HFD
The city of Hays Fire Department will be inspecting and flow testing fire hydrants on Fri., March 9, 2018, in the area from Vine St. to Canterbury Dr. between 13th St. and 22nd St.
This is part of a coordinated effort by the city of Hays to inspect all fire hydrants in the city and flush all water mains annually.
The article “Making it more complicated,” published by the Hays Post, contained numerous factual errors. This article is wrong, inaccurate and misleading.
Kansas has not “turned over management of Medicaid” to a company called Maximus. Kansas has never provided health care in “local Medicaid offices.”
Kansas didn’t “adopt” something called KanCare. KanCare is the state’s managed care Medicaid program overseen by the state and administered by three managed care organizations under contract, none of which is Maximus. So far KanCare has saved state taxpayers close to $2 billion while at the same time adding about 45,000 beneficiaries to the Medicaid rolls in Kansas. Health outcomes for Medicaid beneficiaries in Kansas, in particular those with chronic illnesses and those with disabilities, are significantly better under KanCare than they were under the old system.
Medicaid, which is funded by the federal government based on state spending on the program, has nothing to do with federal deficit reduction legislation. Nothing.
The state acknowledges that there is an ongoing problem with Medicaid eligibility determination for those applying for long-term care. The state is working diligently to straighten out this situation, which is impacting some of the most vulnerable Kansans. But Mr. Clinkscales’ article provided no insight into the matter, and no doubt served to confuse and frighten anyone planning to apply for Medicaid, in particular the elderly.
Angela de Rocha
Deputy Secretary
Director of Communications
Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services
Topeka
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A federal investigation in Kansas has tied drug traffickers to an international money laundering scheme, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.
In San Diego Thursday, federal prosecutors announced charges against 40 alleged members of an international money-laundering scheme that laundered tens of millions of dollars in drug money from drug dealers in the United States to suppliers in Mexico. Two of those defendants in the California case already were indicted by a grand jury in Kansas after being targets of a federal investigation here. Their case is pending in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan.
“Assistant U.S. Attorney Tris Hunt and his team of investigators in Kansas has been working on this for two years,” McAllister said.
The indictment in California charges Juan Duarte-Tello, 44, Kansas City, Mo., and Diana Aurora Holguin-Gallegos, 30, Kansas City, Mo., with working as money couriers who transported large amounts of cash generated from drug trafficking. The California indictment is part of a nationwide takedown stemming from a multi-year investigation led by the FBI San Diego Cross Border Violence Task Force, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
In addition to the indictments unsealed today in San Diego, dozens of other defendants have been charged across the United States with crimes ranging from drug distribution to money laundering stemming from this investigation, including defendants in Kansas, Ohio, Kentucky and Washington.
According to the indictments and other publicly filed court documents, Jose Robert Lopez-Albarran, a significant money broker for a Mexican based international money laundering organization along with other members of the organization, allegedly laundered tens of millions of dollars in narcotics proceeds from the United States to Mexico between 2015 and 2018. As a result of the investigation, law enforcement seized more than $6 million in United States currency.
In the Kansas case, Duarte-Tello and Holguin-Gallegos are awaiting trial on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and other counts including renting a residences in Kansas City, Kan. and Kansas City, Mo. for the purpose of storing and distributing methamphetamine. The Kansas investigation resulted in seizures of more than 44 kilograms of methamphetamine, three kilograms of cocaine and more than $100,000 in cash.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and FBI investigated the case in Kansas. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tris Hunt is prosecuting.
MCPHERSON COUNTY— Two people died in an accident just before 11p.m. Thursday in McPherson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1994 Ford truck driven by Timothy P. Kersten, 57, Hillsboro, was eastbound on U.S. 56 five miles east of McPherson.
The vehicle crossed the center line and collided head-on with a 2001 Honda SUV driven by Abby J. McIntosh, 34, Galva, westbound shoulder.
Kersten and McIntosh were pronounced dead at the scene.
A passenger in the Honda Jade S. Richardson, 13, Galva, was transported to a hospital in Wichita.
McIntosh was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP. It is unknown if Kersten was wearing a seat belt.
KFL
WICHITA – The National Right to Life Convention will be held in Overland Park, Kansas, this year.
Pro-life young people have a great opportunity to showcase and hone their skills with the NRLC Video Contest.
This contest is not only wonderful for engaging the pro-life youth in your communities, but also great for introducing them to more involvement in the movement. When they participate in the contest, it’s an important part of injecting the pro-life message into public discourse using their talents and skill.
The contest is open to all video-makers ages 15-25. The videos must be between 30 seconds and 3 minutes in length. The deadline to enter is May 31, 2018.
Online submission form and full contest rules (as well as all previous winning submissions) can be found at www.nrlconvention.com/video-
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas had just been battered by Oklahoma State for the second time this season, a humiliating loss in Stillwater that sent the Jayhawks into the Big 12 Tournament rubbing their bruised egos.
Then the Cowboys raced out to a 10-point lead in their quarterfinal matchup.
Rather than fold, though, the ninth-ranked Jayhawks showed the kind of toughness they’ve been missing much of this season. Malik Newman scored a career-high 30 points, their backup big men made up for the absence of injured center Udoka Azubuike, and coach Bill Self’s squad pulled away in the second half for an 82-68 victory over the Cowboys on Thursday.
“This team is easy to nitpick with because when we’re good, it’s magnified in ways because we can shoot and move the ball, and when we’re bad it’s magnified because we don’t do the things in grind-it-out games that a lot of teams do,” Self said. “Sometimes I think we get a little spoiled on what our expectations are, but I’m real proud of them. I think they competed hard for the most part.”
Svi Mykhailiuk added 13 points and Devonte Graham had 10 points, four rebounds and nine assists for the No. 1 seed Jayhawks (25-7), who were swept by the Cowboys (19-14) in the regular season. But they rose to the occasion when it mattered, setting up a date with Kansas State on Friday.
The Wildcats beat TCU in an overtime thriller earlier Thursday.
“We just wanted to come out, be aggressive and play tough,” Newman said, “because we haven’t played tough against those guys. We wanted to execute, have fun and be tough.”
Jeffrey Carroll scored 17 points and Kendall Smith had 14 for the No. 8 seed Cowboys, who can only hope their opening-round win over Oklahoma solidified their spot in the NCAA Tournament.
“We’re a tournament team. We’ve proven that all season long,” Smith said. “Especially to see the kind of basketball we’re playing right now, I definitely think we should get in.”
Azubuike sprained the MCL in his left knee in practice Tuesday, causing him to miss the entire weekend. The Jayhawks hope to have him back for the NCAA Tournament next week.
Mitch Lightfoot and Silvio De Sousa combined for 14 points and 14 rebounds in his place.
“We showed we can play without Doke,” Mykhailiuk said. “We can still win.”
Oklahoma State threatened to run the Jayhawks out of the building early on, just as it did in an 82-64 rout in Stillwater on Saturday. Yakuba Sima took advantage of the inside space where Azubuike usually roams, and Carroll’s 3-point barrage gave Oklahoma State an early 10-point lead.
That’s when the Jayhawks finally caught fire, going on an 18-4 charge to turn things around. It was Newman leading the way with a trio of 3-pointers, part of his 20 first-half points.
He kept the hot hand going early in the second half, scoring seven points during another big run — this one 14-0 — that made it 66-50 and forced Cowboys coach Mike Boynton to call timeout.
Boynton said after his team’s rough-and-tumble win over the Sooners that he didn’t buy into the notion that beating a team three times was any more difficult than beating it once. But Boynton didn’t address the challenge that comes with winning two games in fewer than 24 hours.
With 15 minutes left against Kansas, the Cowboys’ legs looked shot.
The Jayhawks’ game-breaking run coincided with a scoreless drought for Oklahoma State that went on for more than 7 1/2 minutes. At one point midway through the half, the Cowboys were 4 for 17 from the floor and had made more turnovers (five) than field goals.
Oklahoma State made a couple of late runs, but he Jayhawks were never in danger of letting their lead slip, locking up at least 25 wins for an NCAA-record 13th consecutive season.
“I won’t say fatigue wasn’t a factor,” Boynton said, “but we knew that coming in. We put ourselves in that scenario and Kansas earned the right to have the extra day of rest.”
BIG PICTURE
Oklahoma State had a 53-27 rebounding advantage against Oklahoma. But the Cowboys only had a 36-33 edge against Kansas, even with Azubuike out with the knee injury.
Kansas set a school record for 3-pointers in a season (319) when Lagerald Vick knocked one down with 3:49 to go. The Jayhawks have relied on the outside shot all year, but it came in handy with their biggest post presence sitting on the bench.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma State waits anxiously to hear its name called on Selection Sunday.
Kansas tries to beat the Wildcats for the third time this season.
BOYS PREP BASKETBALL
Class 2A
State Quarterfinal
Central Plains 58, Inman 42
Pittsburg Colgan 54, Plainville 47
Salina Sacred Heart 53, Burlingame 40
West Elk 56, Johnson-Stanton County 46
Class 4A Division I
State Quarterfinal
Andover Central 68, KC Piper 60
Arkansas City 45, Wamego 29
Bishop Miege 65, Labette County 49
McPherson 64, Spring Hill 43
Class 4A Division II
State Quarterfinal
Andale 73, Smoky Valley 54
Holcomb 56, Frontenac 39
Parsons 72, Anderson County 68
Topeka Hayden 57, Marysville 51
Class 6A
State Quarterfinal
BV Northwest 65, Lawrence 37
Derby 84, Olathe North 81
Lawrence Free State 42, Wichita South 39
Topeka 73, Olathe East 72
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL
Class 1A Division I
State Quarterfinal
Hanover 50, Frankfort 47
South Central 82, Stockton 42
St. Paul 26, St. John 19
Thunder Ridge 48, Rural Vista 44
Class 1A Division II
State Quarterfinal
Axtell 66, St. John’s Beloit-Tipton 64
Cunningham 57, Wallace County 33
Hartford 53, Hutchinson Central Christian 42
Quinter 48, Bucklin 41
Class 3A
State Quarterfinal
Garden Plain 58, Caney Valley 31
Haven 60, Scott City 50
Hays-TMP-Marian 55, Wellsville 40
Royal Valley 51, Nemaha Central 48
Class 5A
State Quarterfinal
Liberal 62, St. James Academy 29
Maize 44, Mill Valley 37
St. Thomas Aquinas 57, Salina Central 30
Wichita Bishop Carroll 77, KC Schlagle 56
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — A former police officer in southeast Kansas has pleaded no contest to charges of sexually assaulting a woman he arrested during a domestic disturbance.
Jessie Davis, 22, took a plea bargain on Tuesday in Crawford County District Court.
Davis surrendered himself to authorities last year on charges of aggravated sexual battery and official misconduct after a Crawford County Sheriff’s Department investigation. He was later fired from the Pittsburg Police Department.
County attorney John Gutierrez says Davis will likely be placed on probation for two years and will not have to register as a sex offender if the court follows the plea agreement.
The woman who says she was groped in Davis’ patrol car filed a lawsuit last month alleging her civil rights were violated.
EUREKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man has pleaded guilty to murder and child abuse in the death of his 6-month-old son.
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt says 23-year-old Benny Clark, of Reece, pleaded guilty Thursday to second-degree murder and child abuse.
Prosecutors say Greenwood County authorities were called to a hospital last August to investigate a possible child abuse.
Investigators determined injuries suffered by the child, named Cooper, weren’t consistent with the parents’ story of what happened.
The boy’s mother left him with Clark when she went to work. When she returned home, the boy was having trouble breathing.
Cooper died two days later at a Wichita hospital.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 5.
By JEREMY McGUIRE
Hays Post
TMP 55, Wellsville 40
HUTCHINSON, Kan-TMP trailed early but not often in the their 55-40 win over Wellsville in the opening round of the 3A State Basketball tournament in Hutchinson Thursday night. The Lady Monarchs were able to grab a 17-13 lead after the first quarter of play. TMP was able to continue their late first quarter success in to the second quarter.
The Lady Monarchs saw their lead cut to two midway through the quarter but that’s when the number two ranked team in the state kicked it into gear. They would finish the half on an 8-0 run thanks to some domination on the boards from Savannah Yost and Kayla Vitztum and some timely shots from Adell Riedel and Bailey Lacy. TMP would have a double digit lead, 28-18, at the break.
The third quarter was a slow start for TMP as it took them just over three and a half minutes to score. But it didn’t seem to matter as Wellsville couldn’t find the bucket either. The Lady Eagles cut the TMP lead to 28-20 and again the Lady Monarchs responded with a 9-2 run to end the quarter and they took a commanding 38-23 lead into the fourth quarter.
TMP expanded that lead to 20 points in the final quarter before settling for the 15 point win. Wellsvile was led by Sydney Dwyer wit 20 points and Demi Aamold with 11. The Lady Eagles finish their season at 18-5. TMP had nine players score led by 17 from Vitztum and 10 each from Jillian Lowe and Aubrey Koenigsman. Vitztum and Yost also pulled down 12 rebounds each.
The Lady Monarchs, the number three seed, improve their record to 21-2 and will play the seventh seeded Royal Valley Panthers who upset second seeded Nemaha Central 51-48. That game will tipoff at 3pm Friday afternoon.
ROSE MCFARLAND INTERVIEW
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
By Kalli Smith
KU Statehouse Wire Service
TOPEKA — Multiple bills focused on restoring due process rights to teachers are circulating throughout the Statehouse this session, but some are having no success after the House Education Committee rejected its second teacher due process bill earlier this month.
Rep. Steven Crum (D-Haysville) argued that without due process — also known as tenure — Kansas’ current teacher shortage will most likely continue.
“When you have no due process, like we do now, a principal can come in and tell you we’re non-renewing you or you’re fired and they don’t have to give you a reason,” Crum said. “It’s basically just up to them. No one wants to teach in a state that does this.”
According to an analysis conducted by the Kansas Commissioner of Education’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Teacher Vacancies and Supply, for the 2015-2016 school year, 277 teacher positions were left vacant. Last September, the Kansas Department of Education reported that there were 90 elementary school openings and more than 80 vacancies for special education teachers.
The report also found that 28 of the 46 vacancies in the Northeast region were in Kansas City, Kansas, and of the 286 school districts surveyed, 220 reported no vacancies in 2015-16.
Marcus Baltzell, communications director for the Kansas National Education Association, said that KSNE estimates the number of teacher vacancies could be more than 1,000.
Before legislation removed due process protections in 2014, a teacher who had taught three consecutive years in a school district and whose contract was renewed for a fourth year, would qualify for due process rights.
With due process, a teacher who felt he or she were terminated without just cause was allowed to request for an impartial hearing to plead his or her case, according to Crum.
Both sides, teacher and administrator, could present arguments to a third-party mediator, who would make a final ruling. Now, teachers no longer have that option.
A 2015-16 Kansas Commissioner of Education Blue Ribbon Task Force on Teacher Vacancies and Supply reported that districts in the Southwest and South Central rural regions have the most difficulty filling teaching positions. This area also saw the most teachers move away to larger, urban areas.
Ken Weaver, co-chair of the Kansas Commissioner of Education’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Teacher Vacancies and Supply report, said after reviewing the data on teacher vacancy and supply, the task force identified the four main challenges to the teacher supply dilemma: low salaries, low esteem for the teaching profession, current ongoing instability of education-related funding and policies in the Legislature and Kansas Public Employees Retirement System changes and contributions.
Weaver said the task force was then put in charge of developing immediate recommendations to be enacted from the fall of 2017 to spring of 2019, and long-term recommendations to be enacted from fall of 2019 and beyond. Of the 61 recommendations, having legislators “reinstate teacher due process” topped the list.
“The good news is that not many teachers need the due process —that’s part of working in Kansas where people by and large are honest,” Weavers said. “However, it is a tool that enables teachers to stand up to principals, or superintendents or school boards on matters of principle — that can be a good thing.”
Crum said he believes the removal of due process rights and the lack of pay increases is the driving force for the Kansas teacher shortage.
Last month, House Bill 2483 was presented to the Committee of Education. The bill would amend statutory procedures to teachers who earned their due process rights before June 30, 2014, Jason Long, senior assistant advisor on the Committee of Education said.
The bill would also reinstate the eligibility of certain school districts under the current due process, according to Long.
Rep. Willie Dove (R-Bonner Springs) voted no on the bill because he said he wants control over those matters to remain in local hands rather than the state government.
“They’re better suited for it and they know more about the situations.” Dove said. “When people here in the Statehouse aren’t that familiar with it.”
Last year, Crum introduced a similar bill that would have fully reinstated due process for all teachers. The bill made it past the House but died in the Senate.
“This is something that we really have to fight up here, and that is the difference between tenure and due process, because this really isn’t about tenure it’s about due process and getting that back for teachers,” Crum said.
Despite the legislation, Jenny Dunn, a high school English teacher for USD 415 in Hiawatha, said teachers in her district now have language in their contracts that still gives them access due process rights.
“ I do think it is a travesty that under the current statewide law, a veteran teacher could be without a job simply because one disgruntled parent knows someone on the board or in the community whom they convince that you are not fit for your job,” Dunn said. “Fortunately, I feel like it would take a lot more than that in our district as our administration really works with us through the evaluation process and in providing feedback to continue to help us grow as teachers.”
Matt Seimears, professor of science education at Emporia State University’s Teacher College, said the answer to what’s causing Kansas’ teacher shortage is a mystery to him, but guessed it wasn’t just not having due process rights.
“Teaching has many challenges, I know, I taught at a USD (Unified School District),” Seimears said. “I’m not sure if the data presents this as an accurate result. I have a former student that left as a teacher and went into banking due to over testing at their site.”
Baltzell said the biggest issue KNEA had with due process rights being taken away was there was no hearing done before the decision was made.
“This was just like thrown in at the last minute, strictly a partisan political move,” Baltzell said. “But the key takeaway on that night in April, is that they took away due process, and they did it without due process. There has to be hearings for a bill to become a law and the fact that there wasn’t is concerning.”
Baltzell said he didn’t know if he could give an accurate answer as to what is specifically causing a teacher shortage in the state of Kansas, but he does think due process is something that people think about when deciding where to teach.
Kalli Smith is a University of Kansas junior majoring in journalism from Hiawatha.
GRANT COUNTY – A Kansas woman died in an accident just before 2p.m. Thursday in Grant County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1999 Chevy Blazer driven by Blanca E. Ibarra, 63 Ulysses, was northbound on County Road Q four miles north of Hickcok.
The vehicle left the roadway and entered the west ditch. The driver steered the vehicle back onto the road and it rolled into the east ditch.
Ibarra was pronounced dead at the scene. She was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a bank robbery and asking for help to identify a suspect.
Just after 11 a.m. Thursday, On Thursday, police responded to a bank robbery at the Meritrust Credit Union, 2900 S. Oliver in Wichita, according to office Charley Davidson.
Upon arrival, Officers made contact with a 41-year-old female Credit Union employee who said an unknown suspect entered the business and handed a note to her demanding money.
Cash was provided to the suspect who fled on foot. There were no injuries reported. The suspect was described as an unknown b/m, 30’s, 6-foot-1, 270 pounds and wearing a blue head scarf, yellow-tinted safety glasses, a black jacket, a white T-shirt, and gray tennis shoes.
Anyone with information information on this case, please call WPD Detectives at (316) 268-4407 or Crime Stoppers at (316) 267-2111
