OTTAWA COUNTY – A Kansas woman died in an accident just before 3 p.m. on Thursday in Ottawa County.

Saline County Sheriff’s Captain Roger Soldan said a 2003 Ford Explorer driven by Rebekah Lehman, 62, rural Solomon, was northbound in the 6300 block of Simpson Road when she lost control the vehicle.

The SUV traveled into the west ditch and rolled.

Lehman was transported to Salina Regional Health Center where she died.

She was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to Soldan.

The Kansas Highway Patrol is short in manpower statewide. In addressing this shortage, the agency is exploring ways of attracting more applicants for its trooper and other vacant positions. As an agency with a background of history and tradition, the agency has a tattoo policy, and as we move into 21st century policing, the Patrol is interested in what the public has to say or their thoughts on tattoos in law enforcement.

Currently the Patrol’s tattoo policy automatically disqualifies law enforcement officer candidates from the application process for having:

• Any offensive tattoo, scarification or brand, regardless of location on the body.
• Any tattoo, scarification or brand that would be visible when wearing an agency provided uniform or required work attire. Any such marking(s) appearing on the head, face, neck, hands, or arms (below the bottom of the bicep). (As a general rule, any marking(s) visible when wearing a short-sleeved v-neck shirt.)

There is a brief survey on Google Forms that the Patrol is asking community members and those in the public to fill out. The survey is short, but will provide the Patrol with valuable information. The survey will be open from Friday, January 8, 2016 through Friday, January 29, 2016. We value your input and look forward to hearing the responses. The Kansas Highway Patrol takes great pride in the quality of the candidates which we attract for the agency and our continued commitment is to providing SERVICE-COURTESY-PROTECTION to the citizens of the State of Kansas.

The public survey can be found by clicking here.

BY ANDY MARSO

In an announcement that was heavy on optimism but light on details, the Kansas Department for Children and Families this week introduced a mentoring program for families receiving cash assistance.

The Hope, Opportunity and Prosperity for Everyone (HOPE) program involves mentoring 1,100 people receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) payments, also known as cash assistance. It will expand in July to youths about to age out of the foster care system, DCF Secretary Phyllis Gilmore said.

Jim Echols, provider services coordinator for DCF, said the program will be based on an effort in the Kansas Department of Corrections to reduce recidivism through mentoring. The program will focus on education, responsibility and family, he said.

“Most in the public would like to see more personal responsibility on the part of those we serve,” he said.

Many people benefit from informal mentoring relationships with their parents, teachers, coaches or religious leaders, Echols said, but some people don’t have those positive connections.

Mentors will complete a training program and commit to meeting with the person they are paired with for one hour per month for one year, Echols said. Participation is voluntary for TANF recipients.

Gov. Sam Brownback said he thought mentors would help people living in poverty in ways that government programs can’t. He also said it was a rewarding opportunity for volunteers. “Until there’s a person-on-person connection, you really miss a part of what life is about and how we improve as people,” he said.
“The person who volunteers to mentor to get someone out of poverty, you will get more out of this than anyone else.”

Kansas first lady Mary Brownback did a ceremonial signing Wednesday to become the first mentor to commit to the program. She also announced she would be an “ambassador of goodwill” for DCF to encourage people to become mentors.

“It’s a little like parenting or being a friend, telling them, ‘I think you should do this.’ And I think we’re all capable of that,” she said.

The program was announced during a meeting of the governor’s Social Services Policy Council in Topeka. Theresa Freed, spokeswoman for DCF, said the department will host a daylong training session for prospective mentors on Jan. 20. DCF will attempt to partner cash assistance recipients who are interested in participating with mentors from similar backgrounds, she said.

“We want the participants to accept the advice and be willing to make a difference in the lives of their families,” she said. People interested in being mentors need to fill out a one-page application and have to pass a background check.

Freed said more specific information about the training that mentors will undergo is being finalized. In a statement released after the mentoring program was announced, Shannon Cotsoradis, president of Kansas Action for Children, called the proposal “smoke and mirrors.”

She said Kansas policymakers already had removed many families from cash assistance due to time limits, and the state wasn’t investing in existing anti-poverty programs. “In light of the fact that thousands of families have lost access to cash assistance, it’s ironic we’re talking about them needing mentors,” she said.

“What they need is access to cash assistance. They need to be able to pay for housing and diapers and child care.”

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.

BAXTER SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback is seeking federal help for an area that flooded last month in southeast Kansas.

Brownback’s office said in a news release Thursday that the governor signed a disaster declaration request that was submitted to the Small Business Administration. The request seeks helps for residents affected by last month’s flooding in Cherokee County. The flooding forced hundreds from their homes and closed several roads.

The Small Business Administration provides low-interest disaster loans to businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Lawrence High School graduate has created a nonprofit to funnel donations to Kansas schools while the state Legislature overhauls the school funding system.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that 2010 graduate Thomas Wheatley has named the charity OurKansas.

Donors can pick from four plans, ranging from $4.49 to $12.69 per month. Fifty percent of donations go toward a local school program or activity of the donor’s choice, 30 percent go toward low-income districts and 20 percent go toward community outreach.

In March, the Kansas Legislature repealed the school funding formula that had been in place since 1992. The Legislature replaced the old funding system with block grants while lawmakers work on a new formula. A special legislative committee tabled a draft report with school funding recommendations Tuesday.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Missouri woman has been sentenced to 30 years in prison in a Kansas City, Kansas, killing.

The Wyandotte County district attorney’s office says 32-year-old Natasha Tone Pa Hote, of Excelsior Springs, Missouri, was sentenced Thursday for second-degree murder.

She pleaded guilty last month to killing 60-year-old Richard Vertz Jr. in June 2013 at his home. An autopsy revealed that Vertz had been stabbed to death.