TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A state official says Kansas should no longer be considered a “low-debt” state.
Kansas Development Finance Authority Senior Vice President Jim MacMurray made the comment Thursday in presenting a report on state debt to the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
The report from the bond-issuing agency showed that since July 2010, the amount of debt to be paid off with state tax dollars has increased 40 percent to nearly $4.5 billion.
A May 2016 report by the credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service said Kansas has tax-supported debt of $1,534 per person and ranks 17th in the nation.
Kansas issued $1 billion in bonds in 2015 to bolster its public pension system and has issued nearly $1.2 billion in bonds for highway projects since July 2010.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former principal of the year from northern Kansas City has been charged with having sex with a high school cheerleader nearly two decades ago.
The Kansas City Star reports that 48-year-old Matthew Lindsey, of Oak Grove, was charged Wednesday with two statutory rape counts. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.
A North Kansas City School District spokeswoman says Lindsey has been placed on administrative leave from his job as principal of Winnetonka High School.
Authorities allege the sexual encounters began in October 1997 when the cheerleader was 16. At the time, Lindsey was coaching basketball at Richmond High School, located about 35 miles east of Kansas City.
Lindsey won the top principal honor in 2015 from the Greater Kansas City Missouri Principals Association.
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KANSAS CITY -A Kansas City area High school principal was arrested Wednesday after officials in Ray County, Missouri charged him with alleged sex crimes involving a teen from almost 20 years ago, according to the North Kansas City School District.
The Winnetonka school district reported via social medial “We were made aware of charges filed against Mr. Matt Lindsey relating to actions that allegedly occurred in 1997 or 1998, prior to his employment with North Kansas City Schools. He has been placed on administrative leave and will not be returning to campus at this time.
Lindsey was jailed on $50,000 cash only bond with special conditions.
In 2015, Lindsey was voted the High School Principal of the Year by the Greater Kansas City Missouri Principals Association, according the school district.
The Richmond R-XVI School District, where Lindsey worked when the alleged crime occurred issued a statement.
“Matt Lindsey was employed in the Richmond R-XVI School District from 1995-1996 to 1999-2000. He was a physical education teacher and head boys basketball coach during the 1995-1996 and 1996-1997 school years and was Assistant Principal / Athletic Director at Richmond High School during the 1997-1998, 1998-1999, and 1999-2000 school years.
The district has and will continue to cooperate with the investigation into this matter.”
STAFFORD COUNTY – Two people were injured in an accident just before 9:30p.m. on Thursday in Stafford County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Freightliner semi driven by Heert P. Dewindt, Pehlan, CA., 2 was eastbound on SW 30th Avenue at U.S. 50 four miles west of U.S. 281.
The truck collided with a 2017 Freightliner semi driven by Kevin John Peters, 42, Covington, GA., as it was making u-turn at SW 30th Avenue.
Dewindt and Peters were transported to the hospital in Stafford.
Peters was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas public pension system’s top administrator says budget-balancing proposals from Republican Gov. Sam Brownback would raise its long-term costs by $6.5 billion.
Executive Director Alan Conroy testified Thursday before the Senate Ways and Means Committee about how Brownback’s proposals would affect the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System and efforts to close a long-term funding gap for the system.
Brownback is proposing to freeze the state’s annual contributions to public pensions for three years instead of increasing them as planned. The savings would help the state close projected budget shortfalls totaling $1.1 billion through June 2019.
Conroy said Kansas would take 10 years longer to close its pension funding gap with higher costs in future years.
Brownback said if lawmakers don’t like the pension measures, they should offer budget-balancing alternatives.
HAYS, Kan. – The 18th-ranked Fort Hays State wrestling team picked up its first dual win of the season on Thursday by winning the final three matches to force a 19-19 tie with Colorado School of Mines. The NCAA tiebreaker protocol was used and gave the Tigers the victory. Since FHSU had more 6-point wins in the match after the teams tied 5-5 in the matches won for the first criteria, the Tigers won on the second criteria. With the win the Tigers now sit at 1-2 overall on the season, while the Orediggers moved to 2-2.
The Orediggers took an early 3-0 lead in a very close match in the 125-pound bout. It was a back-and-forth battle between Conrad Cole and Matthew Lavengood of CSM, a battle that Cole tied late in the third with an escape. Unfortunately, a riding time point was awarded to Lavengood, who walked away with the 8-7 decision.
Noah Au-Yeung extended the Oredigger lead to 8-0 in the ensuing 133-pound match after a technical fall, but the Tigers rebounded in the 141-pound bout cutting the lead to 8-3. Seventh-ranked Brandon Ball got the Tigers on the board as he handled Lukas Erickson with a 6-0 decision for his 20th victory of the season.
Colorado Mines extended its lead to eight once again after the No. 9 ranked wrestler in the nation, Jacob Gerken, avoided an upset with a tight 6-5 victory over Jacob Kay in the 149-pound bout. Then in the 157-pound bout, Greg Tooley picked up his tenth win of the season and trimmed the Oredigger lead back to five, 11-6, after an 8-4 decision over Ethan Ruby.
After a second technical fall for the Orediggers in the 165-pound bout and a decision in the 174-pound bout, the Tigers saw themselves trailing 19-6 with just three matches remaining. Rakim Dean did his part to keep the Tigers in the dual, cutting the lead to 19-9 with a 6-1 decision over Colorado Mines’ Benjamin Krantz at 184 pounds.
With the Tigers needing at least four points to stay, Austin Brandt stepped up for FHSU at 197 pounds. The freshman got the better of Anthony Spallino by 10 points (12-2), earning the major decision and cutting the lead to six with one match remaining.
With the Tigers needing a fall in the final match, they had the right man for the job in the likes of redshirt-freshman Christian Lance, the No. 9 ranked wrestler at 285 pounds. With 25 seconds remaining in the match and Lance up big, Jake Feldman of Colorado Mines was called for his fifth stall of the match. That disqualified Feldman and gave Lance a fall, producing just what the Tigers needed.
Oddly enough, that fall would prove to be the match decider in the tiebreaking protocol. Both teams won five matches in the dual, so the next criteria is which team has more 6-point wins in the match. FHSU had the only 6-point win, produced on the odd finish to the dual. A team point was added for FHSU, making the final score 20-19.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — A Reno County family is suing their neighbors, contending that a March 2015 wildfire contributed to a family member’s death.
Cynthia Stohr and her children filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Peter and Shawnee Scharer and a caretaker on their property, David Farris.
The Stohrs claim 60-year-old Ernest Stohr, who was confined to a wheelchair, died from complications of smoke inhalation he suffered in the March 16 fire.
The lawsuit contends Farris started a fire on the Scharer property even though the county was under a warning for extreme fire danger.
The family contends Farris didn’t follow county rules on rural fires and the Scharers were negligent in hiring and supervising Farris.
A gift valued at more than $1 million was announced today in a news conference at Fort Hays State University.
The majority of the gift, $666,000, will fund scholarships for women in four areas of study at the university. The remainder of the gift is in oil leases.
Dr. Cynthia Krueger, a retired professor of sociology, attended Fort Hays State early in her career in education, and her gift is an expression of her desire to lessen the financial burden on students. Financial need, based on an applicant’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is one of the criteria for receiving aid.
“If there is ever an example of somebody paying it forward, scholarship gifts are it,” said Dr. Andy Tompkins, interim president of Fort Hays State, “and this is one of those great gifts that help us help students for years and years to come.”
He continued, “I think it is a wonderful thing, not only a tribute to our students now and in the future, but also to Dr. Krueger for wanting to make sure she made a difference for our students for years to come.”
Jason Williby, president and CEO of the FHSU Foundation, explained that the gift will provide a minimum of $24,000 a year for scholarships, which will be divided into thirds: one for the Department of Allied Health, one for the Department of Music and Theatre, and another third to be divided between the departments of Sociology and Social Work.
Krueger, who died in 2014, grew up near Natoma. She received her doctorate in sociology from Washington University, St. Louis, and went on to become a professor at Brooklyn College in New York and San Fernando Valley State College in California before returning home to Kansas, where she retired from Washburn University.
“She brought her expertise into the study of areas as varied as radical politics on the one hand and nursing education on the other,” said Dr. Paul Faber, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at FHSU.
“Her life can serve as a guide for us and our students – her preparation through education, her use of her talents to serve others wherever that opportunity arose, her generosity,” said Faber.
Krueger’s gift will support young women in financial need who have declared a major in either sociology, social work, music and theatre, or allied health. The Dr. Cynthia S. Krueger Scholarship gives first preference to women graduating from high schools in Osborne, Russell, Rooks and Ellsworth counties as well as Highland Park High School in Topeka.
The scholarship is renewable for up to seven additional semesters as long as the requirements are met, which include maintaining at least a 2.5 GPA.
“It is only through the support of our generous alumni and friends that our students are able to pursue their academic goals and our programs are able to stay abreast of the latest advances in our disciplines,” said Dr. Jeff Briggs, dean of the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences.
“These scholarships will make it possible for deserving students to realize their potential and pursue the career of their dreams,” he said. “These scholarships enhance access to education for Kansans and provide a wonderful opportunity to improve the educational experience of Fort Hays State University students and to enhance the quality of life profile of Kansas communities.”
In addition to the requirement for financial need and others, the Krueger Scholarship has an additional requirement that represents a specialty of Dr. Krueger’s academic career. Within two semesters of receiving the scholarship, a recipient must take the Introduction to Addiction class, or an approved equivalent. Her aim was that young women learn to recognize the symptoms of addiction and be aware of the dangers.
Dr. Tompkins also pointed out the benefit of estate gifts such at Dr. Krueger’s. “By using her estate plan, Dr. Krueger was able to choose who, what, when and how her money was going to be used after her death,” he said. “I hope this occasion will help others see the benefit of estate planning and consider including Fort Hays State University in their estate plans.”
Williby said that Dr. Krueger’s gift is a great example of how someone can support the university’s Journey Campaign, which encourages donors to support the areas and activities of Fort Hays State that mean the most to them. Journey kicked off in the fall of 2016 with the goal of reaching $100 million over the next several years.
Gifts come in many forms, from cash and stock to real estate and collections. Dr. Krueger chose to give the university her oil interest, which will provide scholarships for students in perpetuity.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former bank teller has been convicted of embezzling about $700,000 from a Burlington bank.
U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said in a news release Thursday that 48-year-old Denise Christy was convicted of embezzlement and six counts each of making false bank entries, filing false tax returns and money laundering.
Prosecutors say one of Christy’s duties at the Burlington branch of Central National Bank was to sell cash in the bank’s vault to the Federal Reserve Bank. In May 2014, auditors found $700,000 was missing from the vault. Christy falsely said the money had been shipped to the Federal Reserve.
Christy falsified bank records to cover up the embezzlement and spent more than $77,000 in embezzled funds to pay off loans from the Farmers State Bank in Aliceville.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Two men have admitted to robbing an 82-year-old Catholic priest, a pastor and another person in Kansas City, Kansas.
The Wyandotte County prosecutor’s office says 19-year-old Ladarious Racquez Barkers and 20-year-old Marvin Antonio Moore pleaded guilty Tuesday to three aggravated robbery counts. The charges stem from robberies that occurred in August and October.
The victims included the Rev. Thomas Kearns, who was struck in the face and knocked unconscious during the assault outside the Blessed Sacrament Church. His car and wallet were stolen. Kearns underwent surgery to repair broken facial bones.
The two men also robbed the Rev. Louis Sipple, of Timothy Baptist Church, before they were arrested after an hours-long standoff. Sipple told WDAF-TV earlier that “with God’s help, you can forgive.”
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Governor Sam Brownback says a new mural will be added to the third floor of the Kansas Capitol celebrating the historic 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned segregated education.
Brownback unveiled a mockup of the mural Thursday at the state’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. Artist Michael Young will paint the mural. It has a group of students of different races with their teacher in the foreground and the building in the background.
I’m proud that this beautiful mural, recognizing the Brown v. Board of Education decision, will soon be a part of our State Capitol. #kslegpic.twitter.com/sicvqdjJvJ
Raytown School District Assistant Superintendent Anthony Moore spoke on the importance of unity at the MLK Jr. Day celebration and invoked the words of leaders, including President Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Moore says Americans have to continue striving for King’s dream.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A 19-year-old man was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a teenager at Fort Riley.
Federal prosecutors say Juwaun Jackson was sentenced Thursday in the September 2015 death of 16-year-old Kenyon Givens Jr.
Jackson and Givens both lived at Fort Riley at the time of the shooting.
When military police arrived, Jackson reported an unknown, masked intruder forced his way into the home and shot Givens, delaying paramedics from treating Givens until police searched for an intruder.
Investigators eventually learned Jackson was playing with a loaded .22 caliber handgun and spun the chamber while holding the trigger. A bullet struck Givens in the chest.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A state official says Kansas should no longer be considered a “low-debt” state.
