PHILLIPS COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on attempted involuntary manslaughter charges.
Deputies on the scene Sunday in Phillipsburg -photo Phillips Co. Sheriff
Just before 9:30 p.m., Sunday, deputies were dispatched to 1060 Second Street in Phillipsburg for a report of a disruptive subject at the residence, according to a media release.
Speake -photo KDOC
Upon arrival, deputies located Thomas Stacey, 59, Phillipsburg, in the front yard with injuries. Phillips County EMS transported Stacey to Phillips County Hospital. He was later transferred to a Kearney area hospital with critical injuries.
Craig J. Speake, 56, Phillipsburg, was taken into custody Monday morning and charged with attempted involuntary manslaughter.
A search warrant was executed at 9:30 a.m. Monday at 1060 Second Street. Prescription medication and marijuana where located and charges are pending for unlawful possession of narcotics and possession of marijuana.
Speake has a previous drug conviction, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Eber Phelps, D-Hays, is the 111th Dist. state representative.
Dear Constituent,
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. I’ve been inside voting or outside observing the legislature for more than 18 years and it was a year to remember. We passed some good, killed some bad. Some good bills were killed and some bad bills got through. This was the shortest session in anyone’s memory, recent or otherwise, and the campaign cycle has officially begun. Do you sense a “but” coming?
The only caveat to that is the Kansas Supreme Court’s consideration of the school finance bill detailed below.
SCHOOL FINANCE
My colleague, Rep. Melissa Rooker, is well-versed in all things K-12 education and she produced a series of reports detailing the cost studies commissioned, House’s work on education this year, the bill sent to the Court at the end of the regular session (SB 423), the $80 million drafting error included in the bill, and the “trailer bill” to fix that error. For an easy-to-read, thorough, and well-cited overview of the education process this year, I highly encourage you read the series.
When we came back to session on April 26, we had two jobs – pass the budget to “true up” the budget passed last year with this year’s actual revenues, and pass a “trailer bill” to fix the error mentioned above. We did both, to varying degrees of success, depending on where you sit.
House Substitute for Senate Bill 61 (H Sub SB 61) became a compromise of fixing the drafting error and some taking the opportunity to include further policy measures some weren’t able to slide into the last bill. It includes a requirement for all districts to have at least a 15% Local Option Budget (LOB) which is derived from local property taxes levied by our school board. Most districts have far higher than that already, but the bill seeks to ensure districts aren’t keeping local taxes down in order to secure more funding from the state. How LOB is derived will also change by using the current year’s funding total instead of the previous year, which will make the overall amount higher.
The original bill (SB 423) increases per pupil spending by $548, which, adjusted for inflation still would not meet what funding would have been had the legislature maintained the level of funding deemed constitutional following the 2005 Gannon lawsuit. The bill includes some positive steps:
Infusing new money into 4-year old at-risk programs and expanding them to 3-year olds if classes are not full.
Adds more than $74 million in special education funding over five years, and
Launches a mental health pilot project to partner community mental health centers and school districts to work together to improve mental health among our students.
Hays KNEA teachers visited the Capitol a few weeks back in support of the a new school finance formula.
If you take last year’s bill and combine it with this year’s bill, the increases are as follows:
The bill passed the Senate, 31-8, and the House, 92-27. I voted yes.
Specific to my constituents, our districts will see the following in new money:
Victoria: $82,155 Hays: $647,415
TAX CUTS
There’s nothing more appropriate than a description of the hundreds-of-millions we need to put in to properly fund our schools, than to follow that conversation with one about tax cuts. It was odd to many of us as well. I like lower taxes as much as the next guy, but we have a documented recent history of not running our government well. With just one year under our belts following the 2017 tax changes which brought thousands of Kansans back onto the tax rolls, we are still uncertain of the long-term impacts of the law.
To add further confusion, the ink is barely dry on the federal tax law and many wanted to make massive tax cuts hoping the dice would fall in our favor. I will support tax cuts when we are performing the basic operations of government at a functional level. We began that path last year and in order to keep that positive change, we cannot reverse course to the errors of 2012 and the sales tax increases that followed.
Last year’s bill phased in the restoration of tax deductions eliminated during Brownback’s reign, with full deductibility of medical expenses, mortgage interest, and property taxes paid by 2020. Among other sweeping changes, this bill would have sped that up to next year and allowed those who do not itemize on their federal taxes to itemize on their state taxes.
Now is the time to:
Restore more than $2 billion borrowed from KDOT in the last eight years,
Repay the “loan” from the KPERS program and begin to shore up its unfunded liability,
Pay state employees a competitive wage so those with oversight of foster families know what they’re doing and families provide a safe home, and we have enough corrections and mental hospital employees to maintain safe employee-to-inmate/patient ratios.
There are about 25 other examples I could list, but you get the idea. Now is the time for proactive, pragmatic action, not another ill-advised and ill-timed tax cut.
The Senate passed it, 21-19, but the House killed it for lack of 63 votes, 59-59. I voted NO.
BUDGET
Last year, when we crafted the two-year budget bill for July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018 and July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019, we used well-researched estimates to decide how much to spend on what. With the 2017 tax bill seeing its first tax year come to fruition, we needed to amend that budget to reflect revenue changes and increases in caseloads for Medicaid and other program beneficiaries. This “supplemental” budget (House Substitute for Senate Bill 109) made additional strides toward fixing the way Kansas government runs, but still relies partially on borrowing from KDOT, not repaying a loan from KPERS, and other shell games.
However, I supported this budget because it is a step in the right direction. It would be financially irresponsible and unsustainable to make all the budgetary changes many of us think should happen in just one or two years. Recovering from the Brownback years will take a decade, many have said, and in the process, we will slowly begin to repay the record debt those years created.
Of the high points, we began the process of restoring the disastrous cuts to our higher education system and increased state employee pay again after years without raises:
$15 million for higher education will include $637,554 for Fort Hays State, $1.9 million for KSU, $2.6 million for KU, and another $2.1 million for the medical school.
State employees not included in last year’s raise will see an 5% increase, and those from last year will receive another 2.5% increase this year.
Proactive investments like early childhood education and the State Water Plan were also included:
$1 million for Parents As Teachers
$1 million for Tiny-K
$4.2 million for a Pre-K Pilot project
More than $3 million for various water plan projects
I’m thrilled our seniors and their nursing facilities will begin to see better treatment from the Medicaid program via increased reimbursement rates to the tune of $22 million.
Finally, I supported an effort to keep Kansas taxpayers from paying more than $51,000 in legal fees assessed to Secretary of State Kris Kobach due to contempt charges levied against him during his most recent court case. The Senate stripped that language out of the budget bill.
When all was said and done, this is a much better budget than the legislature has seen in recent years. It passed the Senate, 26-14, and the House, 98-23, I voted yes.
It is a special honor to serve as your state representative. I both value and need your input on the various issues facing state government. Please feel free to contact me with your comments and questions. My office address is Room 43-S, 300 SW 10th, Topeka, KS 66612. You can reach me at (785) 296-4683 or call the legislative hotline at 1-800-432-3924 to leave a message for me. Additionally, you can e-mail me at [email protected]. You can also follow the legislative session online at www.kslegislature.org.
Hays city commissioners know there are traffic flow problems on north Vine Street between 32nd and 41st Streets. The configuration has been studied several times the past 25 years.
The most recent recommendation, in conjunction with the Kansas Department of Transportation, is installation of three traffic roundabouts.
The plan calls for an hourglass or double roundabout at 32nd and 33rd, another at 37th, and a third roundabout north of Interstate 70 at 41st and Mopar Drive.
During last week’s work session, Vice-Mayor Henry Schwaller said he is not ready to commit $400,000 to an engineering design without more discussion with the effected business owners.
“Number 1, we need to know our alternatives which we discussed a long time ago. That would be refreshing. Number 2, we need to be prepared to talk to the public and listen to the businesses and property owners on Vine as well as the major employers and get their feedback on this. I think that’s critical,” Schwaller said.
Earlier studies have called for reverse access roads.
Commissioners acknowledged there are some residents adamantly opposed to roundabouts, while some others are very supportive.
Commissioner Sandy Jacobs favors the project.
“We can argue all day long whether people can drive them or not. I think people learn to adjust to whatever is there. They may not be the happiest people, part of them. Some of them will love it,” Jacobs said. “I think if you don’t want to go that way you’ll find an alternate. And there are alternate ways to get to wherever you want to go, especially Walmart.”
Mayor James Meier suggested the design work be flexible enough the roundabouts could be built at different times, any or all of them, instead of as a single large project.
John Braun, Hays Project Manager
Project Manager John Braun warned that would likely cost more money.
The commission is scheduled to vote Thu., May 24, on whether to proceed with hiring design engineer WSP, the low bidder, for three roundabouts.
The WSP bid is $399,000 which would be paid out of the Convention and Visitors Bureau contingency fund. Estimated cost of the corridor project is $7.6 million with construction to start in 2020.
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas has fired the Athletic Director.
Zenger-Photo University of Kansas
In an email to the campus Monday, Chancellor Douglas A. Girod wrote, “This morning I met with Director of Athletics Sheahon Zenger and informed him that I am relieving him of his duties, effective immediately.
Sheahon has been a loyal Jayhawk, and our athletics department has improved in many areas under his leadership. But Athletics continues to face a number of challenges, and progress in key areas has been elusive. To achieve the level of success we need and expect, I have determined a change in leadership is necessary.
Sean Lester, our deputy athletics director, will serve as interim director. I have spoken with Sean about my expectations for the coming months, and I am confident he will provide sound leadership and stability during this transition.
I have begun the process of identifying a permanent athletics director. To lead this process, I have enlisted Drue Jennings, one of our most respected and accomplished alumni. Many of you know Drue as our interim athletics director in 2003 and for his role in leading the search processes that brought Chancellor Gray-Little and Coach Self to KU. Jed Hughes, a consultant with the Korn Ferry executive search firm, will assist Drue.
In addition, earlier today I spoke with Coach Beaty and shared my expectation that he will continue recruiting hard and getting his team ready for the season.
Since becoming chancellor, I have spent countless hours with higher education peers and Jayhawks to hear their perspective on KU. A common thread in these conversations is that, as a major public university with national aspirations, we must continue to strive for excellence in all areas — including athletics. As I have said many times, a successful athletics department is inextricably linked to our broader mission as a flagship research university.
The other common thread in these conversations is optimism for Kansas Athletics. Across the country, we are recognized as having elite programs, a proud tradition, and a loyal fan base. These assets will serve us well as we identify a new leader for Kansas Athletics.
I want to thank Sheahon for his service during the past seven years. Under his leadership, student-athlete GPAs reached an all-time high. Rock Chalk Park, McCarthy Hall, and the DeBruce Center are lasting tributes to his efforts. Most importantly, he prioritized our student-athletes and represented KU with integrity and class.”
The Ellis County Commission will discuss using economic funds to support business corridor improvements northwest of Hays.
With the continued expansion of several businesses north of Interstate 70 in the area of 230th Avenue and Feedlot Ellis County staff believe it’s time to get updated costs on road projects in the area, according to County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes.
The county had previously explored the possibility of improving the infrastructure in the area but a lack of funding caused the commission to delay consideration of the project.
The commission will also consider staffing changes presented by County Treasurer Lisa Schlagel.
The board will meet as the Public Building Commission as 5 p.m. on Monday with the regular commission meeting to follow at the Ellis County Administrative Building at 718 Main St.
TOPEKA, Kan. – Two members of the TMP-Marian volleyball team have been selected to play in the Kansas Volleyball Association’s All-Star match. Savannah Yost and Kayla Vitztum are joined by Wheatland-Grinnell’s Zoe Schultz. Otis-Bison’s Janelle Maier is on the coaching staff.
The annual All Star match will be held this year on June 2nd,
2018, at Lee Arena on the Washburn University campus. Match time will be 6:30 pm. The players selected are first nominated by their high school coaches (who must be KVA members), and then recommended by committee to fill the squads. Based on achievements, positions, classifications, collegiate plans and availability the squads are
determined and divided into two teams which should provide for a competitive match.
This year’s participants are:
BLUE TEAM COLLEGIATE PLANS
Danielle Dodge – Washburn Rural HS Coffeyville Community
Savannah Yost – Thomas More Prep HS Fort Hays State University
Laken Schroeder – Concordia HS Cloud County Community
Jana Owens – Blue Valley West HS Appalachian State University
D’Ovion Williams – Blue Valley North HS Avila University
Kassidy Pflughoeft – Central Plains HS Barton County Community
Kailey Ince – Hesston HS University of Northern Colorado
Lacey Angello – Lansing HS University of Kansas
Mackenzie Pease – Manhattan HS Barton County Community
Marissa Bates – Silver Lake HS Pittsburg State University
Zoe Schultz – Wheatland/Grinnell HS Dodge City Community
Lindsey Fletcher – Blue Valley West HS Ottawa University
BLUE COACHES:
Jessica Compliment – Louisburg HS
Eric Evans – Wellsville HS
Leann Krier – Meade HS
RED TEAM COLLEGIATE PLANS
Katie Glatzcak – Centralia HS Washburn University
Amanda Desch – Hayden HS University of Central Oklahoma
Kenzie Smith – Manhattan HS Newman University
Alaina Dunlavy – Hesston HS Washburn University
Amber Hildebrand – Wamego HS Highland Community College
Shianne Cook – Olathe North HS Graceland University
Syndey Johnson – Beloit HS University of Missouri
Kayla Vitztum – Thomas More Prep HS Newman University
Brianna Bradshaw – Kingman HS Pittsburg State University
Taylor Antonowich – Newton HS Washburn University
Trisha Mathewson – Axtell HS McPherson College
Elle Barrett – McPherson HS Washburn University
RED COACHES:
Matt Allin – Blue Valley North HS
Lindsay Hothan – De Soto HS
Janelle Maier – Otis-Bison HS
CAMDEN, Mo. (AP) — Authorities allege a Kansas man was intoxicated when the boat he was operating struck a rock bluff on the Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri, killing three friends.
photo courtesy Missouri State Highway Patrol
Hayden Frazier, 22, of Overland Park, was released from jail Sunday morning. He was arrested Saturday on three preliminary charges of boating while intoxicated involving a death of another person. It wasn’t immediately clear when formal charges will be filed.
The Missouri Highway Patrol on Sunday identified says the three victims who were killed: 23-year-old Joseph LeMark, of Overland Park; 24-year-old Daniel Lewis, of Overland Park; and 21-year-old Hailey Hochanadel, of Olathe.
Authorities say 21-year-old Ashley Lamb, of Olathe, was in serious condition after being flown to a Springfield, Missouri, hospital. She is a student at Kansas State, according to the University Student Directory.
The crash happened before 2 a.m. Saturday, throwing three people into the water, authorities said. All five people involved were friends who graduated from high school in Olathe.
Accident reports say Frazier, Hochanadel and LeMark were ejected into the water in the crash that happened before 2 a.m. Saturday. State Patrol Sgt. Scott White said Frazier climbed back aboard and paddled the 1991 Regal Runabout across the channel to a dock at Simmons Point.
ELLIS – Accessibility for fishing at the Big Creek dam in Ellis will be discussed during Monday’s city council meeting.
Jeff Heimann will make a presentation about the proposal.
Council members will also hear more about roof repairs to buildings on city property as well as repairs to a city fire truck.
The complete May 21 agenda follows.
AGENDA
May 21, 2018
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF ELLIS
City Hall – Council Meeting Room
BILLS ORDINANCE REVIEW WORK SESSION BEGINS AT 7:00 P.M.
ROLL CALL AND MEETING CALL TO ORDER AT 7:30 P.M.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA (if needed)
CONSENT AGENDA
Minutes from Regular Meeting on May 7, 2018
Bills Ordinance #2045
(Council will review for approval under one motion under the consent agenda. By majority vote of the governing body, any item may be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately)
PUBLIC COMMENTS
(Each speaker will be limited to five minutes. If several people from the group wish to speak on same subject, the group must appoint a spokesperson. ALL comments from public on agenda items must be during Public Comment. Once council begins their business meeting, no more comments from public will be allowed.)
PRESENTATIONS OF AWARDS, PROCLAMATIONS, REQUESTS & PETITIONS (HEARINGS)
Proclamation Declaring Public Works Week
SPECIAL ORDER
Presentation on Accessibility for Fishing at Big Creek Dam – Jeff Heimann
Fire Department Monthly Report – Chief Dustin Vine
Consider Approval for Repairs to Fire Truck
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Consider Website Provider Options
Discussion on Repairs to Roofs on City Property
NEW BUSINESS
Consider Approval of Committee Appointments
Discuss Extending Time Frame to Comply with Tree Trimming Ordinance
Consider Approval of Event Request for Traffic Control and Noise Permit Applications
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — If you don’t use your seat belt, this might be a good week to start.
Monday is the start of the annual statewide law enforcement campaign “Click It or Ticket,” which runs through June 3. At least 160 law enforcement agencies will be emphasizing enforcement of the seat belt and child restraint laws.
Kansas law requires everyone 8 or older to be buckled in when riding in most vehicles. Children under age 4 must be in an approved child safety seat and those 4 to 7 must be in a booster seat until they are taller than 4-foot-9 or heavier than 80 pounds.
Fines for violating the laws range from $30 to $168.
The Kansas Department of Transportation reports nearly half of the 359 people killed in traffic accidents last year weren’t wearing seat belts.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A citizens panel is offering two options for Kansas City to could honor Martin Luther King Jr.
The panel said Sunday it supported renaming Kansas City International Airport after King. Its second option is renaming 63rd Street, which runs east to west through both wealthy and impoverished neighborhoods.
The Kansas City Star report s the panel found strong support for both options. Kansas City is one of the largest cities in the U.S. that has no public monument honoring King.
Airport Aviation Director Patrick Klein urged the city not to rename the airport. He said in a statement it would be a mistake to remove Kansas City from the airport’s name. He said it would confuse passengers and make it difficult to market Kansas City nationally and internationally.
Mrs. Patricia Angelone entered eternal rest on Thursday May 17, 2018. She was 89 years old. Patricia was the beloved wife of the late Oliver William.
She was the devoted mother to Annamarie Galvin, the late John, Paul, Lisa, and Carla Lown. She was the loving grandmother to Laura, Renae, Ian, Devan, Emily, Nicholas Jake, Nika, Aiyana, Matthew, and Jaclyn.
Patricia also leaves behind 1 brother, Gale Schlageck and several loving nieces and nephews.
The Angelone family will be receiving friends on Sunday from 3-7 p.m. at the Harrison Funeral Home. Mass of the Christian Burial Monday 11 a.m. at St. Gregory the Great Church.
Interment will take place in Angelus, Kansas. In lieu of flowers, kindly make memorial contributions in her honor to the Annual Fund @ The University of St. Mary, 4100 South 4th Street, Leavenworth, Ks., 66048. Harrison Funeral Home 329 Halstead Ave., Harrison, N.Y., 10528, WWW.HARRISONFUNERAL.COM
