Listen to Mike Cooper interviewing Bryan Noone, from the Sleep and Neurodiagnostic Institute at HaysMed, with the topic of “Sleep” by clicking the link above and then clicking the play button
Month: April 2017
Wings ’n’ Wetlands Birding Festival next weekend with KWEC
FHSU University Relations and Marketing
The Kansas Wetlands Education Center will host its annual two-day “Wings ’n’ Wetlands Birding Festival” from April 28 to April 29 on K-156 northeast of Great Bend.
The KWEC will be in partnership with the Kansas Department of Wildlife Parks and Tourism, the Nature Conservancy, the city of Great Bend, and the Kansas Birding Festival Inc.
“The highlights are birding field trips to Cheyenne Bottoms, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge and other area birding hotspots, depending on the guide and participant desires,” said Curtis Wolf, center manager.
Field trips are conducted with expert birding guides leading participants in 12- to 15- passenger vans. Most are conducted from vehicles, but proper outdoor clothing and shoes should be worn.
“The festival is held during the peak of the spring shorebird and waterfowl migration, so there is a good chance of observing a large number of species,” said Wolf. “Typically, around 180-185 species are documented during the festival.”
Seminars, workshops, meals and other activities will also be held throughout the weekend at the festival’s headquarters located in the Best Western Angus Inn, 2920 10th St. in Great Bend.
Registration includes three guided birding fieldtrips, two dinners, one breakfast, a shorebird ID workshop and a Saturday evening program. An evening birding and Greater Prairie Chicken tours are additional events with an extra fee. Registration does not include lodging. Participants are responsible for making their own lodging arrangements.
Registration, a full schedule of events and a list of hotels in Great Bend that have special rates for festival participants can be found online at www.kansasbirdingfestival.com. To receive special rates during reservations, call and mention the Wings ’n’ Wetlands Festival.
For more information, call the KWEC at 1-877-243-9268.
ECTV Forum: Lonny Claycamp; Ellis County Relay for Life
Northwest Kansas veteran honored during Blackhawk combat flight
By LISA HERMAN
[email protected]
Launched in January of 2015 by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), over 13,000 military troops are presently deployed to Afghanistan to serve our country as part of Operation Resolute Support. Among the troops deployed are the Task Force Fighting Eagles, 2nd Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, who are based in Afghanistan after being deployed from Fort Riley, Kan. The Fighting Eagles crew completes their flight missions by utilizing the United States Army’s primary medium lift utility transport and air assault aircraft, the UH-60L Blackhawk. During the March 4, 2017 combat mission, an American Flag aboard the crew’s Blackhawk was ceremoniously flown in loving memory of a northwest Kansas veteran with ties to the community of Norton.
Following his graduation from high school, Keith Reunitz was drafted into the United States Army, where he served our country as a missile technician in Germany. After his military service, he moved with his family to Colorado, and in 1982, moved to Kansas to work on the family farm. He later began working as a photographer and darkroom technician for the Citizen Patriot newspaper in Atwood, Kan. In 1992, the newspaper came under new ownership, and was renamed the Rawlins County Square Deal. Reunitz continued as a member of the newspaper staff, working as a photographer, in the darkroom, and in circulation.
After coming under new ownership, the Rawlins County Square Deal’s pages were driven to Norton each week where they were processed, printed on the Norton Daily Telegram’s printing press, and driven back to Atwood to be placed into circulation. It was through his weekly trips to Norton that Reunitz was able to establish a great working relationship with the Telegram staff. With many similar interests and values between them, it was only a matter of time before Reunitz forged a lasting friendship with the Telegram’s darkroom technician and lead pressman, Larry Henderson. In between press runs, the two talked everything from how to process quality pictures, to family and religion, to Larry’s love of lighting and sound equipment, and beyond. Soon, Reunitz developed a similar interest in lighting and sound, and began soaking up any type of knowledge he could. Together the two friends began working as partners to enhance the lighting and sound production of school programs and events across the area, and logged countless miles of travel over the years. In memory of America’s Armed Forces, the duo oversaw the sound production at the Kansas Veterans’ Cemetery in WaKeeney, Kan. in observance of Memorial Day. Each year, they also ran the lighting and sound for the Rawlins County High School Show Choir’s Consort, and provided quality sound each summer at the Fourth of July celebration at the Atwood Lake.
As Reunitz’s admiration for the community grew stronger, his visits to Norton grew more frequent. If there was lighting or sound work to be done for a special community event or a town celebration, he would hop right in his vehicle to drive over from Ludell, Kan., where he resided, to help. During fair week, he could be found helping to ensure the singers sounded their best on gospel night, and he greatly enjoyed trips to Norton to enjoy vintage car shows and school musical performances. After a day’s work was done, there was nothing quite as great as sitting down at a table at Town and Country Kitchen to enjoy a hot cup of coffee and a home-cooked meal.
Reunitz loved history, and all that nature had to offer. He had a special connection with animals, and was very knowledgeable about his many collections of memorabilia. Two summers ago, his extensive, unique butterfly collection was admired by countless visitors at the Norton Public Library. A kind, generous, and caring person, it wasn’t long before the lives of people in the community began to be touched by Reunitz. “I try to do three good deeds each day,” he once said. For Reunitz, the goal was simple: make the world a better place. Thrifty, yet selfless, his generosity and kindness were boundless, touching the lives of countless northwest Kansans. For Reunitz, serving our Lord to the fullest meant living with little to help a fellow man during his time of need. “I can only hope to be the kind of person that Keith was to so many others,” Henderson says.
After countless good deeds performed and thousands of lives touched, Reunitz was called home on February 7, 2017. As family and friends gathered to pay their respects at Reunitz’s memorial service, the pews of the church were filled to capacity with people whose lives had been greatly touched in some way by Keith’s kindness.
With the help of a friend serving in Afghanistan, Henderson’s daughter arranged for Reunitz’s well-lived life to be commemorated in the most honorable way she knew how. Trina O’Hare, an aircraft mechanic equipped with the technical expertise and mechanical knowledge necessary to repair all areas of the UH-60 Blackhawk, was stationed in Afghanistan when she was contacted with a very special request. After her shift, O’Hare left the hangar where she was stationed to pay a visit to her good friend, Sergeant James Roache, Crew Chief for the Fighting Eagles, to see if he might be able to help assist with the request to honor Reunitz. And so, with a plan formulated, Sergeant Roache made plans to do a little something special for this veteran during the crew’s next combat flight.
On March 4, the Task Force Fighting Eagles were summoned for a combat mission, in East Afghanistan, against a group of insurgents. Flying aboard the crew’s UH-60L Blackhawk was an American Flag, ceremoniously flown in loving memory of Keith Reunitz. Gary Simmons served as the Pilot in Command of the flight, while Samuel Tardif served as Pilot. Crew Chiefs were Sean Von Holtz and Sergeant Roache.
Following the completion of their combat flight, the flight crew returned to their base, where they each added their signatures to the official certificate commemorating the successful completion of the day’s combat mission. The American Flag, certificate, and a photo of the Fighting Eagles crew were then returned home to the United States, where they arrived in Norton three weeks later.
This past Friday afternoon, members of the Norton American Legion Riders of Chapter 63 helped honor Keith Reunitz’s memory by conducting a flag folding ceremony in which Reunitz’s American Flag was folded and placed in a memorial flag case for presentation. On the afternoon of April 17th, the family of Keith Reunitz was formally presented with the American Flag and certificate during a ceremony held in Atwood. Let all who look upon this flag, the certificate reads, see it as a symbol of freedom, liberty, and reminder of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.
“We have a mission now,” Keith’s brother, Gordon Reunitz, said. “To follow in Keith’s footsteps.” Reunitz will be remembered as a man who not only served our great country, but who also served our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to the fullest for all the days of his life. For Reunitz, life wasn’t what you take when you leave this world behind you; it was what you leave behind you when you go. What he leaves behind, for all those who were blessed to know and love him, is a legacy of dedicated service to his country and his fellow man.
This story was originally published in the Norton Telegram. Republished with permission.
KDADS awarded $3.1 M grant for prevention, treatment of opioid abuse
KDADS
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) has been awarded $3,114,402 for the first year of a two-year grant by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the prevention and treatment of opioid abuse in Kansas.
“Opioid addiction and abuse is a growing problem in Kansas, as it is in the rest of the country,” KDADS Secretary Tim Keck said. “Kansas is the 16th highest opioid prescribing state in the country. We are working to address this critical public health issue before it gets any worse.”
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reports that, between 2013 and 2015, Kansas’ prescription opioid overdose death rate increased by 28 percent and heroin deaths increased by 71 percent.
Increases in opioid-related drug misuse and deaths parallel the increase in prescription opioid availability. According to data from Kansas Tracking and Reporting of Controlled Substances (KTRACS), the Kansas prescription drug monitoring program, there were more than 4.2 million Schedule II-IV prescriptions and more than 256 million pills dispensed in Kansas in 2014. Furthermore, more than 100,000 Kansas patients had overlapping prescriptions for opioids and benzodiazepines and more than 75,000 patients had more than 90 morphine-milligram equivalent per day of opioid prescriptions in 2014.
The grant funding, announced today by HHS Secretary Tom Price, is part of the first of two rounds provided for in the 21st Century Cures Act. It is being made available through the State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis Grants administered by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
KDADS’ Behavioral Health Commission will implement, oversee and monitor grant activities; 80 percent of the grant funding will be used to pay for treatment and recovery activities, with the remainder going to prevention, early intervention and public education.
The agency plans to issue an RFP to identify prospective providers to manage all elements of the project within four targeted regions, West, Southeast, Northeast and Southcentral (Wichita area), including quality assurance and timely care, and to communicate progress to the state. In addition, a special project under the grant will focus on methadone treatment clinics. KDADS licenses and regulates nine methadone clinics in five counties that treat individuals for heroin and other opioid addictions.
Free Community Meal offered at Breathe Coffehouse
Breathe Coffeehouse, 703 Main St., in cooperation with local volunteers are offering a free community meal from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
No reservations are required and diners do not need to meet any income guidelines. Patrick McGinnis, Breathe owner, said the program is looking for people who may have food needs or be in need of community interaction.
Meals will be served on the second and fourth Sundays of the month.
Those wishing to volunteer or donate food can email Jessica Johnson at [email protected] or call the coffeehouse at 785-650-3904.
Extension tractor safety course will be next month in Hill City
K-State Research and Extension will be offering a Hazardous Occupation Safety Training (HOSTA) or Tractor and Farm Safety Course. This will be held May 6th in the 4-H Building at the Graham County Fairgrounds in Hill City, Kansas. Class will start at 8:00 a.m. and conclude at 5:00 p.m.
This is a very basic course that will cover farm and machinery safety. It is required by the United States Department of Labor to allow youth 14-15 years of age the opportunity to work on farms, for pay, for someone other than their parents. There are several instances where youth may be required to take the training even though they are working on the “family farm.” If the parent is a partner or member of a farm corporation or if the youth is legally employed by grandparents, the law requires the youth to participate in the tractor safety course. Employers who plan to hire youth must realize that they cannot hire youth under 16 years of age without those youth taking this safety course.
A fee of $15 is due at the time of the training. This includes refreshments, lunch and check-out of the student manual. If you would like to purchase the H.O.S.T.A. Student Manual that will be an additional $15 for a total of $30 for the training and manual.
If you are going to work for someone, if you are a parent of a working child, or an employer, contact your county’s Extension Office as soon as possible to get registered and pick up the H.O.S.T.A Student Manual. Ellis County youth interested should call 785-628-9430 or stop by the Ellis County Extension Office at 601 Main Street in Hays.
Partly cloudy, cool Saturday
Today
Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 58. North northeast wind 8 to 11 mph.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with a low around 35. North northeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light and variable after midnight.
Sunday
Sunny, with a high near 70. Breezy, with a south wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 50. Breezy, with a south wind 16 to 22 mph.
Monday
Sunny, with a high near 81. Breezy, with a south wind 13 to 20 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 32 mph.
Monday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 50.
Tuesday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 72.
Tuesday Night
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45.
Wednesday
A 20 percent chance of showers after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 66.
Report: Barriers To Health Care For Area Immigrants, Refugees
By JIM MCLEAN
CREDIT CREATIVE COMMONS-PIXABAY
Immigrants — both legal and undocumented — living in the metropolitan Kansas City area face unique barriers to health care, according to a report released this month by the REACH Healthcare Foundation.
Based on information gleaned from surveys and discussions facilitated by social service agencies, the report concludes that immigrants and refugees, including many from Somalia and the Chin region of Burma, must overcome cultural, financial and administrative obstacles to access health care services — even, in some cases, those provided by clinics established to serve the uninsured.
Brenda Sharpe, president and CEO of the foundation, said the report will help it determine priority needs as it works to increase access to health care for poor and underserved people in its six-county service area, which in addition to the KC metro area includes a rural county in southeast Kansas.
Undocumented immigrants are a particular focus of the report, because they are not eligible for subsidized coverage under the Affordable Care Act or Medicaid, she said.
“We needed to learn more about the barriers to health care for these groups and get their perspectives on what would help them navigate health care systems,” she said.
“Fear and mistrust” are significant barriers among undocumented immigrants, according to the report.
Other barriers cited in the report include:
- A lack of quality interpreters at hospitals, clinics and private physician practices to help immigrants and refugees navigate what they view as an overly complicated health care system.
- Health care workers who lack an understanding of the immigration system and how it can “re-traumatize immigrants” escaping war, torture and other forms of violence.
- Limited access to specialists and behavioral health services.
Based on the findings, organizations that serve the immigrant and refugee communities provided the foundation with recommendations that ranged from funding programs that educate health consumers and providers to establishing a self-insurance plan for undocumented immigrants. The recommendations will help guide the foundation’s board in setting funding priorities, Sharpe said.
The foundation was established in 2003 with proceeds from the sale of Health Midwest. It is among the organizations that provide funding to KCUR for the Kansas News Service.
Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of kcur.org, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics in Kansas. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks.
Story Walk encourages reading, fitness among children
By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Children at Lincoln Elementary School laughed and squealed with delight as they ran between story boards Thursday morning.
The outdoor Story Walk program is a coordinated by Ellis County Extension. It originated with a librarian in Vermont.
“So what we are trying to do is get kids interested in literacy and reading and enjoying physical activity at the same time,” Linda Beech, Extension agent, said.
Lincoln Principal Elaine Rohleder said the Story Walk is another way to engage students in reading.
“This provides them with another activity to do whether at recess or classroom to show them just how fun reading can be,” she said. “You don’t just have to read in the classroom. You can read on the playground. You can read anywhere you want to. We just hope kids will get excited about this book.”
The school hopes to make the Story Walk a monthly activity next school year.
Thursday’s book was “We’re Making Breakfast for Mother.” The children walk or run between 17 different storyboards reading the pages of the book.
Ellis County Extension has 12 books, which it shares with three other Extension agents who serve seven counties.
The Story Walk books are not only available to schools, but use in the public. A Story Walk was recently used in Hays for a Walk Kansas event, and Beech will be using the same story for another in two weeks at the Ellis Recreation Center as part of its “Be a Book Cook” program. Community groups and schools can request the use of the books through the Extension office.
“Kids love stories,” Beech said. “I love stories. I love to read stories to the kids. I love to talk to them about the stories, and we can spin off and talk about other things.”
Several of the books have nutritional themes. “Breakfast with Mother” has a QR code on the last board that allows families to download healthy recipes.
Other book themes include germs and building self-esteem, and a new book that Extension will be seeking includes money concepts.
Video: Couple allegedly steal baby ferret from Kansas pet store
SEDGWICK COUNTY-A Kansas pet store is asking the public for help to identify two suspects who allegedly took a ferret from the store.
Petland at 11333 East Kellogg Drive in Wichita posted a video of the alleged theft on Friday and asked for help to identify them.
Gallo, Chirinos each homer twice as Rangers top Royals
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Joey Gallo and Robinson Chirinos each homered twice to back a season-high eight innings from Cole Hamels and the Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals 6-2 on Friday night.
Gallo’s first homer was a tiebreaking two-run shot in the second inning on a 3-0 pitch — a liner that matched teammate Carlos Gomez for the longest in the majors this season at 462 feet and was the hardest with an exit velocity of 116 mph, according to MLB’s statcast.
All four homers came against Nate Karns (0-1), facing his hometown team for the fourth time. The right-hander allowed six runs in 4 2/3 innings, losing for the first time since last June in Texas when he was with Seattle.
Hamels (1-0) retired 12 straight from the first to fifth innings. He threw a season-high 107 pitches, allowing three hits and one run with three strikeouts.
Kansas man used girl’s name on Playstation to collect child porn
WICHITA – A Kansas man pleaded guilty Friday to using a PlayStation video game console to obtain child pornography, according to U.S. Attorney Tom Beall.
Michael L. Stratton, 30, Burlington, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography. In his plea, he admitted using a PlayStation 3 to chat about child pornography and trade child pornography.
According to court documents, Sony monitors user activities on the PlayStation Network. The network allows account holders to communicate in a way similar to text and emails. A user complained to Sony about Stratton, who was sending messages using the name Susan_14. Sony sent reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which identified child pornography that Stratton had downloaded. Sony also determined that Stratton had sent messages to other users including: “u want to see naked kids tonight,” and “Friend Request. Do you have child porn?”
Sentencing is set for Aug. 7.