HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State University volleyball team was unable to recover from a slow start against No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney Tuesday evening, falling in three sets to the perennial powerhouse (14-25, 15-25, 19-25). It was the 20th-consecutive victory for the Lopers, who move to 6-0 in MIAA play. The Tigers slipped to 15-4 overall and 3-3 in the conference after the loss.
Kurt Kohler Postgame Interview
The visitors were incredibly effective on offense, recording 48 kills to just eight attack errors for a .367 hitting percentage. The Tigers were limited to a .136 attack percentage on the night, with the Lopers recording 55 digs and six blocks to bring down that percentage.
After the Tigers took the first three points in the match, UNK jumped out to a commanding double-digit lead with a 16-3 run. The Black and Gold weren’t able to close the gap any smaller than nine, losing by 11 in the set.
The Lopers never trailed in the second set while recording their best single set attack percentage of the night at .436, recording just one error in the frame. The Tigers never scored more than two points in a row during the set.
The home team came out of the locker room with a rejuvenated spirit and led for a good portion of the third set, forcing 15 tie scores and six lead changes. The Tigers led as late as 18-17 when Callie Christensen reached for a solo block, but the Lopers countered by scoring eight of the final nine points in the match to secure the victory.
Crystal Whitten led the Tigers with 11 kills while adding eight digs. Megan Anderson threw in eight kills and one solo block, while Christensen contributed two kills and two total blocks (one solo). Hannah Wagy posted 25 assists on the night, adding six digs and one kill.
The Tigers will continue MIAA play this weekend when they make the trip to Emporia, Kan. for a Friday evening (Oct. 7) match with Emporia State. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
DICKINSON COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Dickinson County are investigating a report of vandalism.
Sometime during the overnight hours of October 1, suspects caused extensive damage throughout Bicentennial Park in Abilene, according to a social media report from police.
Due to the damage, the restrooms located in the park will be closed through the winter.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Abilene Police Department at (785)263-1213 or Dickinson County Crime Stoppers at 1-888-5DK-TIPS. If your information helps lead to an arrest in this case, you may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.00 and remain completely anonymous.
TMP-Marian is pleased to announce that Tom Meagher is joining the Monarch Family as its new business director. Meagher is recently retired from USD #489 where he served for most of his educational career as an administrator. Most recently, Meagher served as the principal of Wilson Elementary School in Hays. Meagher’s past service on the USD #489 Leadership Team, Professional Practices and Appraisal Committee, District Technology Committee, as well as many other district and building level leadership positions have provided insight into the complex systems that help schools operate with efficiency.
TMP-Marian Principal Chad Meitner said, “Meagher’s years managing school and activities budgets as well as his service on multiple district level finance and advisory committees make him a natural fit to fulfill the duties of business manager for TMP-Marian and Holy Family Elementary.”
Meagher is replacing Eddie Perrett ’96, who held the position since May 2013. Perrett has taken a position with Jeff Pinkney CPA, Inc. beginning October 1, but he will continue to aid in the transition. Perrett also looks forward to his continued involvement as a parent and volunteer at TMP-Marian and Holy Family Elementary.
Meagher and his wife, Patty, have six children and five grandchildren. Their son, Bill, currently serves TMP-Marian in the capacity of campus minister and junior high theology instructor. Patty is in her ninth year teaching third grade students at St. Mary’s Catholic Grade School in Ellis.
“I am really looking forward to beginning a new chapter in my life as the Business Director for TMP-Marian and Holy Family,” Meagher said. “My entire life has pretty much revolved around the field of education, and I am excited to see what lies ahead as I join a new family of educators here at TMP-Marian.”
In addition to his professional duties, Meagher looks forward to continuing to serve local parishes and our Catholic schools through his considerable musical talents. We welcome Tom to the family and look forward to his contributions to Catholic education at TMP-Marian and Holy Family Elementary.
FORD COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Ford County are investigating a possible arson fire.
Investigators requested K-9 assistance as they work to determine the cause of Monday’s trailer home fire southwest of Dodge City, according to the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s office.
Ford County Fire Chief Rob Boyd refused to comment on the exact location of the fire until after the investigation is completed.
WaKEENEY, Kan. – The Plainville volleyball team finished 2-0 at the Trego triangular Tuesday. The Cardinals beat the host Golden Eagles in three (24-26, 25-23, 25-18). They then swept Ellis (25-12, 25-20). Ellis finished 1-1 on the night after a hard fought three-set win over Trego (29-27, 17-25, 27-25).
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities are searching for an offender who escaped from a minimum-security prison in Kansas City.
The Missouri Department of Corrections announced Monday in a news release that Brian Deconink scaled the roof of the Kansas City Reentry Center’s main building Sunday during outside recreation. The release said he had help from another offender.
The center houses inmates nearing parole; Deconink was set to be paroled in March.
Authorities say Deconink was serving a five-year sentence for possession of a controlled substance in a correctional center from DeKalb County. He has past convictions for burglary, stealing, robbery and resisting arrest.
Authorities are investigating the escape from the center. It was a hallway house before it was converted last year to a minimum-security prison.
GREAT BEND, Kan. – The Hays High girls’ golf team wrapped up the Western Athletic Conference championship after a second place finish at the Great Bend Invitational Tuesday at the Stoneridge County Club. The Indians shot a 193 and finished two shots back of Garden City.
Katie Brungardt fired a 3-over-par 39 and was top individual medalist. Talyn Kleweno shot a 43 and finished third while Emily McGuire was 10th with a 55.
Brungardt was named the WAC Golfer of the year. She won all five tournaments hosted by Western Athletic Conference schools and scored 75 points. Kleweno finished fourth and was named First Team All-WAC. Emily McGuire earned honorable mention honors
WAC Golf is a round robin competition with points awarded at each tournament hosted by a league school. The top six players are chosen for All-WAC. Players 7-12 are recognized as honorable mention. The team with the most points at the end of the competitions is declared the WAC champ,
Team Finish (Great Bend) 1. Garden City, 191 2. Hays High, 193 3. Liberal, 195
4. Great Bend, 198
5. Dodge City, 212
Top 10 Medalists (Great Bend) 1. Katie Brungardt-Hays, 39 2. Corey Mein-Liberal, 42 3. Talyn Kleweno-Hays, 43 4. Allison Neeland-Great Bend, 46
Alyssa McMillen-Garden City, 46
6. Danielle Gaspar-Garden City, 47
Sarah Bayouth-Liberal, 47
Torey Olson-Garden City, 47
Chesney Moore-Dodge City, 47
10. Halley Sanders-Great Bend, 48
DODGE CITY, Kan. – It was a rough day for the Hays High boys soccer team Tuesday. The Indians were shutout by the Red Demons 10-0. Hays trailed 3-0 at the half, but Dodge City was able to explode for seven goals in the second half.
The game was called in the 70th minute by mercy rule.
The Indians are now 5-8 on the season. They host Liberal Thursday at 1 p.m.
DETROIT (AP) — U.S. safety regulators are investigating whether a recall of Ford F-150 pickup trucks for brake failures should be expanded to more model years.
The probe covers about 282,000 pickups with 3.5-liter six-cylinder engines from 2015 and 2016. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has received 25 complaints alleging sudden brake loss in the trucks. No injuries were reported.
In May, Ford recalled about 271,000 six-cylinder F-150s from 2013 and 2014 because brake fluid could leak from the master cylinder and cause brake failure.
The safety agency says it received 10 complaints about 2015 brake failures and another 15 about the 2016 models.
Investigators will decide if the 2015 and 2016 models should be added to the recall. The F-series pickup is the top-selling vehicle in the U.S.
EDMOND, Okla. – Sophomore Hannah Perkins moved 17 spots up the leaderboard on day two of the UCO RCB Bank Classic at The Golf Club of Edmond. She finished at 12-over par overall, tying for 13th place. She carded rounds of 80 and 74 for a total of 154.
By shooting just 3-over par on day two, Perkins gained plenty of ground on the field. At one point she was 1-under through nine holes, benefitting from an eagle on a par 5. She was 11 strokes back of the winning score of 1-over par by Johany Rivera of St. Edward’s. Baylee Price of Northeastern State was the top MIAA golfer in the event at 4-over par.
Kylie McCarthy tied for 63rd with rounds of 86 and 83. Kelsey McCarthy (89, 85) tied for 74th, Madison Roether (100, 87) tied for 84th and Alexis Schaben finished alone in 87th with rounds of 99 and 101.
St. Edward’s won the team title with a total score of 603. Southwestern Oklahoma State took second with a score of 612 and Arkansas Tech finished with a score of 613. Fort Hays State’s 683 overall placed 15th overall and 7th among MIAA teams.
This map indicates where the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, a South Dakota-based nonprofit, operates in Kansas. Last week it filed a lawsuit over the Kansas Medicaid application backlog.
By ANDY MARSO
A nursing home chain’s lawsuit over the Kansas Medicaid application backlog hinges on whether state officials are doing enough to electronically verify applicants’ assets.
The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, a South Dakota-based nonprofit that operates 32 long-term care facilities in Kansas, filed the suit last week in federal court. The suit was filed on behalf of 21 nursing home residents waiting on eligibility determinations for Medicaid, which in Kansas is a managed care program known as KanCare.
The complaint alleges that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment violated federal law by failing to use an electronic asset verification program, or AVP, to quickly determine whether the residents were eligible for Medicaid.
“The defendant did not seek to obtain any of the Plaintiffs’ information electronically via AVP,” the complaints say. “Nor did the defendant try to obtain the Plaintiffs’ information from secondary sources. Instead the Defendant placed the burden of providing information entirely on the Plaintiffs.”
KHI News Service has requested information from the state about its asset verification program and is awaiting a response.
The suit cites a law Congress passed in 2008 requiring states to implement electronic asset verification for Medicaid applications, as well as a federal law that requires states to process applications within 45 days.
For about a year Kansas officials have been grappling with thousands of Medicaid applications that have passed the 45-day mark. The backlog started last summer with the rocky rollout of a new computer program for processing applications known as the Kansas Eligibility Enforcement System, or KEES.
The backlog burgeoned at the end of 2015 when the state funneled all applications — including some that were previously processed by the Department for Children and Families — through a single facility known as the KanCare Clearinghouse.
That change came just as the open enrollment period for the federal Affordable Care Act directed far more online applicants to Medicaid than expected.
By May the state had almost 11,000 applications waiting 45 days or more.
Uncompensated care
In Kansas, Medicaid primarily covers children, pregnant women, Kansans with disabilities or seniors who otherwise couldn’t afford nursing home care.
Complaints from groups that serve those populations spurred a state audit and led the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to request twice-monthly updates on the backlog and the state’s efforts to resolve it.
Leaders of nursing homes and groups that represent them have said that the backlog was hurting them financially because most Kansans rely on Medicaid to pay for long-term care after their personal assets run out.
In the lawsuit, the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society said the 21 named plaintiffs have a variety of serious medical conditions and that Good Samaritan Society officials have provided a total of $838,555.18 in uncompensated care while they wait for the residents’ Medicaid applications to clear. According to its most recent available tax forms, the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, which operates nationwide, had about $750 million in net assets in 2014.
The suit requests that a federal judge order Kansas to “automatically approve the Plaintiffs’ Medicaid benefits.”
Rachel Monger, director of government affairs for LeadingAge Kansas, said the Good Samaritan Society homes are part of her organization, but LeadingAge Kansas had no knowledge of the lawsuit before it was filed.
Mark Dickerson, senior director of communications for the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, said the group filed suit because “Kansas’ failure to follow federal regulation and timelines in regard to the processing of Medicaid applications has jeopardized the reimbursement that some of our residents are entitled to receive.”
“In this action we are fighting for the rights of our residents while also attempting to receive payment for services already rendered,” Dickerson said.
Dickerson said he couldn’t recall his organization, which operates in 24 states, filing a similar lawsuit anywhere else.
Some find the fast track
Other nursing homes across Kansas reporting similar financial losses have succeeded in getting their residents Medicaid coverage after filing administrative appeals or taking their grievances to legislators or the media.
Amy Turgon, director of accounting for a Shawnee assisted living facility named Sharon Lane, said via email that the facility’s situation improved dramatically after her struggles to get Medicaid coverage for residents were publicized.
“We were able to get 17 Medicaid applications processed and approved in two weeks,” Turgon said. “That is unprecedented. We were given a supervisor at KDHE to manage our cases and ensure they were resolved.”
Molly Wood, a Lawrence attorney who specializes in elder care law, said she envisioned a similar resolution to the Good Samaritan Society’s lawsuit.
Wood said the suit’s plaintiff list was impressive, but it would be hard to prove harm to the plaintiffs because federal law prohibits assisted living facilities from involuntarily discharging residents for lack of Medicaid payments. And the state can make the whole case moot by pushing those 21 applications to the top of the stack and getting them processed.
State officials promised assisted living facilities a process to apply for half-payments for residents with pending Medicaid applications but never implemented it. Instead, they have used the requests to fast-track those residents’ applications.
The state also deployed extra staff at Maximus and KDHE to process applications and shifted about 30 DCF workers to process them.
Those efforts pushed the number of applications waiting 45 days or more down to 1,512 by the end of August.
Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 53. East wind 6 to 8 mph.
