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Funeral held for 3rd Kan. child abuse victim in 4 weeks

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Residents gathered this week to honor a 2-year-old who is the third child in Wichita to have died from abuse in just four weeks.

Friends and family are holding a fundraiser to help the boy’s family with expenses

Saint Joseph Church held a funeral Thursday for Anthony Bunn. The toddler was rushed to a hospital earlier this month after he stopped breathing. Police say he suffered severe head injuries.

The child’s mother, Elizabeth Woolheater, and her boyfriend, Lucas Diel, are jailed and have been charged with murder in Anthony’s death.

The Rev. Pat York said that if people stand by what is right, “maybe we can prevent this from happening to another innocent child.”

The Wichita area has seen several child abuse homicides and a disappearance within the past year. The Kansas Department of Children and Families Secretary says its working to improve child welfare programs.

UPDATE: Multiple fatalities, teen suspect jailed for Texas school shooting

SANTA FE, Texas (AP) — The Latest on a shooting at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas (all times local):

3p.m.

A sheriff says the 17-year-old suspect in the fatal shooting of at least 10 people at his Houston-area high school is being held on a capital murder charge.

Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset says in a statement that the student, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, is being held without bond in the Galveston County jail.

At least 10 other people were wounded in the shooting Friday morning at the Santa Fe High School.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says investigators also found explosive devices, including a molotov cocktail, in the school and nearby.

Abbott says the suspect told authorities after his arrest that he had intended to kill himself too, but that he lacked the courage.

2p.m.

A law enforcement official has identified a person in custody in the Houston-area school shooting as 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis.

The official was not authorized to discuss the shooting by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.

Authorities say eight to 10 people, mostly students, were killed in the nation’s deadliest such attack since the massacre in Florida that gave rise to a campaign by teens for gun control.

A woman who answered the phone at a number associated with the Pagourtzis family declined to speak with the AP.

She said: “Give us our time right now, thank you.”

Pagourtzis plays on the Santa Fe High School junior varsity football team, and is a member of a dance squad with a local Greek Orthodox church.

___

Eric Tucker in Washington D.C. contributed to this report.

___

1 p.m.

The emergency room medical director at a Texas hospital says the facility has treated eight patients injured in a shooting at a Houston-area school.

Dr. Safi Madain at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center says six of the eight patients have been treated and released. Madain says one patient remains in critical condition and the other is in fair condition.

Madain says all appeared to be high school students with gunshot wounds.

Other victims have been treated at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Dr. David Marshall, chief nursing officer, says one adult male is in critical condition at the hospital. He says that man was shot in the upper arm and is undergoing surgery.

Officials have said eight to 10 people were killed in the Friday morning shooting at Santa Fe High School.

___

12:50 p.m.

A student inside the Houston-area high school where several people were fatally shot says he was near the art classroom where the shooting took place.

Eighteen-year-old Logan Roberds says he heard a fire alarm at Santa Fe High School and went outside. He says he then heard two loud bangs, which he didn’t initially think were gunshots. He says he thought someone loudly hit a trash can.

But he later heard three loud bangs. He says, “that’s when the teachers told us to run.” He says he ran with other students to a nearby gas station. His mother says she quickly drove to meet her son.

The local sheriff says eight to 10 people were killed after a gunman opened fire inside the school Friday morning. Two people are in custody.

___

12:30 p.m.

The police chief at a Houston-area school district says a police officer was shot and wounded during a shooting that killed multiple people at a local high school.

Walter Braun is the police chief of Santa Fe Independent School District. He says the fatal shooting Friday morning at Santa Fe High School also left at least six people wounded, including a police officer.

Dr. David Marshall is the chief nursing officer at the University of Texas Medical Branch in nearby Galveston. He says one man is in critical condition and undergoing surgery at the hospital after suffering a gunshot wound to the upper arm. It wasn’t immediately clear if the man is the wounded officer.

Two other victims are being treated for gunshot wounds to their legs. Hospital spokesman Raul Reyes says one of those is believed to be a student. The other is a middle-aged woman.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says eight to 10 people were killed after a gunman opened fire inside the school. Two people are in custody.

___

12 p.m.

Survivors of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, took to social media to express outrage and heartbreak after the latest school shooting in Texas where authorities say a gunman opened fire killing eight to 10 people.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas students Jaclyn Corin said in a tweet Friday that her “heart is so heavy” for the students at Santa Fe High School, telling them Parkland will stand with them.

She also directed her frustration at President Donald Trump, urging him to “DO SOMETHING” because children are being killed.

Classmate David Hogg warned the city that politicians would soon descend on the school acting like they care but are only looking to boost approval ratings.

Corin and Hogg were part of a grassroots movement that rallied hundreds of thousands for gun reform.

___

10:50 a.m.

The local sheriff says as many as 10 people may have been killed during a shooting at a high school near Houston, most of them students.

Harris County Sherriff Ed Gonzalez Harris County said there “could be 8 to 10 fatalities” from the shooting Friday morning at Santa Fe High School, about 30 miles southeast of Houston.

Gonzalez says the majority of the dead are students.

The sheriff says one person is in custody and a second person has been detained.

Gonzalez says a police officer is among the injured but the extent of the officer’s injuries is unknown.

___

SANTA FE, Texas (AP) — Houston-area media citing unnamed law enforcement officials are reporting that there are fatalities following a shooting at a local high school Friday morning.

Television station KHOU and the Houston Chronicle are citing unnamed federal, county and police officials following the shooting at Santa Fe High School, which went on lockdown around 8 a.m. The Associated Press has not been able to confirm the reports.

The school district has confirmed an unspecified number of injuries but said it wouldn’t immediately release further details. Assistant Principal Cris Richardson said a suspect “has been arrested and secured.”

“We hope the worst is over and I really can’t say any more about that because it would be pure speculation,” Richardson told media outlets at the scene.

School officials said law enforcement officers were working to secure the building “and initiate all emergency management protocols to release and move students to another location.” Students from the high school were being transported to another location to reunite with their parents.

One student told Houston television station KTRK in a telephone interview that a gunman came into her first-period art class and started shooting. The student said she saw one girl with blood on her leg as the class evacuated the room.

“We thought it was a fire drill at first but really, the teacher said, ‘Start running,'” the student told the television station.

The student said she didn’t get a good look at the shooter because she was running away. She said students escaped through a door at the back of the classroom.

Authorities have not yet confirmed that report.

Aerial footage from the scene showed students standing in a grassy field and three life-flight helicopters landing at the school in Santa Fe, a city of about 13,000 residents roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Houston.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was responding to a shooting at the school.

There was a large law enforcement response to the same school in February when it was placed on lockdown after students and teachers said they heard “popping sounds.” Santa Fe police swept the campus but found no threat.

Conservative revolt over immigration sinks House farm bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — In an embarrassment for House Republican leaders, conservatives on Friday scuttled a bill that combines stricter work and job training requirements for food stamp recipients with a renewal of farm subsidies popular in GOP-leaning farm country.

Hard-right conservatives upset over the party’s stalled immigration agenda opposed the measure, which failed by a 213-198 vote. Some 30 Republicans joined with every chamber Democrat in opposition.

The House of Representatives during Friday’s Farm Bill vote -image courtesy CSPAN

Kansas First District Congressman  Roger Marshall said, “We obviously wanted to see today’s vote go differently, and clearly we have more work to do. But I have faith that once members have to go home and face their producers they will rethink today’s outcome and will focus on the needs of Rural America. This effort is far from over. I am anxious to return to Congress next week to get back to work on providing our producers the certainty they deserve.”

The vote was a blow to GOP leaders, who had hoped to tout its new work requirements for recipients of food stamps. The work initiative polls well with voters, especially those in the GOP political base.

More broadly, it exposed fissures within the party in the months before the midterm elections, and the Freedom Caucus tactics rubbed many rank-and-file Republicans the wrong way. A handful of GOP moderates opposed the bill, too, but not enough to sink it on their own.

“You judge each piece of legislation on its own,” said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla. “You don’t hold one thing hostage for something that’s totally different and has nothing to do with it. I would say that’s a mistake in my view.”

Key conservatives in the rebellious House Freedom Caucus opposed the measure, seeking leverage to win procedural advantages to in a debate on immigration next month. Negotiations with GOP leaders Friday morning failed to bear fruit, however, and the unrelated food and farm measure was defeated.

Conservative Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said some members had concerns over the farm bill, but said, “That wasn’t my main focus. My main focus was making sure we do immigration policy right” and “actually build a border security wall.”

Beyond the drama and infighting among Republicans, the debacle appears to make it even more likely that Congress will simply extend the current farm bill when it expires in September.

The farm bill, a twice-per-decade rite on Capitol Hill, promises greater job training opportunities for recipients of food stamps, a top priority for House leaders. Democrats are strongly opposed, saying the stricter work and job training rules are poorly designed and would drive 2 million people off of food stamps. They took a victory lap after the vote.

“On a bipartisan basis, the House rejected a bad bill that failed farmers and working families,” said Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “Republicans wrote a cruel, destructive Farm Bill that abandoned farmers and producers amid plummeting farm prices and the self-inflicted damage of President Trump’s trade brinkmanship.”

Currently, adults 18-59 are required to work part-time to receive food stamps, officially called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or agree to accept a job if they’re offered one. Stricter rules apply to able-bodied adults 18-49, who are subject to a three-month limit of benefits unless they meet a work or job training requirement of 80 hours per month.

Under the new bill, the tougher requirement would be expanded to apply to all adults on SNAP, with exceptions for of seniors, pregnant women, caretakers of children under the age of 6, or people with disabilities.

“It sets up a system for SNAP recipients where if you are able to work, you should work to get the benefits,” said Ryan, R-Wis.” And if you can’t work, we’ll help you get the training you need. We will help you get the skills you need to get an opportunity.”

The measure would have greatly expanded funding for state-administered job training programs, but Democrats and outside critics say the funding for the proposed additional job training would require huge new bureaucracies, extensive record-keeping requirements, and that the funding levels would fall far short of what’s enough to provide job training to everybody covered by the new job training requirements.

“While I agree that there are changes that need to be made to the SNAP program, this is so clearly not the way to do it,” said Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, top Democrat of the Agriculture Committee. “The bill cuts more than $23 billion in SNAP benefits and will result in an estimated 2 million Americans unable to get the help they need.”

He said it “turns around and wastes billions … cut from SNAP benefits to create a massive, untested workforce training bureaucracy.”

In addition to food stamps, the measure would renew farm safety-net programs such as subsidies for crop insurance, farm credit and land conservation. Those subsidies for farm country traditionally form the backbone of support for the measure among Republicans, while urban Democrats support food aid for the poor.

On Thursday, supporters of the agriculture safety net easily defeated an attempt to weaken the government’s sugar program, which critics say gouges consumers by propping up sugar prices.

The measure mostly tinkered with farm programs, adding provisions aimed at boosting high-speed internet access in rural areas, assist beginning farmers, and ease regulations on producers. But since the measure makes mostly modest adjustments to farm policy, some lawmakers believe that the most likely course of action this year is a temporary extension of the current measure, which expires at the end of September.

In the Senate, the chamber’s filibuster rules require a bipartisan process for a bill to pass. There, Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., promises a competing bill later this month and he’s signaling that its changes to food stamps would be far more modest than the House measure.

Eagle Communications will present at National ESOP Association annual conference

The ESOP Association’s 41st annual conference will be May 24 and 25 in Washington. More than 900 representatives of companies with Employee Stock Ownership Plans, including senior executives, human resource specialists and ownership leaders, as well as professionals who provide services to ESOPs, are expected to attend.

Eagle’ Communications employee-owners who will be featured presenters at the conference include:

• Gary Shorman, President and CEO
• Shannon Wiederholt, Chief People Officer
• Cole Grieves, Talent Development Representative
• Andrea Clinkscales, Executive Administrative Assistant

They will be presenting:
Generation ‘E’ – Standard Operating Procedure
Thursday, May 24, 2018, from 11:20 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. in Capital D

This interactive presentation will allow participants to discuss and identify generational challenges in their organization and to learn methods on how to communicate across generational lines.

Eagle Communications, Inc. is a Kansas-based Broadband Services and Media Company with over 290 employee-owners. The company operates 28 radio stations in Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri as well as cable TV systems in 60 Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado communities. The company also offers e-business solutions, web hosting, telephone service, high-speed Internet, and wireless Internet in most service areas. For more information log on to https://www.eaglecom.net.

The ESOP Association is the national trade association for companies with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and the leading voice in America for employee ownership. The core belief of The ESOP Association is that employee ownership will improve American competitiveness, increase productivity through greater employee participation, and strengthen our free enterprise economy. More information: website – www.esopassociation.org and blog – www.esopassociationblog.org

Monarchs No. 1 seed for 3A State Baseball Tournament

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Thomas More Prep-Marian baseball team is the No. 1 seed for next week’s 3A State Baseball Tournament at Kansas State’s Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan. The Monarchs (21-1) open with Wellsville (19-4) at 3:30 pm Thursday, May 24. The Eagles (19-4), who finished third at the state tournament in 2016, beat their three opponents 42-6 to win their own regional. Riley County (19-2) is the four seed and plays Humboldt (20-3) in the first round. The two winners meet in the semifinals at 1:15 pm Saturday, May 25.

Cherokee-Southeast (20-1) is the No. 2 seed and opens with Sabetha (20-3). Marion/Lost Springs-Centre (21-2) is seeded third and takes on Cheney (20-3).

The third place game is scheduled for 3:30 pm and the 3A state title game for 5:45 pm Saturday, May 25.

Class 3A State Baseball Bracket

21-year-old sentenced for deadly Kansas crash

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 21-year-old man has been sentenced to three years of probation for a crash that killed a 72-year-old Wichita man.

Scene of the July 2017 fatal crash -photo courtesy KWCH

Cody McFarlane was sentenced Wednesday for involuntary manslaughter and aggravated battery in the July 2017 collision that killed 72-year-old James McDaniel and injured McDaniel’s 16-year-old grandson.

Court records say McFarlane was speeding at 80 mph in a 30 mph zone when his truck sped through an intersection in the northern part of the city and struck McDaniel’s vehicle. McDaniel died less than an hour later at a hospital.

If he violates the terms of his probation, McFarlane could be forced to serve a prison sentence of three years and four months.

TMP-Marian softball No. 5 seed for 3A State Tournament

TOPEKA, Kan, – The Thomas More Prep-Marian softball team will be the No. 5 seed for next week’s 3A State Tournament at Twin Oaks Complex in Manhattan. The Monarchs (18-5) open with Oskaloosa at 7 pm Thursday, May 24. The Bears (20-3) advanced after winning their own regional.

Haven (22-1) is the No. 1 seed and plays Riverton (14-9) in the first round. Cheney (20-3) is seeded second and takes on Osage City (16-7). Silver Lake (20-3) is the three seed and opens with  Southeast of Saline (17-6).

The winners advance to the semifinals at 11 am Saturday (May 25) with the third place and championship games to follow.

Class 3A State Softball Bracket

Good news from China for Kansas sorghum farmers

HONG KONG (AP) — China has dropped an anti-dumping investigation and given long awaited approval for the sale of Toshiba’s memory chip business, in gestures that could suggest a thaw between Beijing and the U.S. as trade talks resumed in Washington.


The Commerce Ministry said Friday ended the probe into imported U.S. sorghum because it’s not in the public interest. A day earlier, Beijing cleared the way for a group led by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital to buy Toshiba Corp.’s computer memory chip business.

The moves signaled Beijing’s willingness to make a deal with Washington amid talks between senior U.S. and Chinese officials aimed at averting a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies, analysts say.

“I think China is willing to make concessions,” said Wang Tao, chief China economist at UBS. “The Chinese stance has been very clear, that China wants to mute any trade dispute. But of course it doesn’t mean China would heed to all the demands the U.S. would place.”

A White House official said China had offered to work to cut the trade deficit with the U.S. by $200 billion, while stressing that the details remained unclear. But China’s Foreign Ministry denied it.

“It’s untrue,” said spokesman Lu Kang. “The relevant discussion is still underway, and it is constructive.”

The Commerce Ministry said it was ending the anti-dumping probe and a parallel anti-subsidy investigation because they would have raised costs for consumers.

The U.S. is China’s biggest supplier of sorghum, accounting for more than 90 percent of total imports. China’s investigation, launched in February, had come as a warning shot to American farmers, many of whom support the Trump administration yet depend heavily on trade. They feared they would lose their largest export market for the crop, which is used primarily for animal feed and liquor.

The Commerce Ministry said that, “Anti-dumping and countervailing measures against imported sorghum originating in the United States would affect the cost of living of a majority of consumers and would not be in the public interest,” according to a notice posted on its website.

It said it had received many reports that the investigation would result in higher costs for the livestock industry, adding that many domestic pig farmers were facing hardship because of declining pork prices.

China’s U.S. sorghum imports surged from 317,000 metric tons in 2013 to 4.76 million tons last year while prices fell by about a third in the same period.

The ministry said any deposits for the preliminary anti-dumping tariffs of 178.6 percent, which took effect on April 18, would be returned in full.

The announcement came after President Donald Trump met at the White House with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, the leader of China’s delegation for talks with a U.S. team headed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Trump had told reporters earlier that he had doubts about the potential for an agreement. He also raised fresh uncertainty about resolving a case involving Chinese tech company ZTE, which was hit with a crippling seven-year ban on buying from U.S. suppliers, forcing it to halt major operations. Trump said the company “did very bad things” to the U.S. economy and would be a “small component of the overall deal.”

Song Lifang, an economics professor and trade expert at Renmin University, said haggling is currently underway.

“It’s time for both to present their demands, but it’s also a time to exhibit their bargaining chips,” said Song, adding that approval for the Toshiba deal, worth $18 billion, was “an apparent sign of thaw” amid a U.S. investigation into Chinese trade practices requiring U.S. companies to turn over their technology in exchange for access to China’s market.

The Trump administration has proposed tariffs on up to $150 billion in Chinese products to punish Beijing while China has responded by targeting $50 billion in U.S. imports. Neither country has yet imposed tariffs.

According to the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission, the Sorghum Belt runs from South Dakota to Southern Texas and the crop is grown primarily on dryland acres.  In addition to animal feed it is used for ethanol production. Kansas, Texas and Arkansas are among the top Sorghum producing states, according to the the commission’s web site.

Trump to deny funds to clinics that refer for abortion

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration will resurrect a Reagan-era rule that would ban federally funded family planning clinics from referring women for abortions, or sharing space with abortion providers.

In January, Trump spoke ahead of the annual March for Life in Washington- photo courtesy the White House

The Department of Health and Human Services will announce its proposal Friday, a senior White House official said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to confirm the plans before the announcement.

The policy has been derided as a “gag rule” by abortion rights supporters and medical groups, and it is likely to trigger lawsuits that could keep it from taking effect. However, it’s guaranteed to galvanize activists on both sides of the abortion debate ahead of the congressional midterm elections.

The Reagan-era rule barred family planning clinics from discussing abortion with women. It never went into effect as written, although the Supreme Court ruled that it was an appropriate use of executive power. The policy was rescinded under President Bill Clinton, and a new rule went into effect that required “nondirective” counseling to include a range of options for women.

According to a Trump administration summary, the new proposal will roll back the Clinton requirement that abortion could be discussed as an option along with prenatal care and adoption.

Abortion is a legal medical procedure, but federal family planning funds cannot be used to pay for abortion procedures.

Abortion opponents say a taxpayer-funded family planning program should have no connection to abortion. Doctors’ groups and abortion rights supporters say a ban on counseling women trespasses on the doctor-patient relationship.

“The notion that you would withhold information from a patient does not uphold or preserve their dignity,” said Jessica Marcella of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, which represents family planning clinics. “I cannot imagine a scenario in which public health groups would allow this effort to go unchallenged.”

She said requiring family planning clinics to be physically separate from facilities in which abortion is provided would disrupt services for women across the country.

But Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America said, “Abortion is not health care or birth control and many women want natural health care choices, rather than hormone-induced changes.”

Abortion opponents allege the federal family planning program in effect cross-subsidizes abortion services provided by Planned Parenthood, whose clinics are also major recipients of grants for family planning and basic preventive care. Hawkins’ group is circulating a petition to urge lawmakers in Congress to support the Trump administration’s proposal.

Known as Title X, the nation’s family-planning program serves about 4 million women a year through clinics, at a cost to taxpayers of about $260 million.

Planned Parenthood clinics also qualify for Title X grants, but they must keep the family-planning money separate from funds used to pay for abortions. The Republican-led Congress has unsuccessfully tried to deny federal funds to Planned Parenthood, and the Trump administration has vowed to religious and social conservatives that it would keep up the effort.

Ellis mayor graduates from Municipal Training Institute

LKM

TOPEKA – Several local government leaders were honored for their efforts and successful completion of various levels of the Municipal Training Institute (MTI), a program of the League of Kansas Municipalities.

Created in 1999 to provide educational opportunities for elected officials and appointed officials, the goal of the institute is to provide an interactive curriculum of specialized instruction that will develop the knowledge and enhance the leadership abilities of those who serve the cities of Kansas.

This year alone, over 280 local government officials have attended training through the MTI program.

These trainings offer officials valuable information on planning and zoning, municipal finance, personnel management, KOMA/KORA regulations, civility, and ethics.

There are three levels of achievement in the Institute. This year, the League honored officials in each level.

Level 1:
Becky Berger, City Manager, City of Atchison
Jami Downing, City Clerk, City of Stafford
Diana Garten, Finance Director, City of Pratt
Lou Leone, City Administrator, City of Kiowa*

Level 2:
David McDaniel, Mayor, City of Ellis
Lou Leone, City Administrator, City of Kiowa*
Michael Ort, City Administrator, City of Jetmore

Level 3: **
Kendal Francis, City Manager (in transition)
Tim Vandall, City Administrator, City of Lansing

* Lou Leone, City of Kiowa City Administrator completed both Level 1 and Level 2 quickly and was honored for both levels in 2018.

** Fewer than than 15 individuals in Kansas have completed the necessary steps to complete Level 3 for the Municipal Training Institute.

Established by municipal officials in 1910, the League of Kansas Municipalities is a voluntary, nonpartisan organization of representing Kansas’ cities. The League works for its member cities through advocacy, legal advice, education and other services.

Universities in Kansas asking for higher tuition despite state funding boost

 STEPHEN KORANDA

Public universities in Kansas are proposing tuition hikes significantly lower than some of the larger increases seen in recent years. The schools presented the plans to the Kansas Board of Regents this week.

The increases in tuition and fees for in-state, undergraduate students range from 1.2 percent at Kansas State University to 3 percent at the University of Kansas.

Those numbers are smaller than some past increases. Over the last decade, annual tuition hikes have sometimes run as high as 9 percent.

“In recent years, the universities sustained reductions to their State General Fund appropriations,” a summary from the Board of Regents said. “Tuition increases, although not intended to make up for those reductions, have clearly served to mitigate the financial dilemma created by the budget cuts.”

Higher education in Kansas had to absorb a $30 million cut in 2016 put in place by then-Gov. Sam Brownback to help balance the state budget.

Lawmakers changed course on taxes last year by reversing many of the state’s 2012 tax cuts. They’ve also been restoring some of the higher education spending reductions.

After adding $15 million in higher education funding this year, lawmakers have now restored around $24 million of the $30 million cut.

In its explanation to the board, K-State said the funding increases over the last two years helped limit the tuition hike.

“This is the smallest tuition increase the university has requested since before 1989,” the explanation for K-State said.

If the increases are approved, the cost of in-state tuition and fees for a 15-credit-hour semester would range from $5,573.95 at KU and $5,191.50 at K-State down to $3,379.08 at Emporia State University.

The tuition increase at KU is slightly more than requested last year, even with the increase in state funding. KU spokeswoman Erinn Barcomb-Peterson said the increase is necessary to keep up with rising costs for employee health care and facilities.

“The proposed rate hikes won’t even cover all of that,” she said. “What we’re really looking at is a rapid increase in fixed costs.”

KU’s proposal does not include raises for workers.

Barcomb-Peterson said part of the facility cost is bringing online a new science building that will offer additional educational and research opportunities.

“It’s always about balancing affordability and quality,” Barcomb-Peterson said. “We want a KU education to be affordable for our students and families, but we also need to provide the level of education that people are going to expect from a research university like KU.”

In its summary, the Board of Regents said even after the funding boost, total state support will be $72 million below where it was in 2009.

 

 

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for KPR a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda.

Commercial zoning request at W. 48th and Roth to be heard

(Click to enlarge)

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

An application has been made to change the zoning of a 5.7 acre property at the northwest corner of West 48th St. and Roth Ave. north of Interstate 70.

The request for a change from Agriculture (A-L) to Commercial General District (C-2) will be reviewed by the Hays Area Planning Commission during their meeting Monday, May 21.

According to a memo to the commission, the plan for development on the site is encouraged by city staff which recommends setting a public hearing on Monday, June 18.

The property, owned by Scott Crawford of Hays, is currently used for agriculture production. The Comprehensive Plan identifies the area for Urban Reserve (UR).

In the memo, city staff say the proposed zoning and commercial development of the property is one of the highest and best uses.

(Click to enlarge)

The property to the south is zoned Commercial General District (C-2). Public utilities are present on the south side of West 48th St. and Roth Ave. The developer, listed as Matt Wilson/HaysTW, LLC, of Hot Springs, Arkansas, would be required to extend the utilities for the development.

The complete planning commission agenda can be seen here. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Hays City Hall, 1507 Main.

Paula Sue Rein

Paula Sue Rein, age 57, died on May 16, 2018 at the Good Samaritan Society, Ellis, Kansas. She was born on October 10, 1960 in LaCrosse, Kansas the youngest daughter of Cletus and JoAnn Dreasher Rein.

Paula graduated from Bazine High School and worked for many years in restaurant and home health services.
She is survived by six brothers, Dale of Burlington, Kansas, Daryl (Vonia) of Cimarron, Joel (Deniese) of Hutchinson, Alan of Bazine, Brad and Myron of Ness City and four sisters, Cindy Rein of Wichita, Patty Legleiter (Neil) of Hays, and Julie Roane (Jerry) of Utica and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents.

Funeral service will be on Saturday, May 19, 2018, 2:00 P.M. at Fitzgerald Funeral Home, Ness City with burial in the Ness City Cemetery. Visitation will be at the funeral home on Friday from 7:00 until 9:00 P.M.

Memorial contributions may be given to the Christ Pilot Me Hill of Bazine, Wheatview Apartments of Ness City and Good Samaritan Society of Ellis.

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