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HHS baseball wins first two games of Diamond Classic

HAYS, Kan. – The Hays High Indians got their bats rolling yesterday as they start the Western Plains Diamond Classic with a couple of wins. The Indians scored 19 runs over two innings and easily beat Life Prep Academy 19-0 in game called after three innings by run rule. They then scored nine in in the first inning and beat Great Bend 10-4.

Cody Peterson drove in three while Hunter Brown and Trey Riggs both had two RBIs against the Panthers. Peterson allowed four runs on nine hits over 6 2/3 innings and picks up the win on the mound as the Indians win their third straight and improve to 10-4.

Hays continues play tonight at around 7:15 against Salina Central.

Kansas lawmakers approve extra higher ed dollars, pay raises

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators on Thursday approved pay raises for state workers, setting aside money for school security upgrades and reversing past spending cuts on state university campuses.

But top Republicans also were pursuing income tax cuts that could endanger their ability to sustain the extra spending and an increase in funding for public schools approved last month in hopes of satisfying a Kansas Supreme Court mandate.

GOP leaders hoped the House and Senate would vote late Thursday or early Friday on income tax cuts worth $82 million during the next fiscal year. The bill is a response to changes in federal income tax laws late last year that would otherwise have some individuals and businesses paying more to the state.

Both the House and Senate approved a bill that would add millions of new dollars to the budgets approved by lawmakers last year for the state’s current fiscal year and the next fiscal year beginning in July. The current budget would top $16.3 billion, and the one for the next fiscal year would be nearly $16.8 billion in total spending.

The votes were 98-23 in the House and 26-14 in the Senate. The measure goes next GOP Gov. Jeff Colyer, who is all but certain to sign it but has the power to veto individual spending items.

The measure had bipartisan support because many legislators believed the extra spending addressed areas of state government that had been neglected in previous years. The state experienced persistent budget problems after lawmakers slashed income taxes in 2012 and 2013, and legislators reversed most of the past cuts last year.

“I think we came up with a very good and fair budget,” said state Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore, of Kansas City, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.

Some conservative Republicans, particularly in the Senate, argued that the extra spending was too much.

“Where’s the fiscal conservative stances everyone talks about when they’re back home?” said Sen. Rob Olson, a conservative Olathe Republican. “They’re not in this budget.”

Even as the Republican-controlled Legislature approved the spending increases, its GOP leaders argued that the state should cut taxes because it is receiving an unanticipated “windfall” because of the federal tax changes.

Projections this week from the Legislature’s research staff suggested that the state can’t sustain all the new spending and cut taxes without causing budget shortfalls as early as next year. But the state’s economy has improved, and tax collections have exceeded expectations for 11 consecutive months, with a $66 million surplus in April alone.

The budget bill provides an additional $15 million to state universities to help them recover from cuts in their operation budgets in 2016. A majority of the cuts, but not all of them, would be restored.

State workers would get at least a 2.5 percent pay raise. Uniformed corrections officers and employees who did not get a raise last year would receive 5 percent.

The bill also includes $5 million for grants for security upgrades at public schools. It was part a safety plan House GOP leaders drafted following a deadly mass shooting in February at a Florida high school.

Legislators last month approved phasing in a $534 million increase in aid to the state’s 286 school districts over five years. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in October that the state’s current education funding of more than $4 billion a year is not sufficient under the state constitution.

Kansas City swim coach charged with child sex crimes

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former suburban Kansas City teacher and swim coach has been charged with sex crime with seven youths.

Green photo Jackson County

The U.S. attorney’s office says the nine-count indictment was unsealed Wednesday after 53-year-old James Russell Green, of Blue Springs, Missouri, made his first appearance. He remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing.

Green was formerly a teacher at Oak Park High School and several middle schools in the North Kansas City School District and at Blue Springs South High School. Green was also a head swimming coach in those school districts and at Hallbrook Country Club in Leawood, Kansas.

Court documents allege that Green produced images and videos of child pornography and engaged or attempted to engage in sexual encounters with several minor victims on numerous occasions over a 20-year period.

TMP-Marian baseball sweeps Goodland

GOODLAND, Kan. – The TMP-Marian baseball team ran their win streak to seven games with a doubleheader sweep in Goodland. The Monarchs scored four in the fourth and raced out to 5-1 lead in the first game and held to win 5-4. They then scored three in the second, fourth and fifth innings and took the second contest 9-2.

Chase Werth, Cole Zimmerman and Creighton Renz combined on a two-hitter in the first game. Trenton Mayo doubled and drove in two. Tate Garcia had two hits and knocked in a run.

Werth and Gavin Schumacher both had two RBIs in the second game. Tate Garcia didn’t allow an earned runs on two hits over four innings for the win. Trenton Mayo pitched three hitless inning of relief for the save.

The Monarchs are now 15-1 and off until next Thursday when they travel to Colby.

Missouri legislature calls special session to consider impeaching governor

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on the investigation of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (all times local):

7:58 p.m.

Gov. Greitens booking photo courtesy St. Louis Police Department

The Missouri Legislature has called itself into a special session to consider impeaching Gov. Eric Greitens following allegations of sexual misconduct and misuse of charity resources.

House and Senate leaders announced Thursday night that they had gathered petition signatures from more than three-fourths of all lawmakers in each chamber, which is the threshold required in the state constitution.

The special session will start at 6:30 p.m. May 18 — just 30 minutes after the regular session ends. It will mark the first time in Missouri history that a Legislature has called itself into a special session.

It comes as Greitens is facing two felony charges — one related to a 2015 extramarital affair and the other to using a charity donor list for his political campaign.

___

6:45 p.m.

The Missouri House has enough signatures to call a special session that could impeach Republican Gov. Eric Greitens.

House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty told the Kansas City Star Thursday that 138 members had signed petition, more than the three-fourths threshold needed in the 165-seat chamber.

Three-fourths of the Senate would also need to agree to a special session. More than one-third of senators from both parties have already called on the governor to resign in the wake of two felony charges. A spokeswoman for the Senate president pro tem confirmed that the Senate has the petition and is collecting signatures.

Greitens faces his first criminal trial May 14 related to an invasion of privacy charge stemming from an extramarital affair he had before he took office. A House report released Wednesday also presented evidence that the governor filed false information with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

Monarch soccer plays Garden City to draw

HAYS, Kan. – The TMP-Marian girls’ soccer team had their match with Garden City cut short due to Thursday’s thunderstorm. The Monarchs and Buffaloes played to a 1-1 draw with the contest called with 10 minutes to play.

The Monarchs are now 9-4-1 on the season.

Kan. sheriff’s K-9 finds murder weapon, suspect jailed

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a murder and have a suspect in custody.

Just after 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, police responded to report of a shooting in the 1700 Block of South El Pico in Wichita, according to Lt. Todd Ojile.  Officers found a 30-year-old man identified as Bretodd William with gunshot wounds laying in the street. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Ojile.

Reed-photo KDOC

As officers were arriving at the scene, deputies observed a suspicious suspect near the intersection of Harry and Oliver. He entered a convenience store and then came out wearing different clothing.

Deputies found his original clothing in a bathroom of the convenience store. After further investigation, officers took the suspect into custody.

Investigators learned the suspect identified according to the Sedgwick County booking report as 31-year-old Emmanuel Reed, approached William in the 1700 Block of South El Pico, pulled a gun and shot him several times.  A Sedgwick County K-9 found a weapon in the area that was later collected in as evidence, according to Ojile.

Police booked Reed for first degree murder and criminal possession of a firearm.

Both are known gang members, according to Ojile.  Reed has previous convictions for Aggravated Battery, Battery and Robbery, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

TMP-Marian golf wins Ellsworth Invite

ELLSWORTH, Kan. – The TMP-Marian boys golf team won the nine-hole Ellsworth Invitational by nine strokes Thursday at the Ellsworth Golf Course. The Monarchs shot a 170.

Cameron Rozean won the individual title with a 36. Michael Braun finished fourth with a 39 and Ryan Stoecklein was tenth after a 47.

Team Results
1. TMP-Marian 170
2. Ellsworth 189
3. Republic County 191
4. Russell 191
5. Larned 197
6. Hoisington 200
7. Beloit 251

Top-Ten Individual Results
1. Cameron Rozean-TMP, 36
2. Ryan Birky-Russell, 38
3. Dylan Pieschl-Minneapolis, 3937
4. Michael Braun-TMP, 3937
5. McKenzie Cromwell-Republic County, 4240
6. Chris Fitzgerald-Ellsworth, 4341
7. Easton Roth-Minneapolis, 44
8. Logan Waite-Republic County, 464
9. Hunter Barker-Larned, 4745
10. Ryan Stoecklien-TMP, 47

Kan. Lawmakers Say No To Future Teen Governor Wannabes

Kansas lawmakers have approved new restrictions blocking teenagers and out-of-state candidates from future races for governor. The bill says starting next year, candidates must live in Kansas and be at least 25 years old.

Four teenagers running for Kansas governor took questions in Lawrence last fall. Pending legislation would require them to be at least 25 years old to run for governor in Kansas.
FILE PHOTO / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE

The state’s lax laws have led to several teenagers, and residents of other states, joining the campaign for Kansas governor.

A wave of candidates even included a Hutchinson man attempting to enter his dog in the race.

Republican Rep. Keith Esau said young people can still take part in politics by running for local office or working on campaigns.

“There are lots of places to get involved in the political process without starting at the top,” Esau said. He’s chairman of the House Elections Committee and is running to become the Kansas secretary of state, which oversees state elections.

Esau said the changes will keep people off the ballot who aren’t serious candidates.

“It helps focus on the candidates who have a legitimate possibility of winning in the campaign,” Esau said.

Democratic Rep. Vic Miller blasted the bill for cutting young people out of gubernatorial races.

The bill is an “attempt to discriminate against young people who are interested in making our state a better place,” Miller said.

The legislation also touches on other parts of Kansas election law. It says any candidate for Kansas attorney general must be a licensed attorney.

That drew opposition from Republican Rep. Brenda Landwehr, who said non-lawyers with law enforcement experience, for instance, could be qualified to serve as attorney general.

“This will eliminate and omit a lot of potential good candidates with that law enforcement background,” Landwehr said.

The legislation also clarifies the rules for voting by mail. It says disabled people can still cast a ballot by mail if they’re unable to sign the envelope. About two dozen votes in Sedgwick County were thrown out last year because disabled voters were unable to sign their names.

The changes are now headed to Gov. Jeff Colyer, who can sign the bill into law or veto it.

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

Royals hit 3 homers as offense powers 10-6 win over Tigers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Lucas Duda had three hits and drove in four, the Royals pounded a trio of homers and Kansas City beat the Detroit Tigers 10-6 on Thursday to open their four-game series.

Salvador Perez, Jorge Soler and Alex Gordon each went deep for the Royals, who have quietly gotten on track offensively after a miserable start.

Everyone in the starting lineup had at least one hit except for Cheslor Cuthbert, and he came within a couple feet of a home run in the seventh inning.

Kansas City pounded out 13 hits in all against Mike Fiers and the Tigers bullpen. Reliever Chad Bell (0-1) allowed five runs and five hits in 1 2/3 innings.

Eric Skoglund wasn’t much better on the mound for Kansas City, but Kyle McCarthy (3-0) wiggled out of a key sixth-inning jam before pitching a clean seventh to earn the victory in relief.

Nick Castellanos homered and had three hits for Detroit, while slugging DH Miguel Cabrera left with a strained hamstring in the sixth inning. The severity of the injury was not known.

The Tigers and Royals spent most of the afternoon trading stiff jabs.

Kansas City scored two in the first on singles by Duda and Jon Jay, then Detroit scored two in the third on Jeimer Candelario’s double. The Royals answered with two in the bottom half on Perez’s shot to left field, and both teams scored a run in the fourth inning.

Detroit finally knocked Skoglund from the game in the fifth, when Castellanos went deep and Jose Iglesias drove in a run off reliever Scott Barlow to tie it 5-5.

Fiers was gone after five runs and six hits and a walk in four innings, while Skoglund left after allowing five runs and eight hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings.

Soler pushed the Royals back on top with his soaring homer to left later in the fifth, and they kept pulling away from there. Duda added a bases-loaded, two-out single in the sixth to continue giving Kansas City’s bullpen plenty of support.

MIGGY LEAVES IN 6TH

Cabrera was trying to advance to second base in the sixth inning when he pulled up and grabbed his right hamstring. The two-time MVP had returned to the lineup Thursday after missing three games with biceps spasms. INF Niko Goodrum replaced him in the lineup.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: DH Victor Martinez got the day off to rest a swollen ankle. … LHP Daniel Norris (left groin injury) had a muscular decompression procedure Thursday. He’s expected to miss up to 12 weeks.

Royals: 3B Mike Moustakas was in the lineup for the second straight day. He was hit in the forearm by a pitch earlier this week in Boston and missed some time with a nasty bruise.

UP NEXT

RHP Ian Kennedy hopes to get some rare run support from the Royals when he takes the mound Friday night against Detroit. LHP Francisco Liriano will be on the hill for the Tigers.

60-year-old Kan. man causes disturbance with pellet gun at city hall

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Just after 1 p.m. Thursday, officers were called to City Hall in Hutchinson on the report of an armed subject.

Upon arrival, officers saw a man with what appeared to be an assault rifle. Sixty-year-old Johnny Klassen was taken into custody. Officials discovered the weapon was actually a pellet gun. Klassen apparently wanted to talk with a department head because he was upset about a bill.

Klassen was also in possession of methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia. In addition, he was arrested for disorderly conduct.

No one at City Hall was injured, but it caused quite a commotion.

Kan. officer shoots, kills man during drug-arrest confrontation

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a Kansas City, Kansas, police officer shot and killed an armed man during a drug-arrest confrontation.

Police say the shooting occurred Wednesday evening during a narcotics investigation.

Police on the scene of the investigation -photo courtesy Fox4Kansas City

Police haven’t identified the man. But an attorney says the victim was Manuel Palacio. Attorney Tom Porto says he represented Palacio in an excessive force lawsuit against Kansas City, Missouri, police in 2014. Palacio won a $300,000 settlement in that case. Porto says he has been in contact with Palocio’s family since the shooting.

The officer who shot Palacio is a 21-year veteran of the department. He is on administrative leave, which is typical after fatal shootings.

Police Chief Terry Zeigler says no officers involved in the confrontation were injured.

TMP junior golfer nominated for statewide honor

Chin

TMP-M

The inaugural Best of Kansas Preps, presented by The Topeka Capital-Journal on behalf of Gatehouse Kansas Media, will be held in June and will honor the best high school athletes in their respective sports across the state for the 2017-2018 season.

Hsiang (Shannen) Chin, Junior on the Lady Monarchs Golf Team, has been the only TMP-Marian student selected for this prestigious honor. The Player of the Year Awards for all sports will be presented at the banquet. Male Athlete of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year and Most Inspirational Awards will be announced along with several specialty awards. All award winners will enjoy a personal meet-and-greet and photo opportunity with Paul Pierce, retired NBA player of the Boston Celtics/Washington Wizards and former KU player.

Chin won a total of 8 tournament titles out of 10 tournaments. She now holds the TMP-Marian 9 Hole Record with a score of 37 and 18 Hole Record with a score of 74.

“Shannen’s mental approach to golf is superior! Her composure is rock solid. You can’t tell if she’s hit a good shot or a bad one because she reacts the same and keeps working the course,” Coach Jake Befort stated.

Chin won the State Golf Tournament with a score of 76 by playing the last 29 holes of the postseason in 4 over par with 5 birdies.

“She played her best golf in October, late in the season! The sportsmanship and class she showed represented TMP-Marian well. She made us proud!!” Befort said.

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