The Hays Fire Department is inspecting fire hydrants and flushing water mains today, Tuesday, March 29, in the area of Ash Street east to Vine Street between 20th Street and 27th Street, then Vine Street to Indian Trail between 22nd and 27th Street.
This is part of a coordinated effort by the city of Hays to inspect all fire hydrants in the city and flush all water mains annually.
Slight discoloration of the water supply may be encountered although there will be no health risks to the consumer. All reasonable efforts will be taken to minimize the inconvenience to the public. Drivers are asked to avoid driving through water discharging from a fire hydrant during the short flushing period.
For more information please contact the Hays Fire Department at (785) 628-7330.
The Kansas Board of Regents met Monday morning by phone to select Regent Dennis Mullin of Manhattan as chair of the Kansas State University Presidential Search Committee, according to a media release.
Over the coming weeks, steps will be taken to finalize the committee’s membership and charge for this closed search.
“It will be important for all parts of the K-State community to be represented, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, athletics, endowment, and the wider Manhattan community,” stated Regent Mullin. “I am looking forward to working on behalf of the entire Wildcat family to find the next president of this great university.”
The Board is reviewing candidates for the position of Interim President, with plans to make a decision within the next couple of weeks.
Addressing the accomplishments of President Schulz, Regent Shane Bangerter, chair of the Kansas Board of Regents, began:
“The mission of Kansas State University is to foster excellent teaching, research, and service to advance the well-being of Kansas and the nation.” He continued, “The Board is greatly appreciative of President Kirk Schulz and the time he spent at Kansas State University, where under his watch, K-State has achieved record levels in research expenditures, overall student enrollment, and student body diversity. For the fourth consecutive year, private giving has exceeded $100 million, demonstrating an ongoing belief by countless individuals in the direction of this historic university. A true champion of strategic planning, President Schulz has done wonderful things for this university and the entire state of Kansas, setting the institution in the right direction to create the workforce tomorrow’s economy will need. We wish him well as his journey in higher education continues.”
Rep. Troy Waymaster, R-Bunker Hill, 109th Dist.March 25, 2016
Troy L. Waymaster, State Representative, Kansas House District 109
Education Bill Passes Out of Appropriations Committee
In last week’s newsletter, I mentioned that the House Appropriations Committee held a hearing and attempted to work House Bill 2731, which was the education bill drafted to adhere to the Kansas Supreme Court’s ruling from February. Since that bill did not make it out of committee, on Tuesday, March 22, we held a hearing on a new education funding bill; House Bill 2740.
House Bill 2740 made various amendments regarding school finance. Currently, as under the language of the Block Grant Funding Bill, school districts receive the same amount of funding for supplemental general state aid as they did in the 2014-2015 school year. House Bill 2740 establishes a statutory formula for determining the amount of supplemental general state aid. This bill stipulates that the State Board of Education will determine the average valuation per pupil (AVPP) and will categorize those from highest to lowest, then the median AVPP is used to determine the amount that the individual districts shall receive. This provision, as like the Block Grant Funding Bill, will sunset on June 30, 2017.
House Bill 2470 also provides school district equalization state aid, which is a new form of state aid for certain school districts across the state. In order for a school district to be eligible for this particular state aid, a school district’s combined supplemental general state aid and capital outlay state aid, for fiscal year 2017 only, must be less than what the school district received under the Block Grant Funding for the school fiscal year of 2016. If the school district is eligible, then the amount they would receive would be the difference from the fiscal year 2017 amount and the amount received in fiscal year 2016.
Another change from the Block Grant Funding bill is the dispersement and allocation of funds from the Extraordinary Needs Fund by changing the authoritative body from the State Finance Council to the State Board of Education. School districts will still need to apply to determine whether their request for additional funding is warranted or not, however, under this bill the State Board of Education will have the authority to approve or deny those applications submitted by the school districts.
This bill passed out of the Appropriations Committee on March 23, as House Substitute for Senate Bill 59 in order to expedite it through the legislative process. A similar bill, Senate Substitute for House Bill 2655, passed out of the House, 93-31, on Thursday, March 24.
Common Core Has Floor Debate
For the first time in my four years in the House of Representatives, we were finally able to debate a bill regarding the Kansas Career and Readiness Standards, otherwise referred to as Common Core. Even though the State Board of Education is re-evaluating the current standards, we debated this bill on the House floor. However, this bill generated more questions than solutions. The language of the bill was extremely ambiguous, which made the bill complicated and open to more deliberation, and it actually generated more legal questions and about its constitutionality if the bill were to pass.
There was a large fiscal note associated with this bill as well. Not only have the school districts spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on new text books, this bill came with a fiscal note of at least $9 million, plus possibly more if there were federal infractions, and with the current unstable state budget, and instability of our revenues, passing this bill would be fiscally irresponsible. This bill failed in the House, 78-44.
43 Bills Debated
During the House Sessions on Monday and Tuesday of this week, the House deliberated on a total of 43 bills within the course of those two days. Some of the bills were innocuous and some were more contentious. Below is a list of the bills debated in the House and the outcomes:
• House Bill 2739, which would modify the current budgeting process for state agencies and how their respective budgets are approved by the state legislature. The modification would be completed on or before January 14, 2019. I voted yes on this bill;
• House Bill 2724, regarding the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS), would make changes in compensation which can be considered in pension calculations. This bill would also require each employer to submit the amount of vacation and sick time each employee has accumulated and the employee’s rate of compensation. I voted no.
• Senate Bill 387 allows for a bank, savings bank, savings and loan association, or a credit union to conduct a savings promotion in which a person would deposit money into a savings account in order to enter a promotion. As a former banker, I voted “yes.”
• House Bill 2729 would require school districts to contract with the Kansas Department of Administration for purchases made in regards to food and informational technology and software. This bill was voted to be referred back to the Education Budget Committee for further work.
• Senate Bill 99 increases the length limit for stinger-steered automobile transporters from the current length of 75 feet to 80 feet. This bill is specifically targeted to those who are custom harvesters making it easier for them to transport equipment in the state of Kansas. I voted “yes.”
Calendar and Contact Information
Friday, March 25, marks the final day of the 2016 Legislative Session, commonly referred to as “Drop Dead Day” in the statehouse. We will then adjourn for almost the entire month of April. We will return to Topeka on April 27 and will then begin what is referred to as “Veto Session.”
As to the duration of the veto session, that is uncertain. We will be waiting for the Consensus Revenue Estimate Group to meet on April 20, and we are scheduled to have Appropriations meetings on April 21 and 22. We will also be eagerly awaiting the revenue numbers that will be released on April 1 and May 1, to see where the state of Kansas is financially.
If you have any concerns, feel free to contact my office at (785) 296-7672, visit www.troywaymaster.com or email me at [email protected].
The honor to serve you in the 109th Kansas House District and the state of Kansas is one I do not take lightly. Do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts, concerns, and questions. I appreciate hearing from the residents of the 109th House District and others from the state of Kansas.
Troy L. Waymaster,
State Representative
109th Kansas House
300 SW 10th
Topeka, KS 66612
MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (AP) — Crews will continue to patrol a wildfire that has burned hundreds of square miles of sparsely populated land in Kansas and Oklahoma.
The fire, which started last week in Oklahoma before spreading to southern Kansas, has largely been contained. But Barber County Attorney Gaten Wood says crew will be watching the fire closely because of high winds and dry conditions forecast for Tuesday.
Oklahoma Forestry Services spokeswoman Hannah Anderson says crews also will continue to patrol and monitor the fire line there and work on putting out any hot spots. She says the fire did not spread Monday despite the hot, windy conditions.
The fire destroyed several homes in rural Barber County, where most of the damage occurred. No injuries were reported.
File Photo Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill Monday that will allow insurance companies to avoid paying a privilege fee when they sell plans that cover only in-network care. Photo by KHI News Service
Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill Monday that will allow insurance companies to avoid paying a privilege fee when they sell health plans that cover only in-network care.
The state already allowed insurers to sell network-only plans if they registered with the Kansas Insurance Department as health maintenance organizations, or HMOs, and paid the fee.
Legislators raised the fee substantially last year to help balance the state budget. Their intent was to collect more money from the three managed care organizations that administer Kansas Medicaid, or KanCare, that also pay the fee.
That would in turn draw down more federal Medicaid dollars, which would be used to reimburse the KanCare companies.
But insurers also had to pay the fee on private-sector plans — and they received no reimbursement. Aetna was hit particularly hard by the fee increase and lobbied this year for House Bill 2454, along with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City and United HealthGroup.
The bill allows insurers to sell “exclusive provider organization,” or EPO, plans. Generally, HMOs differ from EPOs in that EPOs do not require a referral from a specific primary care physician for other care as long as that care occurs in network.
But HB 2454 allows insurance companies to include referral, or “gatekeeper,” requirements in their EPO plans, which would make them functionally no different than an HMO plan — although the insurance company would not have to pay the privilege fee.
Representatives of Aetna and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City said the bill will allow them to sell cheaper insurance plans. During a committee hearings, legislators and a representative from the Kansas Insurance Department raised concerns about ensuring consumers know when they consider purchasing the plans that the doctors they currently see may not be in the plans’ networks.
Rep. Willie Dove, a Republican from Bonner Springs who sells insurance, said that after talking with the insurers, he’s satisfied that their company policies as well as the insurance department regulations will ensure that’s the case. “They do have the capacity to find out if the doctor is in network or not,” Dove said.
The state’s budget director did not provide an estimate of how much revenue might be lost due to the bill but did provide a fiscal note stating that the HMO privilege fee is estimated to bring in about $106 million in the current fiscal year and $111 million in the next. The majority of that comes from the KanCare companies.
Andy Marso is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team. You can reach him on Twitter @andymarso
Elmer D. Erskin, age 89, passed away on Saturday, March 26, 2016 at the Scott County Hospital in Scott City, Kansas. He was born on September 22, 1926 in Shallow Water, Kansas, the son of John and Martha Allen Erskin. A resident of Scott City, Kansas, he worked for Shallow Water Refining until 1954 moving to North Dakota where he worked for Standard Oil Company and then back to Scott City in 1970 where he was a farmer until he retired in 1993.
He was a member of Holy Cross Lutheran Church of Scott City, Kansas.
On December 31, 1949 he married Luella B. Wiechman in Scott City, Kansas. She passed away on November 17, 2015 in Scott City, Kansas.
Survivors include his One Son – Harold & Susan Erskin of Mulvane, Kansas, Three Daughters – Sandra & Rick Kahl of Scott City, Kansas, Shirley & Dan Rogers of Valley Center, Kansas, Sharon & David Powers of Scott City, Kansas, One Brother – Alvy & Joyce Erskin of Davilla, Texas, Nine Grandchildren and Eighteen Great Grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, wife, four brothers – Joe Erskin, Albert Erskin, Leroy Erskin, John Erskin and three sisters – Lily Sharp, Frances Malchow and Bertha Paul.
Funeral Services will be held at the Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Scott City, Kansas at 2:00 p.m. Friday, April 1, 2016 with Pastor Warren Prochnow presiding.
Memorials may be given to the Holy Cross Lutheran Church or Park Lane Nursing Home % Price & Sons Funeral Home in Scott City, Kansas.
Interment will be in the Scott County Cemetery in Scott City, Kansas.
Visitation will be from 2:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Wednesday and 10:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Thursday at Price & Sons Funeral Home in Scott City, Kansas.
Last week’s inspection results from the Kansas Department of Agriculture:
Cervs Conoco 2722 Hall, Hays – March 24
A routine inspection found eight violations.
All of the packaged Popt popcorn for retail sale does not have any ingredients listed on the package.
No covered trash can located in the ladies toilet room.
Light blue frosting, as said by the person in charge, with no common name on the container.
Ice machine, located on the back room, with a small amount of pink mold build up on the dispensing bar inside the ice machine.
Carbonator, which appears to be Coke, with no vented, duel check valve device.
Pepsi reach-in cooler and the Deli Express reach-in cooler with no thermometer located in the unit.
Nacho cheese container for customer use. Stored with the food contact surface exposed to contamination.
No hand washing signs posted at the back hand sink in the back room or in either men’s or women’s toilet room.
Chinese Food Express 1312 Main, Hays – March 24
A routine inspection found five violations.
No chlorine test kit for the 3 vat sink at the business.
Large pot stored on top of the Superior reach-in cooler with the food contact surface exposed to contamination.
Raw shrimp stored above ready to eat pork in the Superior reach-in cooler.
Ready-to-eat onions stored in direct contact with a non-approved plastic bag, Wal-Mart.
Spray bottle of water as said by the person-in-charge with no common name on the bottle.
Casey’s General Store 213 Washington, Ellis – March 23
A routine inspection found four violations.
Two rubber spatulas had cuts and cracks on the outer edge of the utensils.
Atmospheric pressure back flow device in the mop sink is leaking when the water is turned on.
Spray bottle of yellow liquid was unmarked and being stored in the chemical storage area. Person in charge said it was quaternary sanitizer.
Spray bottle of quaternary sanitizer had a concentration of 1000 parts per million.
Gella’s Diner/Lb. Brewing 117 East 11th, Hays – March 23
A routine inspection found 10 violations.
Chemicals in the chemical storage area were being store directly over single use towels.
Bottle of clear liquid in the grill area was without a label. Cook said it was water.
Saute station had a towel hanging on the side of his satiation bucket.
Tomato slicer that was being stored in the bake shop had dried food particles on it. Person in charge was unsure of last time it was used.
Salad and dessert station had a ice cream scoop and 2 spoons that were being stored in a metal container full of water.
In the True make-table in the saute station there was a plastic container of fresh pasta without a label and date. Cook was unsure of when it was made.
East and west basement do not have any guards/shields on the light fixtures. Lights are above single use and dry good items.
Two spray bottles of chemicals were being stored in the liquor rack directly next to open liquor bottles.
Two rubber spatulas had cuts and cracks on the outer edge of the utensils.
West basement had 25 dead ground beetles on the floor.
Long John Silvers 3380 Vine, Hays – March 23
A routine inspection found eight violations.
Delimer, as stated on the box, stored directly on top of food grade gloves.
Hood is missing a filter and one of the filters is not complete, missing the back side eliminate.
Delfield reach-in freezer, both doors have cracked and missing pieces on the door seals.
Box of Pop and onions stored directly on the floor.
Insect light mounted on the wall above the prep table in the back area.
Stainless steel bucket with tape on the outside covering two small holes in the side of the bucket.
Hot water at the hand sink in the prep area at 91. Hot water at the three vat sink 177.
Hood filter are full of grease and dust.
Subway 4301 Vine, Hays – March 23
A routine inspection found two violations.
Plastic lid for a food grade container with a crack in the edge going toward the handle.
Light in the walk-in freezer is not covered or coated to protect against breakage.
Casey’s General Store 1600 E. 27th, Hays – March 22
A follow-up inspection found no violations.
El Dos De Oros Mexican Restaurant 1002 E. 41st, Hays – March 22
A routine inspection found three violations.
True Cooler – Two 8 oz. packages of thawed vacuumed package fish were in the walk-in cooler. According to manager, they had been there for over 24 hours.
Refried beans in walk in cooler did not have any date of when they were prepared. Person in charge said that were made the day before.
Raw ground beef was being stored above ready to eat tortilla shells in the walk in cooler.
McDonald’s Restaurant 3406 Vine, Hays – March 22
A routine inspection found two violations.
Boxes of folded eggs stored in the basement walk-in freezer with ice build up on the boxes, from the freezer condenser unit leaking.
Several pieces of equipment with a build up of grime on the non food contact surfaces of the equipment.
Tiger Mart 335 W. Eighth, Hays – March 22
A routine inspection found eight violations.
No hand washing sign posted at the hand sink in the prep area or the unisex toilet room.
Glass Plus, as stated on the container, stored next to food grade disposable gloves, on a shelf in the back room.
Raw shell eggs and raw bacon stored above ready to eat milk in the three door True reach-in cooler.
Two thermometers, located in the walk-in cooler. One reading 25 and one reading 45.
Bagged ice for retail sale and bagged at the store. With no business information listed on the bag.
Light bulb in the walk-in cooler, with no protection or coating on the bulb.
Wet mop stored in the wringer portion of the mop bucket not allowed to air dry.
Hose attached to a “Y” connector lying in the sink with no back flow prevention device attached to the faucet.
HAYS, Kan. – The TMP-Marian girls soccer team lost their season opener Monday at the Bickle-Schmidt Sports Complex. The Monarchs were shutout 5-0 to Wichita Trinity Academy.
The Monarchs travel to Wichita Independent Thursday.
Today Partly sunny, with a high near 69. Very windy, with a south wind 18 to 23 mph increasing to 26 to 31 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. Very windy, with a south southeast wind 23 to 30 mph.
WednesdayMostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 68. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 16 to 24 mph.
Wednesday NightA 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 9pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 36. Breezy, with a northwest wind around 24 mph.
ThursdayMostly sunny, with a high near 58. Breezy.
Thursday NightPartly cloudy, with a low around 31. Blustery.
Officer directing traffic off of Tuttle Creek Blvd after after the October 5, fatal accident.
MANHATTAN- Trial has been set for a Kansas man in a fatal traffic accident that killed his 6-year-old daughter.
Joshua Mall, 39, of Riley, KS, appeared in Riley County court on Monday for an arraignment.
He was arrested for 2nd degree murder following an accident on October 5, 2015.
Police in Manhattan reported Mall lost control while driving his 2001 Ford Ranger in the 2400 block of Tuttle Creek Boulevard. Mall collided into a 2013 Chevy Cruz, and immediately left the roadway and collided with a tree.
A child in the Ford, Madilyn Mall, 6, Riley, was transported to Via Christi where she died.
Mall plead not guilty to charges of murder in the 2nd degree, involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, possession of a controlled substance, transportation of alcohol in an open container and transporting a child without safety seat or restraints.
ELLIS–The Ellis City Council will meet in a work session tonight Tuesday, March 29, at 7 p.m.
