Street, Hays, Kansas 67601.
Investigators at the scene of the Hot Air Balloon crash in Texas- image courtesy KVUE News
LOCKHART, Texas (AP) — The Latest on the hot air balloon that crashed in Central Texas (all times local):
3:40 p.m.
A woman who lives near the site where a hot air balloon crashed in Central Texas says she saw a giant fireball.
Margaret Wylie, who lives about a quarter-mile from the site and has an unobstructed view, told The Associated Press that she was letting her dog out Saturday morning when she heard a “pop, pop, pop.”
She said, “I looked around and it was like a fireball going up.”
Wylie also said the fireball was located under large power lines. As she described it, the fireball was about four stories high — almost high enough to reach the bottom of the power lines.
Authorities say there are likely no survivors after the hot air balloon carrying at least 16 people caught fire and crashed. Wylie says she did not hear anyone scream or call out.
Wylie said that she called 911. She added that the weather seemed clear and that she often sees hot air balloons in the area.
1:10 p.m.
Officials say a “significant investigation” will be done at the site of the Texas hot air balloon crash, which caused a “significant loss of life.”
Erik Grosof with the National Transportation Safety Board said at a news conference Saturday that there are a “number of fatalities” but would not provide an exact number.
He also said the federal agency has deemed it a major accident and a full-bore investigation will begin Sunday when more federal officials arrive.
The crash happened at about 7:40 a.m. Saturday. Lynn Lunsford with the Federal Aviation Administration said earlier that the balloon was carrying at least 16 people.
Authorities have not said where the balloon was based out of, though Caldwell County Sheriff Daniel C. Law told The Associated Press that it’s the kind of situation where people can walk up and buy a ticket, unlike an airplane, which would have a list of names.
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12:10 p.m.
The site of a hot air balloon crash in Central Texas appears to be directly under large power lines.
Authorities have said there are likely no survivors after a hot air balloon carrying at least 16 people caught fire and crashed near Lockhart on Saturday morning.
The land near the crash site is mostly farmland, with corn crops and grazing cattle.
Cutting through that farmland is a row of massive, high-capacity transmission lines, and the site of the crash appears to be right below the overhead lines.
Authorities are investigating the crash, and have not yet provided further details. A large number of law enforcement personnel is at the scene.
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12 p.m.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says in a statement that he and the first lady are extending their condolences following a hot air balloon crash in which authorities say there are likely no survivors.
Abbott said in a statement Saturday that he and his wife, Cecilia Abbott, “extend our deepest condolences” for those affected” by the “heartbreaking tragedy.”
Authorities have said there are likely no survivors after a hot air balloon carrying at least 16 people caught fire and crashed near Lockhart on Saturday morning.
Abbott says he and his wife’s thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, as well as the Lockhart community. He says, “The investigation into the cause of this tragic accident will continue, and I ask all of Texas to join us in praying for those lost.”
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11:05 a.m.
Authorities say it is likely there are no survivors after a hot air balloon carrying at least 16 people caught on fire and crashed in Central Texas.
The Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Saturday that investigators are determining the number of victims and their identities.
Lynn Lunsford with the Federal Aviation Administration said in an earlier statement that the accident happened shortly after 7:40 a.m. Saturday near Lockhart, Texas, when the hot air balloon crashed into a pasture. Lunsford said there were at least 16 people on board.
Lunsford said that the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are going to the scene to investigate.
K-State Research and Extension
HPD
The Hays Police Department would like to thank our sponsors that helped make this event possible:
KANSAS CITY–On National Child Vehicular Heatstroke Prevention & Awareness Day, Sunday, July 31, 
Leo Dinkel, age 92, died Friday, July 29, 2016, at the Good Samaritan Society of Hays Care Center. Services are pending at Cline’s-Keithley Mortuary of Hays, 1919 East 22nd Street, Hays, Kansas 67601.
