A Red Flag warning has been issued for north central Kansas this afternoon. Southwest winds of 15 to 25 mph with higher gusts will help to warm temperatures into the lower to mid 70s this afternoon.
A cold front moving through the area tonight will bring more wind to the area tonight into Sunday. Winds will be from the northwest at 20 to 30 mph. The wind will let up some during the afternoon. Highs Sunday will be in the lower 60s.
Today: Sunny, with a high near 76. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to 19 to 24 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 46. Breezy, with a south wind 11 to 20 mph becoming northwest after midnight.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 63. Breezy, with a north northwest wind 19 to 24 mph decreasing to 13 to 18 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 37. North wind 5 to 9 mph becoming south in the evening.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 68. South southwest wind 8 to 16 mph becoming west in the afternoon.
Sen. Greg Smith, an Olathe Republican, gained praise from colleagues for his efforts to shepherd a juvenile justice overhaul through the Kansas Senate. CREDIT STEPHEN KORANDA / KPR
The plaudits for Sen. Greg Smith came from points across the political spectrum this week as he shepherded a juvenile justice overhaul bill through the Kansas Senate.
Smith, a Republican from Olathe, Kansas who chairs the Senate Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee, devoted a full week of hearings to Senate Bill 367, which seeks to refocus the juvenile justice system on rehabilitation rather than confinement.
He also allowed a week for stakeholders to try to hammer out their differences after the hearings. And that was after studying the issue for months between legislative sessions as co-chairman of a volunteer workgroup that included experts in corrections and the law .
Several Senate colleagues praised Smith before passing the bill 38-2 on Tuesday and sending it to the House.
“When you have major legislation, this is exactly how it should go through the process,” said Sen. Carolyn McGinn, a Republican from Sedgwick, Kansas who is considered more centrist than the conservative Smith.
Smith said he initially was skeptical of the drive to move away from housing offenders in 13 group homes known as youth residential centers that serve as lower-level confinement than the state’s two juvenile prisons in Topeka and Larned.
But the more research he read, the more convinced he became that the Kansas system was “warehousing kids instead of working to find solutions” that keep juveniles from reoffending.
“The goal of the juvenile justice system is rehabilitation by its very definition,” Smith said. “The Kansas model does nothing to exhibit that.”
Smith said the “vast majority” of Kansas kids in the residential group homes are low-level offenders, and the homes that would be closed under the bill are a mixed bag. Some are doing well at reintegrating offenders, but some are not.
The bill would free $2 million for evidence-based recidivism programs that Smith said would be more effective and could serve up to 460 kids.
“That’s almost the entire juvenile justice system,” Smith said. “Two million dollars is a great start.”
Sen. Laura Kelly, a Democrat from Topeka, also praised Smith’s work, but with one caveat: The shift to community-based rehabilitation will only work, she said, if the state commits long-term to properly funding the local recidivism-fighting programs.
“I’m really concerned about whether we’re going to do what we did when we shut down the state hospitals” in the 1990s, Kelly said. “We did not have the infrastructure in place with the community mental health centers to handle it.”
Smith said that if the bill becomes law, planning would begin in July to have community-based programs ready when the group homes close in mid-2018.
He also said his background as a former police officer and the father of a murder victim means his colleagues can trust that he would not support the bill if were too accommodating of juvenile offenders or insensitive to their victims.
“You all know my law enforcement history,” said Smith, who wrote an editorial for the Wichita Eagle outlining the bill and the process behind it. “I am not soft on crime.”
At a news conference Tuesday another Democrat, Sen. Marci Francisco of Lawrence, said she hoped Smith’s deliberate, well-researched approach to juvenile justice reform could be a model for debate on other issues, like Medicaid expansion.
“What we understood from that process was it was an effort to actually have a committee spend time hearing testimony, looking through all different proposals from various groups, vetting that and having that time,” Francisco said. “That’s what we need to address Medicaid expansion. I think that would be impossible to do on the (Senate) floor but very possible to do in committee.”
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
WASHINGTON (AP) — A government watchdog says federal regulators are failing to refer serious safety violations involving freight rail shipments of crude oil for criminal prosecution.
A report by the Department of Transportation’s inspector general also says the Federal Railroad Administration doesn’t have a complete understanding of the risks involving more than 400,000 tank cars of oil shipped across the country annually. The watchdog says the FRA only looks narrowly at operations in specific regions, not the nation as a whole.
There has been a series of fiery oil train explosions in the U.S. and Canada in recent years, including one just across the border in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, that killed 47 people.
The agency’s complex records system also makes it difficult for inspectors to access safety information on rail operations outside their region.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
Bishop Miege 57, Gardner-Edgerton 35
Bonner Springs 69, KC Turner 54
Chanute 58, Parsons 50
Coffeyville 62, Labette County 51
Glasco/Miltonvale-Southern Cloud 37, Natoma 34
Goddard-Eisenhower 69, Goddard 59
Hays 69, Great Bend 43
Highland Park 55, Emporia 41
KC Piper 49, Lansing 46
Lawrence 75, Lawrence Free State 60
Lebo 54, Rural Vista 46
Marion 68, Hutchinson Trinity 61
McPherson 67, Buhler 38
Paola 70, Louisburg 31
Pittsburg 91, Columbus 37
Rock Hills 45, Osborne 42
Royal Valley 49, Holton 40
Salina Central 55, Hutchinson 45
Salina South 71, Derby 57
St. John’s Beloit-Tipton 61, Lincoln 47
St. John’s Military 67, Heritage Christian 54
Sylvan-Lucas 57, Lakeside 44
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
BV Randolph 49, Centre 25
Derby 51, Salina South 32
Emporia 46, Highland Park 22
Glasco/Miltonvale-Southern Cloud 46, Natoma 42
Goddard-Eisenhower 53, Goddard 30
Golden Plains 51, Cheylin 25
Great Bend 62, Hays 51
Holton 53, Royal Valley 39
Horton 40, Jackson Heights 30
Hugoton 54, Lakin 33
Junction City 64, Topeka West 59, OT
Labette County 68, Coffeyville 25
Lakeside 52, Sylvan-Lucas 44
Lawrence 52, Lawrence Free State 43
Manhattan 49, Topeka Seaman 42
McPherson 48, Buhler 25
Newton 50, Maize 41
Northern Valley 61, Triplains-Brewster 45
Olathe South 40, Olathe East 29
Osborne 43, Rock Hills 20
Rural Vista 61, Lebo 44
Salina Central 59, Hutchinson 45
Shawnee Heights 67, Topeka Hayden 48
SM South 50, SM East 39
Southwestern Hts. 72, Wichita County 53
Washburn Rural 56, Topeka 43
Wheatland-Grinnell 53, Palco 10
Wichita Collegiate 47, Circle 40
Hays High headed on the road Friday night to end the regular season against their rivals in Great Bend. Both the Hays boys and girls were fighting for a second place finish the sub-state standings. For the boys it was also a chance to clinch a share of the Western Athletic Conference crown.
Girls Great Bend 62 – Hays 51
Hays scored the first six points of the game only to hit one free throw for the remainder of the first quarter. Great Bend used the scoring drought to out pace the Indians 15-1 for the final six minutes of the quarter and take 15-7 lead.
Highlights
The Indians played the best quarter of basketball over the following eight minutes outscoring Great Bend 21-11. Hays used a 12-2 run to regain the lead at 19-17. The score would be tied three more times before Hays took a 28-23 lead after an Audra Schmeidler three pointer. Great Bend pulled back within two points with a three that bounced in at the half time buzzer.
With a 28-26 half time lead, Hays built their lead up to seven at 35-28 following another three pointer from Schmeidler. Like the first quarter though, Hays High went cold for the remainder of the third. The Panthers ended the quarter on a 19-6 run grabbing a 47-41 lead.
Coach Kirk Maska
The Lady Indians got no closer that five points rest of the way and falls 62-51. Great Bend finished the game on a 8-0 run including a six for six performance from the free throw line.
Hays was led by the career high of 15 from Savannah Schneider. Audra Schmeidler added 10. Great Bend put three in double figures led by Carley Brack with 18.
Hays falls 7-13 overall and 2-6 on the season. Great Bend improves to 12-8 and 6-2. Hays will be in Ulysses on Thursday for sub-state as the three seed taking on Buhler.
Hays looked to have control early in the first quarter versus Great Bend. Hays jumped out to a 9-2 lead over the first two minutes of the game. The Indians led 11-4 when the Panthers came roaring back, finishing the first quarter on a 11-0 run taking a 15-11 lead after one quarter.
Hays trailed by four with 5:00 to go before half time then clamped down on defense. The Indians allowed just three points rest of the way and surged out to a 34-25 lead the half. Hays hit three consecutive three pointers to regain the lead and used that to spark 16-3 run to close the half.
Highlights
Hays never left any doubt of a victory in the second half outscoring the Panthers 16-6 in the third for 50-31 lead. Keith Dryden opened up the fourth quarter with a two handed dunk off a feed from Maddux Winter and Hays cruised for a 69-43 victory.
Shane Berens lead the Indians 22 points and 10 rebounds. The 22 tied his career high. Isaiah Nunnery scored 20, marking the fourth consecutive game Nunnery scored 20 or more points. Great Bend was led by Trey Ibarra with 14.
Coach Rick Keltner
With the victory Hays improves to 16-4 and 6-2 in the WAC, earning a share of the Western Athletic Conference crown. Hays shares the top spot with Liberal. Great Bend falls to 4-16 and 2-6 in conference play.
The victory also notched number 500 hundred in the career of coach Rick Keltner.
Hays will be the two seed at sub-state. The Indians will face Buhler in the first round Friday at Ulysses.
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State rallied for an 8-7 win in 10 innings over Central Missouri in the MIAA opener on Friday at Larks Park in Hays. Down 5-3 in the eighth, FHSU scored four runs in the eighth to take a 7-5 lead, but Central Missouri tied the game in the ninth. Alex Weiss provided the walk-off solo homer in the 10th to lift the Tigers to victory.
Central Missouri built a 4-0 lead by the top of the fifth, but the Tigers cut the lead in half in the bottom half of the inning on back-to-back RBI singles by Ty Redington and Caleb Cherryholmes. FHSU cut the lead down to one on a Clayton Basgall RBI single in the sixth.
After Central Missouri pushed its lead back to two at 5-3 in the seventh, the Tigers put together a four-run rally in the eighth. Joe Mapes walked and Connor Ross doubled to set up a game-tying two-RBI single by Weiss. Later in the inning, Clayton pushed the Tigers in front with a two-run homer.
Central Missouri led off the ninth with back-to-back doubles to make it 7-6, then tied the game on a sacrifice fly later in the inning. The Tigers got two aboard in the ninth, but grounded into a double play to end the threat. FHSU got out of a bases loaded jam with one out in the 10th to set up the game winning shot by Weiss leading off the bottom half of the 10th.
Weiss and Basgall finished with three RBI each and Weiss had a team-high three hits.
D.J. Carr went 6 2/3 innings in his start, allowing five runs (four earned) on 10 hits and a walk, but struck out six. Casey Sedbrook held the Mules scoreless in 1 1/3 innings of relief. Giles Fox entered in the ninth to try and earn the save, but allowed two runs. He worked out of the jam in the 10th and picked up his second win of the season in relief.
Tyler House lasted 4.2 innings in the start for Central Missouri and used three relief pitchers. Lucas Williams took the loss, allowing three runs in two innings of work.
The Tigers and Mules play the second game of the three-game weekend conference series on Saturday at 1 pm.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police officials say their department is receiving federal funds to complete its purchase of body cameras for its officers.
The federal government on Friday informed the Wichita Police Department it could spend $250,000 in matching funds for its Body Worn Camera Program.
The money will be used to purchase cameras for the department’s south and west patrols. When the program is fully implemented, 429 Wichita patrol officers will be equipped with the equipment.
Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said Friday the cameras will help boost accountability for the officers wearing them.
The matching funds were made available through a policy and implementation program that’s designed to give agencies already using body-worn cameras the money they need to expand their programs.
TOPEKA – In response to Kansas Supreme Court decisions issued on Friday, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt issued revised consent forms for use by all law enforcement agencies in Kansas involving investigations of suspected driving under the influence (DUI) offenses.
The Supreme Court this morning struck down as unconstitutional a Kansas statute that made it a crime for a driver to refuse to allow his blood alcohol content to be tested when he is suspected of DUI. As a result of the court decisions, parts of a form – called a DC-70 – that law enforcement officers are required by law to read to drivers during certain DUI investigations no longer are legally correct. Without a correct form, any DUI investigation could be legally problematic.
“We are taking swift action today to ensure Kansas law enforcement immediately has available legally correct forms to comply with the law while continuing to keep our state’s streets and highways safe,” Schmidt said. “We are making the modified forms available immediately so DUI enforcement can continue uninterrupted.”
Schmidt said his office is issuing the temporary new forms in cooperation with the Department of Revenue, which is responsible for making permanent revisions to the form that was invalidated by today’s court rulings. The Supreme Court decisions are State v. Ryce, No. 111,698, State v. Nece, No. 111,401, State v. Wilson, No. 112,009 and State v. Wycoff, No. 110,393.
A copy of the law enforcement advisory and revised consent form from the attorney general’s office is available here.
RICE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Rice County were able to make an arrest of a wanted felon on Wednesday.
The suspect was wanted on multiple felony warrants, according to a social media report.
Officers were in pursuit of the suspect when the vehicle rolled three times.
The suspect fled and had to be extracted from the woods and taken to a Game Warden’s truck and then transported to EMS.
He was arrested by the a Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Game Warden, Rice and Barton County deputies, along with the use of K9 from Barton County.
NEW YORK (AP) — The government says Zika infections have been confirmed in nine pregnant women in the United States.
All got the virus overseas. Three babies have been born, one with a brain defect.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that it is also investigating 10 additional reports of pregnant travelers with Zika.
The Zika virus — spread mainly by mosquito bites — is epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean. The virus causes mild illness or no symptoms in most people. But in Brazil, officials are investigating a possible link to babies born with brain defects and abnormally small heads.
Of the U.S. pregnancies, two ended in miscarriages and two in abortions. Two pregnancies are continuing without reported complications.
HESSTON, Kan. (AP) — A woman has been charged with providing guns to the man who killed three people and injured several others at a factory in Kansas.
U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said Friday that 28-year-old Sarah T. Hopkins is charged with one count of knowingly transferring a firearm to a convicted felon.
An affidavit says the Newton woman gave Cedric Ford two guns: a Zastava Serbia, which is an AK-47-type semi-automatic rifle, and a Glock Model 22 40-caliber handgun.
Prosecutors say Hopkins knew Ford wasn’t allowed to have a firearm because he was a convicted felon.
Police fatally shot Ford during the shooting at Excel Industries in nearby Hesston on Thursday.
Hopkins is in custody. She’s expected to make a first court appearance Monday.
A phone call to a number listed for her was not answered. Court records do not indicate Hopkins has an attorney.
HUTCHINSON -The conviction and sentence of 21-years for a Kansas man who was found guilty of attacking Reno County District Attorney Keith Schroeder during a court hearing has been upheld by the Kansas Court of Appeals
A Reno County jury convicted Michael Sherman, 27, Hutchinson, of attempted first degree murder for attacking Schroeder as he was being sentenced in another case.
The defense had sought a lesser sentence for Sherman, stating that the only reason so much time was being considered was the fact that the victim was the district attorney.
He went on to say that Sherman was simply frustrated. The judge denied the motion, noting that the attack was not just on Schroeder, but also on the court system and a place where people are supposed to feel safe.
Law enforcement near the parting lot of Excel in Hesston -Courtesy photo
HESSTON, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have identified the three people killed during a shooting at a Kansas factory.
The dead were 30-year-old Renee Benjamin, whose hometown was unavailable; 44-year-old Brian Sadowsky of Newton; and 31-year-old Josh Higbee of Buhler.
The three were killed when Cedric Ford randomly shot at people while driving and when he got to the Excel Industries plant on Thursday evening. Hesston Police Chief Doug Schroeder shot and killed Ford inside the plant.
A Red Flag warning has been issued for north central Kansas this afternoon. Southwest winds of 15 to 25 mph with higher gusts will help to warm temperatures into the lower to mid 70s this afternoon.
