OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Authorities arrested a suspect Tuesday in a shooting that killed one contract worker and critically injured another outside an elementary school in suburban Kansas City.
Police on the scene of the shooting at the school in Overland Park -photo courtesy KCTV
A suspect was taken into custody outside a nearby home where authorities found a sport utility vehicle that was carjacked after the shooting at Sunrise Point Elementary School, according to Jason Rhodes, spokesman for the Overland Park Fire Department in Kansas. He was jailed but not formally charged as of Tuesday afternoon.
Rhodes said that when police started to move in with armored vehicles, the suspect bolted from the back door of the home and was taken down. His name wasn’t immediately released.
Investigators said the suspect shot two co-workers earlier in the day as they installed artificial turf on a playground at the school. No students were at the school at the time, said Blue Valley School District spokeswoman Becky Miller.
One of the men died at a hospital a few hours after the shooting, Overland Park police spokesman John Lacy said. The second man was in critical condition. Names of both men have not been released.
The suspect had tried but failed to carjack another vehicle at a carwash before stealing the SUV, a black GMC Denali.
Police Chief Francis Donchez said the home where the suspect was arrested belonged to the owner of the SUV. He said it’s unclear what led the suspect to go to that home but described it as “bizarre to say the least.” Donchez said police never made contact with the suspect while he was inside the home but believed he was there because a dog came out of the house.
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Authorities have arrested a suspect in a shooting that critically wounded two contract workers outside a suburban Kansas City elementary school.
Overland Park, Kansas, Fire Department spokesman Jason Rhodes says the man was taken into custody Tuesday at a home where authorities found a sport utility vehicle that was carjacked after the shooting at Sunrise Point Elementary School.
— Overland Park Police (@OverlandPark_PD) July 3, 2018
The suspect shot two co-workers. No students were present when the shooting occurred.
Rhodes says when police moved closer to the property with armored vehicles, the suspect bolted from the back door and was taken down. His name hasn’t been released.
Update: We have surrounded a home near W.159th and Rosewood. This is relation to the shooting. If you live in this area, please lock your doors and report anything suspicious. I will give the all clear. Stand by.
Police Chief Frank Donchez says the home belonged to the owner of the carjacked vehicle. He says it’s unclear what led the suspect to go to that home, describing it as “bizarre to say the least.”
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Authorities are investigating a shooting that critically wounded two workers at a suburban Kansas City elementary school.
#OPPD is investigating a double shooting at Sunrise Point Elementary School at 159th and Mission. No students were at the school at the time. No school employees were involved. @bvschools
— Overland Park Police (@OverlandPark_PD) July 3, 2018
Police on the scene of the shooting at the school in Overland Park –photo courtesy KCTV
Overland Park police spokesman Officer John Lacy says the shooting happened Tuesday at Sunrise Point Elementary School in the Blue Valley school district.
No students were hurt.
The shooting suspect fled and tried to carjack someone at a car wash. Police say shots were fired but no one was hit. The suspect stole another vehicle at gunpoint a few minutes later.
Police are searching for the suspect.
Lacy and district spokeswoman Kaci Brutto haven’t responded to phone messages left by The Associated Press.
The monthly Hays Community Acoustic Jam session will be held Saturday, July 7th, from 2:00-4:00 p.m at the Hays Arts Center Annex, 1010 Main in Downtown Hays. The sessions are held on the first Saturday of each month.
The local acoustic jam is a fun place for people of all skill levels to play acoustical instruments (guitars, banjos, fiddles, harmonicas, bass guitars, etc.) and to invite friends to enjoy music, whether you’re playing, singing, or listening.
All are welcome to listen or participate as little or much as you’d like!
Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer says he will continue to push for a Medicaid work requirement despite a recent court order blocking a similar policy in Kentucky.
Gov. Jeff Colyer said Kansas will continue to push to impose a work requirement on Medicaid recipients. FILE PHOTO / Kansas News Service
Last week, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee in the District of Columbia, questioned whether the Trump administration had adequately considered the consequences of Kentucky’s work requirement before reversing longstanding federal policy to approve it.
Despite the setback, Colyer said his administration will continue discussions with federal officials about requiring some of the more than 420,000 Kansans enrolled in KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program, to work or pursue job training.
“I remain strongly committed to incentivizing self-reliance through work,” Colyer said in an email to the Kansas News Service.
Noting that the requirement would apply to only non-disabled adults, Colyer said, “These sort of initiatives have been incredibly successful in transitioning people from public assistance to independence.”
Sheldon Weisgrau, the leader of a broad-based coalition pushing to make more people eligible for KanCare, said the court ruling “confirms that work requirements do nothing to enhance access to health care.”
“Instead, such mandates are costly and punitive, wasting millions of dollars to create bureaucratic obstacles and ultimately covering fewer people,” Weisgrau said.
A recent study by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning nonpartisan research organization based in Washington, D.C., found that Medicaid work requirements could be counter-productive.
Forcing Medicaid recipients into low-wage jobs, the report said, would leave many ineligible for Medicaid but unable to afford private coverage.
In the final weeks of the 2018 legislative session, Kansas lawmakers approved a budget proviso that allows the Colyer administration to continue negotiating with federal officials. But it prohibits state officials from implementing a work requirement with legislative approval.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating after an off-duty Wichita police officer shot and killed a home intruder in an exchange of gunfire Tuesday.
Police near the shooting scene early Tuesday -photo courtesy KWCH
Just after 3a.m., officers responded to a shooting at a residence near 21st Street and Maize Road, according to Police Chief Gordon Ramsay.
When police arrived, they discovered it was an off-duty officer’s home. The officer, his wife and two children were in the residence when an intruder woke them.
The intruder had a firearm, according to Ramsay and started ordering the ordering the off-duty officer what to do. The off-duty officer was able to retrieve a handgun and a shootout ensued, according to Ramsay. Numerous rounds were fired inside the home by the suspect and the off-duty officer.
The off-duty officer was wounded in the leg, according to Ramsay.
The suspect identified as 24-year-old Christian Webb was shot multiple times and died at the hospital. The officer’s wife and children were not physically harmed, according to Ramsay.
“We still don’t know if this was a targeted event or random. There were a couple of vehicles down the street broken into and Webb may have been responsible for them as well.”
The officer was treated at the hospital and has been released, according to Ramsay. Police are working to confirm the intruder used a stolen gun.
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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say an off-duty Wichita officer and a suspected home intruder have been wounded in an exchange of gunfire.
Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay says a 24-year-old man shot the officer in the leg after breaking into his home. The officer then returned fire, hitting the suspect several times.
The intruder is hospitalized in critical condition. Ramsay say the officer also was taken to a hospital and is expected to be OK. The officer’s wife and children were home at the time of the shooting and are shaken up but uninjured.
Ramsay says some cars had been broken into near where the shooting happened. Ramsay says there is no connection between the suspect and officer.
Walter Eugene Cook, age 59, of rural Trego County, passed away Saturday, June 30, 2018 at Trego County Lemke Memorial Hospital, WaKeeney. He was born December 17, 1958, in Hays, Kansas, to Carroll Dean and Mildred Joan (Hamilton) Cook.
Walter graduated from Trego Community High School before attending college at Mid America Nazarene College and Fort Hays State University. He was united in marriage to Karen Schneider on December 27, 1980, in WaKeeney. Walter owned and operated Cook Cattle Company, as a farmer and rancher, and previously owned and operated Cook’s Exteriors. He attended North Oak Community Church in Hays. Walter was a loyal supporter of Trego Community High School sports, and was an avid Kansas State University football fan. Motorcycles were a passion of Walter’s, but his family was the most important thing in his life. He cherished time spent with his children and his grandchildren, lovingly known as his “littles”. He was known as “Bubba” to his littles. His kind heart and loving spirit will live on in the hearts of many.
Survivors include his mother; his wife; his children, Donielle and husband Scott Geesling of Kingman, Kansas, Charisse and husband Mike Moratelli of Firestone, Colorado, and Wade Cook and wife Aubrey of Parkville, Missouri; grandchildren, Easton and Beckett Cook of Parkville, Mack and Rocco Walt Moratelli of Firestone, and Nash and Dean Geesling of Kingman; two brothers David Cook and wife Zerell of Choctaw, Oklahoma, and Evan Cook and wife Terry of Coldwater, Oklahoma; a sister Cynthia Diehl of Phoenix, Arizona; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father on April 30, 2010.
Funeral service will be 10 a.m., Thursday, July 5, 2018 at United Methodist Church of WaKeeney. Inurnment will take place at a later date.
Visitation and viewing will be Wednesday evening, from 5 to 7 at the funeral home in WaKeeney.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AMA) or North Oak Community Church. Contributions made to the organization may be sent to Schmitt Funeral Home, 336 North 12th, WaKeeney, KS 67672.
Condolences may be sent online at www.schmittfuneral.com.
As always, summer has been off to a very busy start and I have had the opportunity to attend a number of events in our community and throughout the state representing you and our community. I love meeting with constituents, colleagues, friends and family during the summer at all of these events and activities and look forward to the many more to come this season.
I highlight events that I have attended as well as events I plan on attending in the coming months below:
Attended or participated in:
03/23 Appointed to Governor’s Education Council.
04/09 Legislative Update presentation to Hays Lions Club. (Hays)
04/09 Kansas Supreme Court Hearings. (Colby)
04/16 First meeting of the Education Council. Assigned to the Workforce Inventory Sub-Committee. (Topeka)
04/21 Presentation to Options Inc.on legislation pertaining to domestic violence. (Hays)
05/04 Adjournment of the 2018 Legislative Session. (Topeka)
At FHSU graduation with Regent Zoe Newton, President Tisa Mason and Representative Leonard Mastroni.
05/11 Fort Hays State University Spring Commencement (Friday Ceremony) (Hays)
05/12 Fort Hays State University Spring Commencement (Saturday Ceremony) (Hays)
06/07 Legislative Update presentation at Hays Senior Center. (Hays)
06/11 Workforce Inventory sub-committee meeting (Topeka)
06/21 Kansas Water Office Meeting re:R-9 Ranch change of use permit. (Greensburg)
06/22 Hays Arts Council Summer Gallery Walk.(Downtown Hays)
Upcoming:
06/26 Governor’s Education Council Meeting. (Topeka)
06/28 Hays Area Chamber of Commerce Luncheon. (Rose Garden)
07/07 Wild West Festival Parade. (Downtown Hays)
07/14-21 Ellis County Fair. (Ellis County Fairgrounds)
07/26 Hays Senior Companion recognition program. (Hays)
08/03/4 Herzogfest (Victoria)
Over the past couple of weeks, the Kansas Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court have ruled on a number of significant cases that will, or have the potential to, greatly impact our communities and state’s budget.
The Kansas Supreme Court committed to rule on the Gannon v. Kansas school funding case before the end of this fiscal year (June 30). The new ruling was released on Monday, June 25.
South Dakota v. Wayfair deals with how online retailers handle sales tax, and
Murphy v. NCAA could allow sports betting in states who so choose.
SCHOOL FINANCE – GANNON V. KANSAS
I have provided a brief overview of the points made by both sides of the case, those in favor (State) and those opposed to (Plaintiff Districts/Gannon) the most recent school finance formula passed by the Legislature during the 2018 legislative session. Reading those briefs will help provide context to the court’s ruling, which I have summed up below:
Though the court did not find the school funding formula to be constitutional, schools will open on July 1, but that the Legislature has until April 15, 2019 to resolve issues identified by the court. The equity components of the 2018 bill were found to be ok, but the funding levels need to be adjusted in order to comply with the legislature’s metrics for measuring educational standards. Below I have highlighted specific funding concerns addressed by the court:
The legislature utilizes the Rose Capacities to measure the educational outcomes of Kansas students, which provides a specific amount required to meet that level of attainment, which was not reached in the 2018 bill.
Inflation was a key issue that wasn’t properly addressed in the 2018 bill, which states that inflation would be accounted for beginning in 2023. The legislature is tasked with adjusting the funding to account for inflation for the years 2018-2023 as well.
“Excess costs” refer to the cost difference between educating a “general education” student and a “special education” student, which is supposed to be funded to 92%. In the 2018 bill, the legislature only funds 83.2% of those “excess costs”. The court has requested that the funding be adjusted to meet the 92% requirement.
The following initiatives the court mentioned included funding this year, but noted there is no funding included after that. It’s worth noting the funding formula is written to include those things year after year, but since those future budgets are not yet written, they are not specifically mentioned.
Teacher Mentoring: $1.3 million
Paying for student ACT/WorkKeys test assessments: $2.8 million
Community mental health partnership pilot program: $10 million
Industry experts are working to provide us with anticipated costs, which we expect to receive in a few days. The court’s ruling was data-driven and represents a fair and balanced expectation to be met by the legislature. I believe the legislature will make quick work to address these issues early on in the 2019 session.
INTERNET SALES TAX – SOUTH DAKOTA V. WAYFAIR
The much-anticipated ruling of South Dakota v. Wayfair was released by the Supreme Court on June 21st. This case challenged the ruling of Quill v. North Dakota, in which states could not require internet retailers to charge sales tax if they had no physical presence in the state. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled in South Dakota’s favor, leaving the decision to require internet retailers to charge sales tax up to the individual state, honoring state sovereignty.
This ruling is perceived as a victory for states and localities, who have been losing billions in tax revenue from antiquated laws. Not only will this decision transform how state’s will format and structure internet sales tax laws, but also will have tremendous effects on e-commerce.
The Kansas Legislative Research Department (KLRD) does not have any set-in-stone data regarding how many Kansans are purchasing products online from retailers not charging sales tax. That being said, I have a strong feeling that most Kansans have made an online purchase from a store without a physical presence in the state, leading to the connotation that this will have a significant impact on our state’s ability to restore key programs, re-invest in T-Works projects and other ways to improve our state and the lives of Kansans. The legislature must make calculated decisions, utilizing reliable data that will allow us to balance the tax code and provide for these other key programs.
SPORTS BETTING – MURPHY V. NCAA
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of sports gambling, striking down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a federal law enacted in 1992. Not wanting to infringe on state sovereignty, the court ruled to allow the decision to allow sports betting up to the individual states.
In anticipation of a favorable ruling, more than 15 states have either passed or introduced sports betting laws. Rep. Jan Kessinger of Overland Park, a former member of the Kansas Gaming and Racing Commission, introduced HB 2792, Xwhich would have created the Kansas Sports Wagering Act, authorizing the Kansas Lottery to allow sports betting to take place in the state of Kansas, pending the outcome of Murphy, but it did not come out of committee. The bill will have to be reintroduced in the 2019 legislative session in order for the state to take advantage of this ruling.
Those in opposition to the Supreme Court’s decision believe the impact of the legalization of sports gambling will cause match-fixing and lead to corruption of games. Proponents of the ruling argue that countries with legalized sports betting, such as Britain, have yet to face these challenges. They go on further to suggest that the legalization of sports betting will lead to organizations being able to better monitor “betting irregularities that could suggest corruption.”
Director of the Sports Law Program at Tulane Law School, Gabriel Feldman, states that the legalization of sports gambling will transform how we watch sports games and matches, with fans following multiple teams rather than being a die-hard fan of just one athletic program: “It will make every second of every game of every week interesting to fans as it will give everyone something to root for.”
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.
The Ellis County Commission worked to trim a more than $285,000 deficit for the 2019 budget at Monday’s commission meeting.
When the commission began the 2019 budget process, it faced a more than $670,000 shortfall between anticipated revenues and expenditures. Following a pair of budget work sessions, the commission had trimmed the budget deficit to approximately $285,000.
At Monday’s meeting, the commission focused primarily on transfers to the capital equipment fund to eliminate the remaining deficit.
County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes described the capital equipment fund as a savings account.
“The operating budget is sort of our checking account, and the capital budgets are kind of our saving account and one of the expenses we have in operating budget is a transfer to our saving account,” Smith-Hanes said. “But if we don’t make that we don’t get to do the things to the house or go on vacation or whatever we would normally spend those saving for.”
At the end of each fiscal year, Smith-Hanses said, departments are allowed to transfer half of any remaining funds into the capital equipment fund that can be used to pay for equipment replacement or upgrades in the future. Those include vehicles, copiers and voting equipment.
Commissioner Barb Wasinger said the commission wanted to avoid taking money once again from the Road and Bridge Department and taking some of the capital budget funds was a way to do that.
The biggest transfer of $130,000 came from the Treasurer’s capital budget. According to information presented, the Treasurer’s department did not have any planned capital expenditures planned for the next five years.
The commission decided to transfer $60,000 from the Appraiser’s capital budget and $78,000 from Risk Management. According to Smith-Hanes the risk management fund is specifically tied to employee health costs and helps to cover the increase in insurance costs.
They also decided to transfer small amounts from the County Administrator, Commission, Environment and Register of Deeds capital budgets.
Those moves along with a few other reductions reduced the deficit to approximately $13,000. The remaining funds, to balance the budget, will come from the buildings capital improvements fund.
Smith-Hanes will present the commission with the proposed budget and they plan to have a public hearing in August.
“I want to thank to commission for your work, I know this sausage making tonight was not practically pleasant,” Smith-Hanes said. “But it is the situation we find ourselves in.”
In other business, the commission got a report and the Ellis County Drug Court from Judge Glenn Braun, appointed a voting delegate for the KAC Conference, got a report from the Cottonwood Extension District and met in executive session to discuss non-elected personnel matters. No action was taken.
Nearly 1,000 entrants hunted down the first Virtual Golden Egg on Hays Post this weekend in hopes of winning a set of VIP tickets for all three nights of the 2018 Wild West Festival.
And the winner is …
Jamie Durheim of Hays has won two VIP tickets to Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows. Congrats!
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A Mississippi woman has been sentenced to eight years in prison for using pepper spray on suburban Kansas City police officers after they caught her shoplifting from a Victoria’s Secret store.
Newsome- Photo Johnson County
40-year-old Latrina Newsome pleaded no contest in May to aggravated battery and battery against a law enforcement officer in Johnson County District Court in Kansas. She was sentenced Friday.
Authorities say she was caught last September shoplifting from the store at a mall in Overland Park. Police say that when officers tried to arrest her, she sprayed them with pepper spray and that she and a person who was with her fought with officers before they were subdued. One officer suffered a broken foot in the fight, and another officer broke a finger.
