SEDGWICK COUNTY -A Kansas zoo is celebrating a special birth.
The Sedgwick County Zoo staff is welcoming a lowland gorilla baby into the world, according to a social media report.
This is the first gorilla birth at the zoo and the first baby born to Barika, 15 and Matt, 23. The gender of the baby, born August 3, is unknown at this time.
Staff has observed the baby nursing and it is clinging well and looks strong.
The gorilla family group, including Matt, Kivu and Kiagli, will remain in the behind-the-scenes areas until the gorilla care staff is confident that the baby is healthy, strong and ready for all the excitement that comes with a public debut.
Lowland gorillas are a critically endangered species due to habitat destruction, big game hunting and poaching. This species can be found in African countries of Cameroon, People’s Republic of Congo, Gabon, Central African Republic, and Equatorial Guinea, according to the Sedgwick County Zoo.
It’s probably a little early yet for most Kansans who watched the Kansas House and Senate primary elections to prepare for a dramatic change in culture brewing for the upcoming legislative session.
Yes, there were maybe a dozen House and Senate Republican primaries in which very conservative members were bumped in the primaries by more moderate Republicans. And Democrats, politically correctly, pointed out that some of their most persistent foes are now off the legislative payroll. Relatively good news for them, of course.
But the general election is where the real change happens, and when the long division takes place that determines whether there are going to be the massive tax increases needed to finance the level of state operations that most Kansans want…the more money for schools, for highways, for subsistence and health care for the poor and their children and their grandparents.
Look at the numbers now: In the Senate, there are 32 Republicans and 8 Democrats, in the House the numbers are 97 Republicans and 28 Democrats. But that’s just the view from 30,000 feet in the air.
When it comes down to tough votes on bills that are clear moderate-conservative fights, like tax bills for example, consider that the Senate’s 32-8 becomes about 28-12 as moderate Republicans join Democrats on the rollcall.
In the House, the breakout is probably about 68 or 69 conservatives to maybe 57 or 58 depending on the day and the issues. That’s where the general election may just tip the scales most dramatically—and that is where the leadership of the House and Senate become crucial.
In the Senate, it looks like Sen. Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, will retain her powerful post as president, who can juggle and jiggle the presentation and eventually the content of bills that might, for example, raise income taxes. She’s more moderate than Gov. Sam Brownback, of course, and is probably looking at and will be encouraging a progressive tax rate that will cost the rich more…and maybe in a tradeoff, keep tax rates for the poor relatively stable. It’s a tradeoff made behind closed doors in Republican caucuses there.
In the House, where Speaker Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell, has retired and his office is up for grabs, there may be a more moderate leadership, which in turn will allow more progressive tax policy. Maybe…because even the more moderate Republicans who ousted some of the chamber’s most conservative members in the primary election are so far just talking “tax equity” or such, not using the phrase “tax increase” in their campaigns so far.
Now, of course, there is the low-hanging fruit of those 330,000 or so Kansans who aren’t paying any income taxes, the so-called LLC exemption, that Brownback touted, saw wildly inflated by lawmakers four years ago, and by his signing that bill, became the advocate for the tax break.
Wonder whether he’s going to back off that plan which he still believes is a selling point for state economic prosperity? If so, we have an AM radio we’d like to sell you…
Oh, and without some tax increases, there just isn’t going to be significant money for schools, health, highways, just about everything that we look to the state to finance for us. …and let’s not forget that while many Kansans will gladly get rid of those tax exemptions, low rates for the wealthy and such…it gets a little politically icky to do so retroactively. Say, sometime in April of 2017, lawmakers pass a bill to raise tax rates effective back on New Year’s Day.
Just how quickly there is a major change in social and tax policy? Might be best to start the calculations…after the general election.
Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com.
The Ellis County Commission will officially appoint Rural Fire Director Darin Myers the Emergency Manager at Monday’s commission meeting.
Earlier this year, the commission approved the consolidation of Emergency Management and the Rural Fire Department. The consolidation created a new Director of Fire and Emergency Management position and, on Monday, the commission will vote on a resolution naming current Myers to the position.
In the other business, the commission will vote to canvass the results from the Aug. 2 primary election. The commission will also discuss filling a position within the county attorney’s office.
The commission meeting begins with the Ellis County Public Building Commission meeting at 5 p.m. with the regular commission meeting to follow at the County Administrative Center.
SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating three suspects in connection with a plot to commit murder.
Three suspects, Alex Karcher, 22, Xavier McCray, 22, and Xavier Lewis, 24, all from Salina were taken into custody without incident at various Salina locations late Sunday and early Monday and booked into jail on charges of Conspiracy to Commit Capital Murder, according to Kansas Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Doug Younger.
All three are being held on $1,000,000 bond.
Younger said the three men were working together on a plot to kill someone, but would not release any details on who the trio was allegedly plotting to murder, citing officer safety concerns.
The investigation into the plot is ongoing. Younger said there were 30-40 law enforcement officers actively working the case. “It’s a rather large investigation,” he said.
“With the involvement of the Drug Task Force, it was fair to assume the plot was drug related,” said Younger.
TOPEKA–At the recent meeting of the Kansas State Firefighters Association, State Fire Marshal Doug Jorgensen announced the new Kansas Firefighter Recruitment and Safety Grant program.
This program, made possible with the 2016 State of Kansas budget passed by the state Legislature and signed by Governor Sam Brownback, is aimed at assisting volunteer and part-time fire departments across the state with firefighter recruitment.
Grants issued through the Kansas Firefighter Recruitment and Safety Grant (KFRSG) program will cover the costs of safety gear for new firefighters and physical examinations for firefighters whose physicals are not covered by their departments. It will also provide funds for the purchase of new washer-extractor machines used to clean bunker gear following a fire, with further funds available for the creation of Explorer programs to attract youth volunteers into the fire service.
This grant program, administered by the Office of the State Fire Marshal, will include $200,000 from the Fire Marshal Fee Fund.
Volunteer and part-time fire departments face recruitment and retention challenges because they do not have the funding to provide safety equipment. Without new equipment provided by the recruiting fire department, potential volunteers are faced with not only donating their time but also providing their own safety gear, sharing gear with others, or doing without.
Safety gear which can be purchased through this grant program based on a proven and demonstrated need includes bunker gear, fire helmets, fire boots, and new masks for Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) units for both current and new department members.
This grant program not only addresses safety of firefighters, but their health as well. The OSFM will now be able to provide grants to local firefighters to assist in paying for physical examinations not otherwise covered by their departments. In the last year alone, the last four line-of-duty deaths in the Kansas Fire Service resulted from heart attacks before and after responses to fire calls, or during training. A physical examination by a doctor could identify underlying health issues and, hopefully, decrease the number of health-related deaths.
The OSFM will also use grant funds to purchase and strategically place washer-extractor machines throughout the state. It is vital to the health of firefighters to properly clean bunker gear following a fire to prevent the transfer of carcinogens, particulates and biohazards to firefighters, and those they serve. Further, as more and more particles attach to protective gear and chemicals remain on clothing, that gear gradually loses its effectiveness, putting firefighters at increased risk.
As the goal for the KFRSG grant program is firefighter recruitment, providing funding for the start of Explorer programs offers a great way for local fire departments to give the youth of their area an opportunity to explore both career and voluntary opportunities in the fire service. Volunteer and part-time fire departments will be able to apply for funding to cover the initiation fees for the Explorer program or the National Volunteer Fire Council National Junior Firefighter Program, plus a $100 start-up fund.
Grant applicants must be established and recognized volunteer or part-time Kansas fire departments in good standing with OSFM or a firefighter in good standing with their local fire department. All safety gear purchased through the program would become the property of the requesting department and not of the individual for which it was requested.
Applications are available at FireMarshal.ks.gov/KFRSG. The deadline for submission to receive funds during this budget year (July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017) is October 3, 2016 and funding will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
It is the hope of the Fire Marshal’s office to make this grant program available each year.
Photo by Susie Fagan/KHI News Service A series of primary election victories by moderate Republicans over conservative incumbents and challengers for open seats has fundamentally changed the legislative landscape in Kansas. That may give advocates of Medicaid expansion the traction they need to overcome opposition from Gov. Sam Brownback and legislative conservatives.
The effort to expand Medicaid in Kansas has been stuck in the political mud for the better part of three years.
Not anymore.
The results of last week’s primary election may have given expansion advocates the traction they need to overcome opposition from Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and legislative conservatives who thus far have blocked debate on the issue.
“I’ve been working at KHA for 30 years and I’ve never seen this kind of change in one single election,” said Tom Bell, president and chief executive of the Kansas Hospital Association.“This was a landslide election,” Hawkins said. “It was a game changer.”
David Jordan, director of the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas coalition, said voters sent a message on a host of issues, including expanding eligibility for Medicaid, which in Kansas is a privatized program known as KanCare.
“They clearly sent a message to the governor and to legislators in Topeka that it’s not acceptable to forfeit $1.9 million a day to Washington by not expanding KanCare,” Jordan said, referring to the amount of federal money the state is forgoing by not expanding the program.
Photo by Kansas Hospital Association Tom Bell, president and chief executive of the Kansas Hospital Association, says the primary election reflects “tremendous progress” for supporters of Medicaid expansion.
The number of legislative seats that will be claimed by moderate Republicans or Democrats who favor expansion have advocates optimistic that they can get a bill through both the House and Senate.
“The fact that we’ve got this many more people in the Legislature, especially the Senate, who want to have the (expansion) discussion is tremendous progress,” Bell said.
Moderate Republicans won eight Senate primaries against more conservative opponents, ousting six incumbents and winning nominations in two seats held by conservatives who are retiring.
Ground also was gained in the 125-seat House, where expansion supporters won at least 15 contests over candidates who opposed expanding KanCare to cover more than 150,000 low-income adults.
The annual income limits in states that have expanded Medicaid are $16,242 for an individual and $33,465 for a family of four. In Kansas, non-disabled adults with dependent children are eligible only if their annual incomes are below 28 percent of the poverty level, which for a family of four is $9,216 annually. Pregnant women, children and Kansans who are elderly or disabled are eligible under less restrictive income caps.
Strong support
Many of the moderate Republicans who defeated more conservative candidates in primaries don’t just support expansion, they’re outspoken on the issue.
Responding to a questionnaire sent by Women for Kansas, a bipartisan advocacy group, Patty Markley, the winner of the Republican primary in Johnson County’s 8th House District, said “it is morally reprehensible that we have not done it.”
Jan Kessinger, the GOP nominee in Johnson County’s 20th House District, also pulled no punches in her response to the questionnaire.
“The refusal of Brownback and the Legislature to accept more than $1 billion of aid is not only fiscally foolish but has taken health care options away from those who are most needy,” Kessinger wrote. “The short-sighted refusal is an example of cutting off one’s nose to spite the face.”
Anita Judd-Jenkins, who defeated six-term incumbent Kasha Kelly for the Republican nomination in the 80th House District, which covers parts of Arkansas City and Wellington in south-central Kansas, made a similar case for expansion in her response.
“Kansas citizens pay federal taxes with the expectation of return of our fair share,” she wrote. “To forfeit our share of our own tax dollars out of protest of the federal program is self-defeating.”
More gains in November
The 14th Senate District in southeast Kansas exemplifies how dramatically the landscape has changed. No matter what happens in the general election, the seat, which is now held by expansion opponent Forrest Knox, will go to an expansion supporter: either Bruce Givens, of El Dorado, who defeated Knox in the Republican primary, or Democrat Mark Pringle, from Yates Center.
The same is true in the neighboring 15th Senate District where the closure of the hospital in Independence has made expansion a potent issue.
Conservative Republican Rep. Virgil Peck, of Tyro, an outspoken opponent of expansion, hoped to claim the seat now held by Senate Vice President Jeff King, who’s retiring. But Peck was defeated by Dan Goddard, of Parsons, who campaigned with the endorsement of the hospital association.
Goddard will face expansion supporter Chuck Schmidt, former superintendent of the Independence school district, in the general election.
Several Democrats who favor expansion also are expected to be competitive in general election legislative races against Republicans who oppose it.
The 25th Senate District in Wichita is considered a swing district, meaning candidates from both parties can win it. Expansion advocates are banking on Democrat Lynn Rogers, a 15-year veteran of the Wichita Board of Education. He’s facing GOP primary winner Jim Price, whom the Wichita Eagle describes as a “libertarian-minded defense contractor … who has had two criminal convictions, a bankruptcy and other legal problems.”
The winner will replace Republican Michael O’ Donnell, an expansion opponent, who is running for the Sedgwick County Commission.
Expansion advocates also see the swing-district race in Pittsburg between Democrat Monica Murnan and first-term Republican Rep. Charles Smith as a chance to pick up a vote.
In her response to the Women for Kansas questionnaire on expansion, Murnan, a Pittsburg city commissioner, said the state’s rejection of expansion is “hurting individual people” and “putting an unnecessary burden on our local providers and hospitals.”
Brownback still opposed
Hawkins, the chairman of the House health committee, remains “skeptical” of expansion, saying the state can’t afford its share of the costs due to its ongoing budget problems. Still, he believes expansion advocates will have enough votes to pass a plan.
“The coalition that could be put together with some Republicans and some Democrats, I think they can control that issue now,” Hawkins said.
But passing an expansion plan and getting it signed into law are two different things. Hawkins said the governor’s opposition remains “pretty solid.”
Eileen Hawley, a spokesperson for Brownback, confirmed that in an email.
“The Governor has the same concerns about expanding Obamacare today as he clearly articulated to the voters of Kansas prior to his re-election two years ago,” Hawley said.
Those concerns range from the cost of expanding KanCare to low-income non-disabled adults before all Kansans with disabilities are receiving Medicaid support services in addition to their medical benefits.
Asked whether the governor would veto an expansion bill if lawmakers sent one to his desk, Hawley said, “We are not going to comment on signing a piece of legislation that has not even been written.”
Jim McLean is executive editor of KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team.
Kathryn Coletta Kraus of Grainfield, KS, 94, died at the Long Term Care Center in Quinter, KS on August 7, 2016.
Kathryn Kraus was born August 12, 1921 to William and Mary Anne (Poss) Luetters, and was baptized on August 21. She was the youngest of six children who were born and raised on a farm in rural Ransom, KS. Several weeks after her birth, her mother died and Kathryn was placed in the home of their neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. John Hilmes, where she happily spent the first four years of her life. She attended eight grades in a one-room country school house and then graduated from Ransom High School in 1939. Already during high school she was dedicated to the service of the Church, as a religious education teacher at St. Aloysius Church in Ransom. She then stayed home to help her sister as house keeper and farm assistant for her father and brothers.
On July 27, 1943 she was united in marriage with her handsome neighbor, Florian Kraus, at St. Aloysius Church. They resided on the Kraus family farm and also cared for Grandma Kraus. On this farm they were blessed with seven children. In 1953 they moved to a farm south of Grainfield, KS, where they were blessed with four more daughters in the family.
Kathryn was preceded in death by her parents, four brothers Francis, Werner, George and Bill, her sister Armilla, her husband Florian who died at age 76 in 1993, and four children. The children that Florian and Kathryn gave back to the Lord were Mary Jane (Sr. Mary Gregory, O.P.) who died of an illness at age 20 in 1964, Richard (Dick) who died in a car accident at age 25 in 1972, Daniel who died at birth in 1947, and Mark who died in a farm accident at age two in 1953. She was also preceded in death by two infant grandsons Jeffrey and Connor.
She is survived by seven children: Fr. William Kraus, OFM Cap of Colorado Springs, CO; Bob (Robbi Horinek) of Wray, CO; Paul (Debbie Davignon) of Hays, KS; Marcia (Mick Leon) of Quinter, KS; Jeanine (Bruce Heier) of Russell, KS; Geralyn (Nolan Allen) of Hays, KS; and Elaine (Darren Klotz) of Longmont, CO; 16 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.
Kathryn loved the farm life and working with her husband as they raised their family in Christian love and the Catholic faith. She enjoyed house work, gardening, sewing and being a leader in 4-H, in which all her children participated. As the children left home to follow their own vocations, Kathryn had more time to help and volunteer in various Church and community activities. In St. Agnes Parish in Grainfield she was involved in Christian Mothers and the National Council of Catholic Women, served as a lector and Eucharistic minister, sacristan and janitor. She taught and then coordinated religious education for a total of 26 years, finally retired from her church service at age 90 in 2011.
She took joy in seeing her children participate and generously serve in their local parish communities, and she encouraged and prayed until the day of her death that all her grandchildren and great-greandchildren would do the same.
Kathryn enjoyed arts and crafts and is remembered especially for her quilts that she made for decades. Many hours were spent designing and cutting, sewing and appliqueing her precious works of love for family, friends, and various charitable causes. Not a scrap of material was wasted, a kind of symbol for her life of receiving gratefully and treating carefully all God’s gifts of creation, especially the gift of human life.
She was a wonderful neighbor and friend, and she encouraged and gave life to hundreds of people through her beautiful ministry of letter-writing. Among Kathryn’s many community activities, her favorite was being a Senior Companion from 2000 to 2015. For those 15 years she visited and assisted elderly people in their homes and in the Long-Term Care Center in Quinter, where she died among many friends she had made in this work of love and mercy.
Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:00 a.m., Thursday, August 11, 2016 at St. Agnes Catholic Church, Grainfield. Burial will be in the Grainfield Cemetery.
Visitation will be Wednesday, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the St. Agnes Religious Education Center, Grainfield. A parish vigil will follow at 7 p.m.
Memorials may be made to Capuchin Province of Mid-America; Dominican Sisters of Peace; or Hospice Services, Inc. of NW Kansas. Contributions made to the organization may be sent to Schmitt Funeral Home, 901 South Main, Quinter, KS 67672.
An inmate in the Ellis County Jail died of an apparent suicide Saturday evening.
According to a news release from Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees and Sheriff Ed Harbin, 42-year-old Jeremy Lewis Davis was found hanging in his cell at approximately 4:50 p.m. Saturday.
Ellis County EMS responded and transported Davis to Hays Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 5:35 p.m.
Davis’s death is being investigated by District Coroner Dr. Lyle Noordhoek, the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. According to Drees and Harbin, “there is no suspicion of foul play at this time. However, Kansas law requires the KBI to assist in the investigation of all persons who die while in custody.”
Davis was a Hays resident having moved from Texas. He had been a jail inmate since June 4, 2016. Davis was being held in lieu of a $20,000 bond having been charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and felony possession of marijuana.
“Sheriff Harbin, County Attorney Drees and all of Ellis County extend their condolences to the family of Jeremy Lewis Davis,” Drees wrote in the news release.
On Friday, a 25-year-old man was charged in Ellis County District Court on one count of murder in the second degree.
The charges against Derrick Allen Smith, 25, stem from a July 30 incident in the 500 block of East 20th. During the incident, authorities allege Smith and Timothy Isiah Walker, 33, engaged in what was thought to be a mutual fight. Walker was knocked unconscious and after, authorities allege, Smith struck Walker several times to the head, leading to Walker’s death.
Murder in the second degree — “unintentionally but recklessly under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life” — is a level 2 person felony, and carries a potential sentence of 109 to 493 months in prison, depending upon prior criminal history.
Smith remains in the Ellis County jail in lieu of a $500,000 bond.
In a news release Monday, the Ellis County Attorney’s Office expressed sympathy to the family of Walker, and reminded that defendants maintain a presumption of innocence unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. RELATED: Original story on July 30 incident.
Cooler than normal temperatures Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Hays also brought rain early Saturday morning. Summer-like temperatures are forecast to return Tuesday.
According to official reports from the K-State Agricultural Research Center, the daytime high Fri., Aug. 5 was 79 degrees with 0.06 inches of rain recorded in Hays.
The high temperature Sat., Aug. 6 and Sun., Aug. 7, was 75 degrees both days, with 1.17 inches of rain falling early Saturday morning.
Rainfall in Hays so far in August is 2.57 inches; year-to-date Hays has received 21.90 inches of moisture. According to Joe Becker, weather record keeper at the Ag Research Center, “this time of year the total average amount of rainfall of Hays is 17.57 inches, putting Hays on the plus-side at 4.33 inches.”
Fog moved into the area after 8 a.m. Monday morning, with visibility at less than a quarter mile in Hays at 9 a.m.
The Ellis County Rural Fire Department announced Monday morning the ban has been temporarily lifted allowing residents in unincorporated areas of Ellis County to burn.
Anyone wanting to perform an outdoor burn still should contact the county’s communications department for permission.
Philanthropic gifts and commitments by alumni, friends, parents, faculty, students and corporate partners of Kansas State University totaled $150.6 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2016, according to a media release.
This level of philanthropic support marks the third most successful year in charitable giving in the more than 70-year history of the Kansas State University Foundation, and the fifth consecutive year fundraising has topped $100 million. The conclusion of fiscal year 2016 marked $882 million in total multiyear gifts and commitments toward the $1 billion goal for K-State’s Innovation and Inspiration Campaign.
“Generous, passionate alumni and friends continue to be a driving force behind the Innovation and Inspiration Campaign and K-State’s 2025 vision,” said Rand Berney, chairman of the KSU Foundation board of directors. “We are grateful for their dedication and look forward to a tremendous future as we elevate K-State to new heights together.”
Of the $150.6 million raised in fiscal year 2016, 35 percent is available for the university’s use immediately, while donors gave 65 percent through endowed gifts, pledges and deferred gifts, which will be utilized by the university at some point in the future.
“We are proud of the Wildcat family for uniting to carry the K-State banner high,” said Greg Willems, president and CEO of the KSU Foundation. “These philanthropic dollars are absolutely essential to the success of Kansas State University and reflect the extraordinary partnership the KSU Foundation enjoys with donors. K-Staters are coming together through philanthropy to invest in the university’s future.”
One of the most notable aspects of this year’s results was the $56.6 million in endowed gifts and commitments. Endowed gifts create a legacy for the donor by providing long-term funding for the purpose they support, such as student scholarships and faculty chairs and professorships.
“The endowment is a critical driver of becoming a Top 50 public research university by 2025, and endowed gifts make a lasting difference in our capacity to serve future generations of K-Staters,” said Gen. Richard B. Myers, interim president of Kansas State University. Other key philanthropic achievements for the 2016 fiscal year: • 55,332 individuals made nearly 80,000 gifts. • Fifty-one percent of dollars raised came from Kansas State University alumni. • Twenty-five gifts and commitments were $1 million or more. • Gift commitments through estate planning, including wills, trusts and annuities, reached an all-time high of $53.9 million.
In light of recent budget uncertainties in the state of Kansas, Myers said private support is increasingly important to Kansas State University.
“Gifts from alumni and friends are essential to our continued ability to support students, faculty and communities in the tradition of land-grant institutions,” Myers said. “We are so thankful for our generous donors and their commitment to K-State’s mission.”
Philanthropic contributions to the university are coordinated by the KSU Foundation, which is leading the Innovation and Inspiration Campaign for K-State. The foundation staff works with university partners to build lifelong relationships with alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students through involvement and investment in the university.
By BECKY KISER
By BECKY KISER
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