This past weekend we observed Memorial Day, a day to pay our respects to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defending the freedom we enjoy every day. It is a humbling experience to attend the service at the Agra Cemetery as they read the names of those who served, the 21-gun salute by members of the Sons of the American Legion and the waving of the American flags as they line the driveway. It is a scene repeated all over our nation and all of us should take time to pause and reflect on those men and women who gave their lives for a grateful nation.

The wrap-up session continues with at least a little progress made this past week. The House passed a K-12 school finance formula. HB 2410 reflects several months of extensive hearings and work by the K-12 Education Budget Committee chaired by Representative Larry Campbell of Olathe.

Fourteen amendments were offered with the following six amendments adopted: 1) Technical amendments. 2) Deleted the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy mandate for students with an autism spectrum disorder. 3) Eliminated the Local Excellence Budget (LEB) and replaced with the former Cost of Living weighting. Further, directed $2.6 million for the Local Excellence State Aid to be shifted to the newly established School District Extraordinary Declining Enrollment Fund, which would be disbursed by the State Board of education. Districts that can show extraordinary declining enrollment since School Year (SY) 2014-15 could apply. 4) Removed references to the “Local Foundation Budget” and replaced with “Local Option Budget.” 5) Uses the current year headcount for All-Day Kindergarten Enrollment for SY 17-18. 6) Returned to the former method on military count dates.

After just over 4 ½ hours of debate, the House advanced the bill to Final Action. On Thursday, the House approved the bill with a vote of 84 to 39. I voted for the measure. The bill now awaits Senate action.

HB 2410 provides the following SGF funding: A) FY 18–$1.984 billion SGF for State Foundation Aid; $480.9 million for Supplemental General State Aid; $436 million for Special Ed Aid; $800K Mentor Teacher Program; $1.7 million for Professional Development; and $2.0 million for At-Risk Preschool. Per pupil base state aid would be increased from $3,852 to $4,006. A total of $180 million was added for this fiscal year. B) FY 19—$2.039 billion SGF for State Foundation Aid; $486.1 million for Supplemental General State Aid; $448 million for Special Ed Aid (Committee added $12 million above FY 18 level); $800K for Mentor Teacher Program; $1.7 million for Professional Development; and $2.0 million for At-Risk Preschool. Per pupil base state aid would be increased from $4,006 to $4,218. A total of $280 million was added for this fiscal year, for a total of $460 over the next two fiscal years.

The Senate Select Committee on Education Finance has met this past week and has finalized a school finance bill. The contents of SB 251 have been placed into Sub. for HB 2186. The bill awaits action by the Senate. KLRD has updated the Supplemental Notes on all school finance measures to reflect the most current action taken, which can be found at kslegislature.org. You can also find more details on the Kansas Department of Education website: ksde.org.

At the time this is being written, the discussions are continuing on a tax plan. Members have been told by leadership to expect to remain in Topeka every day until the tax and budget issues are resolved. The process is not pretty and simple, and many of us believe our founders wanted the legislative process to be deliberate, but after more than 100 days it is time to finish our work this year and prepare for the 2018 session.

Please continue to reach out to me with your thoughts and concerns. You can email: [email protected] and my personal cell number is (785) 302-8416.

It is my honor to serve as your representative.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Are tornadoes becoming more frequent and more severe?

“Depends on who you ask,” according to Dr. Grady Dixon, chair and associate professor of Geosciences at Fort Hays State University. “People’s perceptions run wild.”

“People’s perceptions are that tornadoes are becoming less intense or less frequent in certain places in the country if they haven’t had one in the last 10 years. And then other places that have had a couple of them in memorable fashion think they’re becoming more frequent,” Dixon said.

Actual research is pointing to changes in the character of tornadoes.

“In a somewhat consistent pattern, the research is starting to show that we’re not getting more, we’re not getting fewer. However, the character is changing. We tend to be getting fewer days with tornadoes but the days we have seem to be more productive,” Dixon explained. “I tend to think that’s worse because more productive days means you’re probably going to have more outbreaks, you’re probably going to expose more populated areas. This seems to be the trend from the best research out there now.”

Dixon said it’s not clear if the more productive tornado days are associated with climate change. “We don’t have an answer yet.”

“We’re better at detecting and reporting tornadoes. We’re better at alerting about them. We can detect tornadoes now that before we never knew were occurring and we didn’t have the resources to go out and look for evidence of them. It’s all improving,” he pointed out.

“The research on climate change seems to be suggesting it would cause what we’re seeing, fewer events that tend to be more prolific, but that’s not 100 percent.

“We think what will probably happen is places that did not used to see tornadoes will start seeing them more frequently. I don’t expect places like Kansas will have a significant change over the next several years,” Dixon said.

Tornadoes have occurred in every state, including Alaska and Hawaii, and have occurred in every month.

Dixon is a physical geographer with expertise in meteorology and climatology.

Click here to see Dixon’s entire interview with Mike Cooper and Community Connection.

By DENA WEIGEL BELL
WaKeeney Travel Blog

The OK Kids Day (Outdoor Kansas Kids Day) Sat., June 10, is chock full of great activities meant to entertain and educate kids about all the great things to be experienced at Cedar Bluff State Park.

The day starts at 9 a.m. with a fishing derby in Pa’s Pond, where kids can enjoy the thrill of catching the “big one” in the stocked pond. Afterwards, there’ll be a free hot dog feed, a presentation by representatives from the Sternberg Museum of Natural History, an “Amazing Race” competition the state park way, a jet ski simulator and laser hunt, and minnow catching for the younger kids.

The free event lasts until 4 p.m. and families are invited to join in with the kids.

There will be free vehicle entry to the park all day.

Friend,

Wishing you all a relaxing weekend as we observe Memorial Day. This year, Laina and I say a prayer of gratitude for the many individuals who have laid down their lives for our country, and the many families who have lost loved ones. Today and every day, we must remember the cost of freedom, and thank those who continue to serve.

Additionally, this week, I spoke from the floor about the military caregiver. Please see that speech below, and learn about ways to help our military caregivers, and the hidden heroes through the Elizabeth Dole Foundation Caring For Military Families.

See below for more of what we’ve been up to this week, and as always, please never hesitate to contact me and my office about ways we can help you, or questions or concerns you may have.

See the above video for my bipartisan message on the Global Week of Action on Hunger and Famine with my friend, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester.

In the House
Meeting with Ag Secretary and USTR

This week’s committee roundtable was a great opportunity to hear directly from the Administration about their trade policy priorities, including enforcement of existing agreements.

In addition to enforcement, it is critical to Kansas farmers and ranchers that the Administration begins to fulfill it’s promise of bilateral market access in key countries like Japan.

Expanding trade opportunities is key to reviving Kansas’ rural economy. As Secretary Perdue said, ‘A healthy U.S. economy is dependent upon Agriculture. A healthy ag economy is dependent upon trade.’

These two individuals are key players in crafting that trade policy. That is why it was an honor to have them in front of the House Ag Committee.

Statement on the President’s Budget

While there are several provisions with which I disagree, I appreciate the President laying out a specific and bold budget proposal that balances within 10 years, and recognizes the fiscal challenges facing our country.

The proposed cuts to ag programs, which make up only 0.26% of the entire federal budget, are particularly concerning to me. In today’s depressed agricultural economy, supporting our farmers and ranchers is a must. Crop insurance costs on average $28 per American each year, and helps ensure an affordable, reliable food source – something we can’t take for granted.

I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to prepare a final budget.

Visiting Tornado Damage in Barton Co.

The scene of tornado damage (pictured below) was all too familiar to my eyes as I visited impacted areas.

Having raced over to Hoisington shortly after its devastating destruction in 2001, and having witnessed firsthand a tornado go through our hunting cabin and surrounding neighbors (the same tornado that destroyed Greensburg), this scene of leafless trees and flattened houses brought back to reality how helpless we all are in the face of Mother Nature.

According to Barton County Sheriff Bellendir, who kept me updated, some 15 houses were left with only a foundation. One minor injury was treated on the scene.

Since the tornado, we’ve had several early evening storms, some of which contained 60 -70 mile an hour winds, hail, and sheets of ice like I’ve never seen before.

As a result of the weather, it would appear that some people will have excellent wheat crops this year, and others will have none.

As we have now suffered over the past 2 months with a 600,000-acre prairie fire, a 15-20″ snow in May, tornadoes and hail, there is no wonder why Kansas possess toughness and grit. Laina and I pray for all impacted, and will do everything we can to help.

MANHATTAN – A member of the Hays FFA Chapter is among the 14 candidates running for a state officer position to represent more than 9,000 Kansas FFA members for the 2017-2018 term. Marie Reveles will complete an intense process of interviews, tests and public speaking demonstrations this week as part of the 89th Kansas FFA State Convention on the Kansas State University campus.

An appointed nominating committee of former state officers and agricultural education instructors interviews the candidates. On Friday, June 2, the committee will submit its nomination of 10 candidates to the state convention delegates, which consists of two members from each of the 186 chapters in the state. After hearing the candidates present a final prepared speech, the delegates will elect the six members who will serve as the 2017-2018 state officer team. The new team will be announced and installed at the final session of the convention Friday afternoon.

The committee evaluates the candidates on their applications, a written test, writing exercises, and five rounds of interviews. These include one-on-one interviews, delivering a speech, facilitating a workshop, round-robin interviews and a personal interview round.

Once elected, the officers will travel across the state promoting agricultural science education and FFA.

A four-year FFA member, Reveles has served as president for both her chapter and Northwest District. Her Supervised Agricultural Experience Program (SAE) involves working at the Smokey Hill Country Club. She plans to attend Kansas State University and become a high school agricultural education instructor.

Marie is the daughter of Javier and LaVerna Reveles. Her advisor is Curt Vajnar.

Visit kansasffaconvention.wordpress.com for the full convention schedule, award winners and live video stream of sessions will begin Wednesday, May 31. Follow convention updates on Facebook at facebook.com/ksffa, on Instagram at @ksffa and on Twitter at @KansasFFA and hashtag #ksffa.

CITY OF HAYS

Due to the observance of Memorial Day, Monday, May 29, 2017, refuse/recycling route collection schedules will be altered as follows:

Monday, May 29th and Tuesday, May 30th routes will be collected on Tuesday, May 30, 2017. Although collections may not occur on your normal day, collections will be completed.

There will be no change to Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday’s collection schedules.

City of Hays customers that may have any questions regarding this notice should contact the Solid Waste Division of the Public Works Department at 628-7357.

We remind you to always have your polycarts out by 7:00 AM.

It is anticipated that heavy volumes of refuse/recyclable will be encountered around the holidays. Please make sure your polycarts are out by 7:00 AM and keep in mind that the trucks have no set time schedule.