ATCHISON -A faculty member at Benedictine College in Atchison has been confirmed to have an active case of Tuberculosis, according to a media release.

The Kansas Health Department informed the college of the confirmation on Monday. Spokesman Steve Johnson said after the school was notified a notice was sent out to inform the entire campus.

Johnson said the faculty member who contracted TB only taught one class and had only 23 students who could have been exposed. He said none of the students have reported any symptoms.

“It’s very rare for one person to become infected from another person,” Johnson said. “They’re very confident that this is not a problem.”

The State Health Dept. is expected to be on campus to draw blood and take it to be sampled.

The faculty member has been gone from the school since Feb. 12 and is receiving treatment. Health officials reported about 50 University of Kansas students were screened for tuberculosis after a case was confirmed there this month.

BOURBON COUNTY – A Kansas man died in an accident just before 8 a.m. on Wednesday in Bourbon County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Chevy Tahoe driven by Alfred Rose, 64, Arcadia, was southbound on 250th Street five miles southeast of Fort Scott,

The vehicle traveled into the west ditch. The driver overcorrected and the vehicle overturned several times. Rose was ejected.

He was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Caney Funeral Home.

A passenger in the Tahoe Ty Sells, 26, Arcadia, was also possibly injured. The KHP did not indicate where he was treated.

Rose and Sells were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.

By Miranda Davis

KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA – The Senate voted Tuesday to approve legislation doubling the capacity of microbreweries and granting permission to brew and distribute hard cider.

The measures were in separate bills, and the Senate passed both unanimously. The bills now go to the House.

Senate Bill 326 would double the current legal maximum capacity of microbreweries from 30,000 barrels to 60,000 per year.

“We do have some microbreweries in Kansas bumping up against the limit,” Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, said.

The Kansas Craft Brewers Guild (KCBG) said the request to move to 60,000 barrels isn’t random, and it’s the division between microbreweries and large breweries set by the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. One barrel of beer is equal to about 31 gallons.

“We believe these adjustments will only enhance the business climate of Kansas and are of no harm to the state or its citizens,” Guild spokesman Philip Bradley said.

Breweries in Kansas support the bill, and the KCBG supports the measure to allow for more production of beer. There are currently 33 microbrewery licenses issued in Kansas.

“We need this law change to remain strong and competitive with breweries in other states and continue our pattern of revenue growth and job creation in Kansas,” said Jeff Gill, founder of Tallgrass Brewing Company in Manhattan.

Senate Bill 277 would allow microbreweries to produce up to 100,000 gallons of hard cider annually. Under current Kansas law, microbreweries can only produce beer. Beer is produced from brewing and fermenting malted barley while cider is made from fermenting juice.

The bill would require that hard cider contain less than 8.5 percent alcohol by volume and less than 6.4 grams per liter of carbonation.

The bill would also mandate that 30 percent of fruit used in hard cider production be from Kansas, unless that amount is lowered by the Kansas Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. It would also change the legal definition of wine to include hard cider.

Holland said that the legislation could be beneficial for women particularly, whom he said like sweeter drinks.

“I think some gentlemen like sweet, too. This bill will help men and women,” Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, D-Wichita, said.

SALINA – One person has died in a fire at mobile home park in Salina.

Just before 11:45 a.m., fire crews responded to the blaze in the 900 Block of North 13th Street.

Two mobile homes were fully engulfed in flames.

Firefighters located a 3-year-old boy in one home, according to Salina Fire Marshal Roger Williams.

The child was transported to Salina Regional Health Center where he died a short time later.

A 3-month-old infant was transported to Wichita by ambulance for treatment of smoke inhalation.

The children’s grandmother has been flown to Wichita for treatment of second and possible third degree burns over 40% of her body and a 5-year- old girl was also treated for minor injuries, according to Williams.

Williams said the mobile home was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived. That home was destroyed. The fire quickly spread to a second mobile, which was severely damaged.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known

JOSH LEDERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says he’s looking for a Supreme Court nominee with a sterling record, a deep respect for the judiciary’s role and an understanding of how the law affects real people.

Obama is offering his most expansive description of the qualities he’s seeking in a replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

He writes on the legal blog SCOTUSblog that he’s looking for someone who approaches decisions with no “particular ideology or agenda.” But Obama says he’s also seeking someone guided by his or her “perspective, ethics and judgment.”

The president is using the blog post to push back on Republicans and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who are refusing to hold hearings or permit a vote.

Obama says senators have a “constitutional responsibility” to consider his nominee.