Gov. Brownback during Thursday’s announcement-photo KDOC
EL DORADO, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback has announced pay raises at state prisons in the wake of inmate disturbances that have drawn public attention to staff shortages.
Uniformed officers across the state would receive about a 5 percent raise. Officers at El Dorado Correctional Facility will see raises of about 10 percent. The increase would kick in later this month if the employees’ union agrees.
Brownback says the state can fund the raises in the short term but lawmakers would have to find money next session to continue them.
The move would boost pay from $13.95 to $14.66 per hour statewide, and to $15.74 per hour at El Dorado.
Department of Corrections Secretary Joe Norwood says the higher pay in El Dorado facility is due to the tighter job market in that area.
It is common for you to be nervous on your first day of a new job, but not Paula Rice.
Rice, the new principal at Roosevelt Elementary School, joined her new crop of first-graders in a glass of jitter juice. The punch was offered to kids to help calm their nerves during their first morning of school Wednesday.
“The energy was palpable,” Rice said of the first day of school. “It was almost tangibly exciting. But the coolest thing was when the final bell rang at 8:02 for class to start, quality instruction was already going on. As I am walking around the school this morning, I see students in seats eagerly paying attention and listening and already asking good questions.”
Rice has been an educator for 11 years. Her last position was as the assistant principal at Hutchinson High School. Although she has never taught at the elementary level, she said she had no qualms about working with younger children.
“Kids are kids. People are people,” Rice said. “Dr. Seuss said it best, ‘People are people no matter how small.’ They are wonderful, just big balls of energy — smiles and giggles and fun and so respectful and so welcoming and so encouraging.”
Rice recently moved to Hays with her husband of 25 years, who is a special education teacher working in Stockton. She said she loves Hays and her new neighborhood, which is within walking distance of the school.
“I love it. Since I have been in town, it has been wonderful,” she said. “I have had neighbors knock on my door and welcome me. It has just been amazing. Hays has such a positive vibe and is laid back. I have had to slow down a little bit.”
Rice, 43, went back to school later in life. She received her associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degree from Friend’s University in Wichita and as well as a master’s degree from Baker University.
“I have known since I was a child that I wanted to be an educator,” she said. “I guess I had gotten to the point in my life where I thought life had happened, and it was too late to go back to school. But when I finally went back to school, I knew that it was the right thing to do.”
Rice said Roosevelt has an incredible staff and strong parent support.
“I told my staff yesterday that I am not going to establish goals for us, because that is something that we need to do as a building and a school community. That is something that takes more than one person.”
She said her personal goal is to learn and help Roosevelt to grow as a family.
Rice’s education philosophy goes back to the relationships she had as a child.
“If you give a child the right support — the right backing — every child can learn,” she said. “They don’t all learn at the same rate. They don’t all get to the same place, but we as adults aren’t all the same either. This word would be pretty boring if we all looked the same and did the same and all functioned at the same level and we all had the same job.”
Rice said she fully supports the state’s new college and career readiness standards and said the foundation of that model starts in elementary school.
“When you are little, you are a dreamer,” she said. “These kiddos are growing up faster than they have to, and a lot of times the dreaming stops. I think it is our responsibility to not only to keep those dreams alive, but to teach them how to attain those goals, to set those goals, to say, ‘I really can be an astronaut,’ ‘Yes, I can be a teacher,’ or ‘Yes, I can go into construction,’ or ‘I can be a researcher.’ Whatever they want to do, now is the time to foster that.”
At the front door of the school are displays depicting what changes might happen if a $78.5 million bond issue is passed by voters this fall.
Roosevelt will celebrate its 50th anniversary in January. Although the school is better condition than some of the other schools in the district, Rice said some needed changes and repairs could be made if the bond passes.
The school has had ongoing problem with the HVAC system, which is only working about half the time. The school uses the same space for a gym, auditorium and cafeteria, which means classes can’t be scheduled in that space during the two hours it takes to serve lunch.
The proposed bond issue would also add a secure entrance and classroom space, so the school could accommodate four sections of each grade.
“I need to protect my students, I need to protect my staff,” she said. “Without a secure entrance, it is difficult to do that.”
The bond would pay for new storm shelters across the district. Currently, the students at Roosevelt are using old maintenance tunnels in case of storms. Those must be accessed by stairs, which means they are inaccessible for anyone who is disabled.
“It is better than nothing,” Rice said of the current shelter, “but I don’t think it is what the kids deserve.”
Rice, as well as members of her staff, have offered to answer questions and give tours to parents or members of the community who want more information about the bond. They need only to visit the school office and ask for Rice.
Monday night will be the Roosevelt’s Parent Orientation Night from 6 to 8 p.m. It will be primarily for parents of second through fifth graders, but the parents of the younger children can also attend.
Rice said the event will be an opportunity for parents and teachers to build adult teams that will support children through the school year. This also will be an opportunity for any parents who wish to meet Rice.
REHEARSALS BEGIN MONDAY, September 11, 2017
7:30 p.m. Palmer Recital Hall in MALLOY HALL on the FHSU CAMPUS
The Smoky Hill Chorale is a mixed ensemble of post-high school voices, and members come from Ellis, Rooks, Rush, Russell, and Trego counties. The Chorale is open to all experienced singers – no audition is necessary – and there are openings in all sections. A particular need is for male voices.
For more information, contact:
Dr. Terry Crull at 785-628-4258; [email protected]
RENO COUNTY — The Hutchinson chapter of the NAACP, churches and other organizations are sponsoring a candlelight vigil Friday night.
Organizers say 8p.m. event at George Pyle Park, Avenue B and Walnut in Hutchinson is not a political rally, but an outdoor assembly of people carrying candles as a non-violent way to raise awareness for a cause and to motivate change, according to a media release.
They say it’s also to show respect for the fallen and injured, a way to unite and speak out against hate and support one another in this time in response to the violence involving hate groups and the woman who died last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The event will feature local activist, supporters, and communities of faith coming together in solidarity with those in Charlottesville who stood up to the Nazism, racism and white supremacy.
There will be some speakers and music throughout the evening.
SHAWNEE COUNTY— A Kansas jailer has been arrested on suspicion of having unlawful sexual relations with an inmate.
Shawnee County Jail officials say corrections specialist Timothy James Anderson was booked into the facility Wednesday afternoon on suspicion of four counts of felony unlawful sexual relations with an inmate.
The jail officials said in a news release that the investigation leading to Anderson’s arrest began after department employees “detected an irregular pattern of behavior” between Anderson and inmates within a female housing unit. The release says the behavior reflected an “undue level of familiarity.”
Investigators determined there had been sexual contact after interviewing inmates and reviewing extensive video evidence.
The case has been referred to prosecutors, and the jailer has been placed on unpaid leave while the investigation continues.
Rob Miller of Proactive Coaching will present “The Role of Parents in Athletics” at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19 at the Hays High School gym.
Miller will present a straight-forward message from athletes to parents about how adults can help performance, create good memories and demonstrate respect from the perspective of young people.
Rob Miller works with coaches, athletes and parents to help intentionally create character-based team cultures, provide a blueprint for team leadership, develop confident, tough-minded, fearless competitions and train coaches for excellence and significance.
For more information, contact Chris Michaelis at 259-0471.
It takes less than one minute of looking directly at the sun to experience permanent eye damage.
Kendall Krug, doctor of optometry in Hays, is trying to spread the word about eye safety during next Monday’s eclipse.
Viewing the sun directly even when it is partially or fully blocked during an eclipse can cause a condition known as solar retinopathy.
Intense visible light can cause damage to the rods and cones in the eye. The damage depends on the exposure. The exposure can burn a spot on the area of your eye that helps you see detail.
The effects of the sun exposure are painless and can take hours or days to fully appear. Krug compared it to the blind spots we get in our eyes when someone points a camera flash in our eyes — except the blind spot never goes away.
“The retina does not have any pain receptors,” he said, “so you can look at the sun, and it is not going to hurt. It is going to be bright. You are going to shield yourself from the brightness, but it doesn’t actually hurt. That is the problem, you don’t really know you are doing damage.”
There is no treatment for this type of damage, which can affect both eyes. Any loss of sight 20/50 or more would result in a person’s inability to drive or effectively read.
The eclipse can be safely viewed by using aluminized mylar eclipse viewing glasses. There has been some concern in recent weeks fake, unsafe glasses have come on the market. The glasses should be ISO 12312-2 or CE certified and will have this marked on the glasses. Click here to go to the American Astronomical Society’s list of reputable dealers.
The glasses should block 99.9 percent of sunlight, which means you should not be able to see an indoor light while you have them on. No. 14 welders glasses or hood also can be used or a pin hole projector.
When you are done looking at the eclipse, Krug said you should turn away from the sun before removing your glasses.
Pin hole projectors
A pin hole projector can be easily made using a piece of cardboard and piece of paper or a cereal or shoe box. When you use these devices, you turn your back to the sun and a black-and-white image is reflected unto the piece of paper or in the box.
It is not safe to use binoculars or a telescope to view the eclipse unless you have an astronomy solar filter. These should be placed at the front lens and not the eyepiece.
You should not try to take pictures of the eclipse with your mobile device or digital camera without a filter. It will burn out the camera’s components, Krug said.
It is also not safe to view the eclipse with prescription or non-prescription sunglasses, cosmetic tinted contact lenses, smoked glass, or through overcast or partially opaque clouds
Children should have special supervision during the eclipse. Children’s cornea’s are clearer than adults’ and that makes them more susceptible to eye damage. Krug was part of a presentation during the Hays USD 489 in-service Tuesday about eclipse eye safety.
USD 489 has encouraged teachers to include eclipse activities during the school day Monday but has left those up to individual teachers and principals. Some teachers and buildings bought glasses for their students while others will keep younger students indoors so they don’t accidentally hurt their eyes.
Event in Hays
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Fort Hays State University’s Sternberg Museum of Natural History will be the place to be to view the 2017 Solar Eclipse. Click HERE for the Facebook event page. See more on the eclipse event by clicking here.
Another cool link
Timeanddate.com has views of what the eclipse will look like minute by minute from your specific location. To see the simulation for Hays, click here.
WICHITA – A former city attorney of Manhattan pleaded guilty today to federal child pornography charges, according to U.S. Attorney Tom Beall.
Bill Raymond, 55, Andover, Kan., pleaded guilty to three counts of transporting child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. Raymond admitted that he emailed child pornography to himself using a cellular telephone and a computer on Nov. 9, 2014, Feb. 28, 2015 and May 17, 2015. He also admitted that on July 30, 2015, he possessed child pornography.
The crimes occurred in Butler and Riley counties. Raymond became the city attorney in Manhattan after serving as an assistant county counselor in Sedgwick County.
Sentencing is set for Nov. 6. He faces not less than five years and not more than 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each distribution count, and up to 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the possession count. Beall commended the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.
Oscar Vallejo-Tolentino, 25, a citizen of Mexico who has been living in Hays, has been charged with five counts of unlawful possession of a firearm or ammunition by an alien illegally in the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release Wednesday.
The crime is alleged to have occurred in 2017 and 2015 in Ellis County.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson is prosecuting.
The event, which will begin at noon at 2508 Vine in Centennial Plaza next to Brown’s Shoe Fit.
Betty Hansen, shelter manager, said she is unsure exactly what breeds the shelter might have to offer, but there should be kittens, cats and dogs. Pictures will be displayed of the animals that can’t be transported to the store.
Potential pet owners will be able to adopt shelter animals at the store. Those who wish to adopt need to bring proof of approval by a landlord to house the pet if they rent. Animals can be held for 24 hours pending landlord approval.
Adoption fees also will apply. The shelter is offering a cat sale. The cost is $15 for one cat or two for $25. A $50 deposit will be charged on kittens. The deposit is returned when owners provide proof the kitten has been spayed or neutered. The dog adoption fee is $40.
All adult pets that are adopted from the shelter are spayed or neutered and have updated shots.
Petsense also will be doing a donation drive for the shelter. A list of items that the shelter regularly needs can be found here. However, Hansen said the shelter is in particular need of scented bleach, non-clumping cat litter and Purina Cat Chow or Kitten Chow. Monetary donations will also be accepted.
Because the shelter staff will be working at the adoption event at Petsense on Saturday, the shelter will be closed that day. The shelter’s normal hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.
For more information, call Petsense at 785-301-2267 or the Humane Society at 785-625-5252.
