RILEY COUNTY – Sunday was a busy day for fire crews after almost 300 acres burned in Riley County.

The Riley County Fire Department responded to a report of illegal burning on Adams Street in Fairmont park, a 70 acre fire North of Randolph on Roybler Road, a 30 acre grass fire in the 10000 block of Anderson Avenue and a telephone pole on fire on Barton Road near Leonardville,
According to Pat Collins, Riley County Emergency Management Director,

At one point, the Riley County Police Department responded to the fire on Anderson Avenue to shut down traffic due to smoke blowing over the roadway.

There was also a rekindling of a suspicious fire on Fancy Creek Road that burned around 80 acres, and a 100-acre fire that burned a barn on West 60th Avenue, according to Collins.

No injuries were reported. Cause of the fires have not been released.

VERNON COUNTY, MO- A Kansas man died in an accident just before 5:30 p.m. on Sunday in Vernon County Missouri.

The Missouri State Highway reported a 2004 Chevy truck driven by Lucas D. Owen, 24, Mound City, was traveling on Arnold Road six miles northwest of Metz.

The pickup struck a bridge railing, left the road and came to rest in a creek bed.

Owen was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Ferry Funeral Home.

An air medical flight transported a passenger in the vehicle Heather Holloway, 24, Mound City, to Freeman Hospital.

They were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

JOSH LEDERMAN, Associated Press
MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN, Associated Press

HAVANA (AP) — Brushing past profound differences, President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro will sit down at Havana’s Palace of the Revolution. Their historic meeting Monday will offer critical clues about whether Obama’s sharp U-turn in policy will be fully reciprocated.

The Obamas set foot on Cuban soil, marking the beginning of the First Family’s historic visit #CubaVisit 🇨🇺🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/MI7HKs9U7b

— Josh Earnest (@PressSec) March 20, 2016

 

For Obama, there’s no better place than Havana to show engagement can do more than isolation to bring about tangible change in Cuba. Yet for Cubans, the glaring question is whether their own government is ready to prove the ambitious diplomatic opening is more than just talk.

Obama opened the first presidential visit to Cuba in nearly 90 years on Sunday when he landed in Havana. Strolling through grand cobblestoned plazas with his wife and daughters, Obama created an indelible image of the peacemaking that he and Castro are pursuing.

COWLEY COUNTY- One person died in an accident just after 11:45a.m. on Sunday in Cowley County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1999 Toyota Camry driven by Janice A. Tandarich, 79, Oologah, OK., was attempting to do a U-Turn on U.S.166 at 211th Road.

The driver made the turn in front of a semi.

The semi driver Thomas D. Walker, 50, Levaca, AR., was unable to avoid the collision with the Camry.

Tandarich was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Rentz Mortuary.

Walker was not injured.
Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Parks officials are taking steps to protect a pair of eagles and their babies who are nesting at a lake just east of Topeka.

Shawnee County workers — with the help of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism — placed two buoys this week in Lake Shawnee. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the goal is to keep boaters a safe distance from the shore near the tree where the birds are nesting.

Mike McLaughlin, of the Shawnee County Parks and Recreation Department, says people in boats and kayaks had been getting close to the birds trying to get photos. McLaughlin says the nest is still visible, especially with a good camera lens.

A parks police officer reported seeing at least two eaglets in the nest.

By Miranda Davis

KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA – Organizations this week advocated for a bill that would create a rainy-day fund to provide a financial cushion for state budget shortfalls.

The budget stabilization fund could be used during times of economic downturn, advocates said. Money from the fund, which would be created by July 1, 2017, could only be allocated with approval of the legislature or the state finance council.

The bill, which was discussed Friday in the House Appropriations Committee, does not specify where the money would come from but mandates that the budget committee determine that before the fund is created.

The Kansas Chamber United for Business, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Kansas Center for Economic Growth (KCEG) all support the creation of a rainy day fund, but KCEG doesn’t think creating the fund is feasible right now.

“It is simply not realistic, given the fiscal crisis we are facing, to divert state revenue to a rainy day fund before we address the ongoing structural imbalance with our budget and achieve the statutorily required ending balance,” said Annie McKay, KCEG executive director.

Stephen Bailey, senior associate for the Pew Trust, said the fund is considered a best practice, and if Kansas creates one, it would join 46 other states that already have such funds.

“Just as families create rules for how and when to use their savings account versus their checking account, a rainy day fund will allow Kansas to be clear, in law, about the purpose and objectives you’re trying to achieve through saving,” Bailey said.

The legislation not only would mandate the creation of the fund but would also require the budget committee review and make recommendations on the fund during the 2016 fiscal year.

Rep. Henry Helgerson, D-Wichita, supported the fund, and said it can benefit both Democrats and Republicans.

“The reason you want to have that money there is because it protects the programs from the downturns,” Helgerson said. “You don’t go immediately in and start slashing programs for the needy. You have some cushion. The other side of it is, with the conservatives or the Republicans, you don’t want to put the state in a situation where you have to raise taxes.”