Gov. Brownback at the White House on Thursday discussed prison reform with the President
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback has named an insurance executive to be acting secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
The administration announced Friday that Jeff Andersen will oversee environmental management and the state’s Medicaid program. The Kansas Senate must approve the nomination.
Andersen has worked in various segments of the health care industry for 30 years. Most recently, he has been a vice president at Vizient/VHA where he worked with an insurance company and managed care contracting program. Before that, he was president/CEO of Mid-America Services Solution, which owned 10 hospitals and served 200 hospitals.
Andersen will begin the job Jan. 16. He replaces Susan Mosier, who resigned in November.
KINGMAN COUNTY— A Kansas man died in an accident just after 10:30 a.m. Friday in Kingman County.
A vehicle driven by Ryan Michael Hixon, 36, Dodge City was pulling a fuel trailer was eastbound on Northeast 50th just west of Northeast 4th, according to a media release from the Kingman County Sheriff.
First responders found the vehicle overturned on its top in the ditch. Hixon was pronounced dead at the scene. He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according the sheriff’s department.
The fuel trailer did not overturn and there was no leak, according to the sheriff’s department.
TOPEKA – You are invited to spend some time with Rick Kloos, independent candidate for Kansas governor. Rick is currently the only candidate on the ballot.
He is the founder and director of God’s Storehouse, a local nonprofit thrift store in Topeka.
Rick and his campaign team will be hosting a meet and greet event “Coffee with Kloos” at Paisley Pear Wine Bar, Bistro & Market, 1100 Main St., Hays, on Saturday, January 13, beginning at 3:00 P.M.
Rick wants to hear from you. He wants to know what issues concern you as he heads into the 2018 gubernatorial race. At 3:30 P.M. he will share his vision for Kansas and how he plans to “Keep Kansas Home.”
In response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Gannon V, legislative leaders in both public and private meetings have been warning Kansans that complying with the decision would force other areas of the Kansas budget to suffer. This rhetoric is being spread in an attempt to scare Kansans, and to force support for an ill-advised attempt to alter the education article in the Kansas Constitution. This strategy is not new; legislative leaders have used this strategy before to try to avoid their constitutional duty. Kansans did not fall for it in 1993, 1995, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2016. Kansans should not fall for it in 2018 either.
Robb
The legislature is charged with funding the government. All of it. But funding state government is not a zero-sum game. It is not “either fund this service or fund that service.” The legislative duty is to fund ALL necessary state services adequately. This includes hospitals, social services, highways, the courts, the corrections system, higher education, health and environment and … of course, public schools.
Attempting to pit these groups against each other in a scramble for the dollar is disingenuous.
Amending the constitution to hurt public schools goes against values that Kansans have held dear for 160 years. Bending these values to meet current ideology is simply inappropriate… as it has been for the past 25 years. Declaring that no taxes shall be considered is an abdication of the legislature’s constitutional responsibility. Painting a picture that three prisons must close if we are to fund the schools is outrageous fear-mongering. Kansans demand better. ALL services, including public schools, need adequate funding.
Schools for Fair Funding is an association of 40 school districts that educate approximately 30% of all Kansas school children. No SFFF official is advocating for a reduction in state services designed to meet the needs of Kansas families, and no member of this group desires any state service to suffer. SFFF desires a strong safety net of services for Kansas families. When Kansas children wake up hungry, experience medical issues, or come from a foster care system that is broken, school officials see the harm caused first-hand. Students have to be ready to learn in order to achieve success. The Gannon case is about giving all children the opportunity to receive an education that meets constitutional standards, a task that would be even more difficult without a sound safety net of services for Kansas families.
Henry
Many legislators express an interest in ending the cycle of litigation, and yet they fail to acknowledge the Legislature’s historic role in the cycle. But for legislative foot dragging and intentional non-compliance, there would be no cycle. The Gannon case was filed in 2010, following the 2008-09 dramatic cuts to K- 12 education. The initial cuts included reneging on the third year of the school finance plan that settled the Montoy case in 2006. Since Gannon was filed, the state has lost at the trial court level twice, and at the Supreme Court five times. The only time in the past eight years the state has been successful in the Gannon case was in June of 2016, when the Legislature worked directly with the plaintiffs to fix the equity issues, and the Supreme Court agreed that the changes made complied with constitutional equity requirements. Sadly, in the very next legislative session, the Legislature then adopted new legislation that destroyed the equity of the previous system and introduced new inequitable provisions.
This, of course, resulted in another defeat before the Supreme Court, in Gannon V. None of this was a surprise to informed observers. It was all very predictable.
Moving forward, the best way for the Legislature to end the cycle of litigation is to quit passing unconstitutional legislation and to focus on funding our schools in compliance with Gannon V.
Stop trying to “game” the court. It has not worked thus far and won’t work now. No one is more tired of litigation than school officials.
Rupe
Currently, over 25% of Kansas school children are under-performing on state assessments. The state of Kansas has produced studies that prove the current levels of funding will not provide all children with a constitutional level of education. Again, these are the state’s own studies, not something concocted by plaintiffs or the schools. The Kansas Supreme Court has been extremely patient, but we believe the Gannon V court is telling the Legislature and Governor that this is their last chance to “get it right.”
We stand ready to work with public policy leaders and advocates to make the transition to compliance as smoothly as possible. Kansans should expect nothing less.
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has issued a boil water advisory for the public water supply located in the city of Plainville in Rooks County. KDHE officials issued the advisory because of a line break resulting in a loss of pressure in the system. Failure to maintain adequate pressure may result in a loss of chlorine residuals and bacterial contamination.
The advisory took effect on January 12, 2018 and will remain in effect until conditions which place the system at risk of contamination are deemed by KDHE officials to be adequately resolved.
Customers should observe the following precautions until further notice:
Boil water for one minute prior to drinking or food preparation, or use bottled water.
Dispose of ice cubes and do not use ice from a household automatic icemaker.
Disinfect dishes and other food contact surfaces by immersion for at least one minute in clean tap water that contains one teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water.
Water used for bathing does not generally need to be boiled. Supervision of children is necessary while bathing so that water is not ingested. Persons with cuts or severe rashes may wish to consult their physicians.
If your tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears.
Public water suppliers in Kansas take all measures necessary to notify customers quickly after a system failure. Regardless of whether it’s the supplier or KDHE that announces a boil water advisory, KDHE will issue the rescind order following testing at a certified laboratory.
Police body camera images of The December 28, fatal incident courtesy Wichita Police
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A California man accused of making a hoax emergency call that led to the fatal police shooting of an unarmed man in Kansas has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Twenty-five-year-old Tyler Barriss made his first court appearance in Kansas Friday following extradition from California. He was also charged with giving false alarm and interference with a law enforcement officer. Bond was set at $500,000.
Barriss did not immediately return a message left Friday at the jail.
Prosecutors allege Barriss was in Los Angeles when he called police on Dec. 28 with a fake story about a shooting and kidnapping at a home in Wichita, Kansas.
Barriss- photo courtesy Glendale, Calif. police
Police responded to the address, where an officer fatally shot 28-year-old Andrew Finch after Finch opened his door.
Hays, Kansas – Eugene D. “Gene” Hotz, age 85, died Wednesday, January 10, 2018, at Hays Medical Center, Hays, Kansas. Services will be held next week at Cline’s-Keithley Mortuary of Hays, 1919 East 22nd Street, Hays, Kansas 67601.
Victoria, Kansas – Neil A. Kuhn, age 77, died Wednesday, January 10, 2018 at his home in Victoria, Kansas. Services are pending at Cline’s-Keithley Mortuary, 412 Main Street, Victoria, Kansas 67671.
Goodland, Kansas, resident Carson Lynn Ely, 1, passed away on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, Colorado.
Carson was born on August 6, 2016 to Cale and Page (Seeger) Ely. She was an only child.
Carson was a fun loving little girl whose smile could light any room. She spent her days playing and blowing kisses. She loved puppy dog pals and Minnie Mouse. Carson had a rare mitochondrial disease called Alpers Syndrome. Even through every treatment and hospital stay she still had a smile for everyone.
Preceding her in death was a great aunt Vicky Thomas, a great uncle Ron Clark, a cousin Kyle Thomas and her great grandparents H.C. and Laquita Ely.
She is survived by her parents Cale and Page Ely, grandparents W.C. and DeAnna Ely of Stratton, Colorado, Duane and Rhonda Rice of Goodland, Kansas, Don Seeger of Healy, Kansas and JoAnna Benally of Belen, New Mexico.
Funeral services for Carson were held on Monday, January 15, 2018 at 2:00 PM MT at the United Methodist Church in Goodland with Pastor Brent Flanders officiating. Burial followed in the Goodland Cemetery.
Visitation was held on Sunday, January 14, 2018 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM MT at the Koons-Russell Funeral Home in Goodland.
Memorials are designated to the Carson Ely Memorial Fund and may be left at the services or mailed to Koons-Russell Funeral Home, 211 N. Main Ave., Goodland, KS 67735.
Online condolences may be left at www.koonsrussellfuneralhome.com.
Funeral services were entrusted to Koons-Russell Funeral Home in Goodland, Kansas.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has ruled a Wichita woman accused of decapitating her ex-boyfriend’s mother is not competent to stand trial.
Judge Faith Maughan on Friday ordered 35-year-old Rachael Hilyard returned to Larned State Hospital for more treatment. Her status will be re-evaluated after 90 days.
Hilyard is charged with first-degree murder in the April 2017 death of 63-year-old Micki Davis. Hilyard is the ex-girlfriend of Davis’ son. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said a hospital evaluation found that Hilyard could regain competency if she continues treatment.
Prosecutors say Davis was attacked when she went with her 9-year-old grandson to a home to get property. The boy was able to run away and call 911.
Davis’ decapitated body was found in the garage and her head was in the kitchen sink.
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Highway Patrol says a 22-year-old Olathe woman died when she was hit by her own car after it was struck by an another driver.
The patrol says Kendyl Walter was involved in an accident on Interstate 35 in Olathe Thursday evening, leaving her car disabled in the interstate.
The patrol says a 59-year-old Overland Park man hit her car, which spun and hit Walter while she was standing near the highway.
Walter died at the scene.
The driver stopped and is cooperating with the investigation.
Hays resident Brad Horn passed away Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018 at the Hays Medical Center in Hays, KS at the age of 51.
He was born in Phillipsburg, KS on Feb. 12, 1966, the son of Robert & Ardith (Rogers) Horn. Brad married Kelly Herold on Nov. 24, 1990 in Phillipsburg. He served as Executive Director of Sunshine Connections in Hays.
Survivors include his wife, Kelly, of Hays; son, Brody, and daughter, Kaylee, both of Lawrence, KS; his father, Robert, of Phillipsburg; brother, Robert, of Papillion, NE and sister, Valeri Tuley of Topeka, KS.
Funeral services will be held Monday, Jan. 15, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. in the United Methodist Church, Phillipsburg, with Pastor Lew Van Der Wege officiating. Burial will follow in the Fairview Cemetery, Phillipsburg.
Visitation will be Saturday, Jan. 13 from 5 – 9 p.m. and again Sunday, Jan. 14, from noon – 9 p.m. at the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg, where the family will greet friends Sunday evening from 6 – 7 p.m.
Memorial contributions may be given to the Hays Medical Center or the American Liver Foundation. Online condolences to: www.olliffboeve.com.
Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg, is in charge of arrangements.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration will present a six-part, free webinar series to help small businesses navigate its Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Zone Program that will run from February to mid-March.
The hour-long webinars will cover the following topics:
Feb. 7 from 1-2 p.m. Central
HUBZone Contracting: Make the Federal Government Your Customer
Small businesses will learn about HUBZone contracting vehicles and regulations.
Click on this link 10 minutes before the Feb. 7 webinar begins:
HUBZone Joint Ventures: How to Partner with Other Companies for HUBZone Contracts
Small businesses will learn how to enter into a HUBZone joint venture and the importance of having a well-defined joint venture agreement whether or not the agreement falls under the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program.
How Does HUBZone Consider Employees and Affiliation?
Small businesses will learn who to count as an employee for the purpose of the HUBZone Program. The webinar will also help small business owners understand when to combine the employees from their other businesses to evaluate the principal and employee residency compliance of the HUBZone firm.
Small businesses will learn how areas become designated as HUBZones.
Link to the webinar will be announced by mid-February.
March 14 from 1-2 p.m. Central
HUBZone Protests and Appeals
Small businesses will learn the process for filing HUBZone protests and appeals; and for responding to protest notices.
Link to the webinar will be announced by mid-February.
All of the webinars will be archived on SBA’s YouTube page. For more details about the HUBZone program, please visit www.sba.gov/hubzone.
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 and since January 13, 2012, has served as a Cabinet-level agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation. The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, the SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. To learn more about the SBA, visit www.sba.gov.
