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Kansas medical board bars 2 from clinic giving vitamin IVs

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas medical board has directed a doctor and chiropractor to temporarily stop working at a suburban Kansas City clinic that gives intravenous infusions of vitamins and minerals.

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The Board of Healing Arts issued emergency orders this month saying the Overland Park, Kansas, clinic’s advertising overstated the health benefits of such infusions and it didn’t have procedures that ensure the IVs are safe.

Chiropractor Tara Zeller and medical doctor Angela Garner cannot practice at IV Nutrition or any similar IV therapy clinic until further hearings can be held. The board set one for Jan 18.

Their attorney, Brian Niceswanger, said allegations of unsafe clinic conditions are false and he hasn’t seen any advertising materials like the ones the board alleges the clinic used improperly.

Russell business adds free UPS and FedEx drop off service

RUSSELL – Palma and Co. Mercantile, one of Russell’s great antiques, vintage and gift stores, is proud to announce Package Express Shipping through UPS and FedEx package drop-off services are now available, as well as FedEx Express. The roll out comes a month after the announcement of our agreement to offer convenient access to UPS and FedEx drop off as well as Shipping through Package Express exclusively with UPS.

“We are thrilled to have reached this significant decision for our customers following the holiday season, and we look forward to working with Russell and the surrounding communities to offer convenient and secure pickup and drop-off services for the area,” said Dylan Palma. “As online shopping grows, our customers here in Russell and the surrounding communities are searching for flexible options, and we stand ready to deliver.

“Our offering with Package Express UPS Shipping is another way customers will find our store even more accessible to meet their needs.  It helps our current and new customers by providing a safe and secure delivery option, while making it easy for them to ship returns and other packages through the UPS and FedEx networks.”

Our decision is part of the needs of our community to have a retail location offering UPS and FedEx drop off services. This holiday season a large percent of the U.S. population and specifically the Russell area will need to be able to drop off return packages with prepaid return labels. We are here for you and welcome you at our location at 604 N. Main in downtown Russell.

– SUBMITTED –

Mary Jane Losey

Mary Jane Losey, 91, of Oakley, died Thursday, December 27, 2018, at the Logan County Manor, in Oakley. She was born November 17, 1927, in Gove County, KS, to Floyd and Pearl (Schaible) Burris. Mary Jane graduated from Gove High School in 1945 and married Dale Losey on June 7, 1947, in Oakley. She was a member of the Eastern Star and the Grainfield American Legion Auxiliary.

Mary Jane was preceded in death by her parents, husband Dale and daughter in-law Kathy Losey.

She is survived by her children, Linda (Ray) Manning, Oakley, Marilyn (Stan) Black, Estes Park, CO and Dave (Madeline) Losey, Wichita, KS; grandchildren, Michael Manning, Shannon Plummer, Jesse Manning, David Losey, Jr., Aimee Hunt and Sarah Black; ten great grandchildren, Callie Losey, Cammie Bice, Zachary Losey, Chase Garcia, Reagan Garcia, Reilly Ritter, Mackenzie Ritter, Allie Plummer, Payton Manning and McKinley Manning; one great-great grandchild Violet Bice.

Visitation will be 6:30pm – 8:00pm on Sunday, Dec 30, 2018 at Baalmann Mortuary, Oakley. Funeral Service will be 11:00am on Monday Dec 31, 2018 at the Oakley Christian Church. Burial will be at 2:00pm in the Gove Cemetery, Gove. Memorials are suggested to the Logan County Manor in care of Baalmann Mortuary, PO Box 204, Oakley, KS 67748. For condolences visit www.baalmannmortuary.com

New Year’s Day hikes planned in 19 of 26 Kansas state parks

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Nineteen of the 26 Kansas state parks are offering guided New Year’s Day hikes as part of a nationwide initiative.

Most of the First Day Hike events will traverse a 1-mile or 2-mile, family-friendly path with park staff leading the way. Many will be along the shores of large lakes, rugged woodlands or broad native prairies. The hikes are free, but participants will need a vehicle permit.

Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism state park director Linda Lanterman said in a news release that it’s “an amazing way to get things stared for a New Year.” She says many participants return to do more hiking throughout the year.

The First Day Hikes initiative began 25 years ago in Massachusetts.

SELZER: Claims process goes smoother with preparation

Ken Selzer, Kansas Insurance Commissioner

With a little preparation, resolving a property claim with your insurance company does not have to be a frustrating, time-consuming process.

Being prepared with and keeping track of the information your insurance company needs to process the claim is critical. What you do before making the claim will help in reducing the time between the insurance incident and the resolution of your problem.

Here are some ideas to assist with the claims process:

  • Know your policy. Understand what your policy says. Because it is a contract between you and your insurance company, you need to know what’s covered, what’s not and what your deductibles are. Ask your agent to help you if you don’t understand the policy language.
  • File claims as soon as possible. Don’t let the bills or receipts pile up. Call your agent or your company’s claims hotline as soon as possible. Your policy might require that you make the notification within a certain time frame. That is one of several duties your policy might require of you.
  • Provide complete, correct information. Be certain to give your insurance company all the necessary information. If your information is incorrect or incomplete, your claim could be delayed. The company, by Kansas insurance laws, has, in most cases, 30 days to complete an investigation into your claim.
  • Keep copies of all communications. Whenever you communicate with your insurance company, be sure to document the communications. With phone calls, include the date, name and title of the person you spoke with and what was said. If you communicate with your company by email, retain the emails for future reference. This is also good for communication between you and your agent.
  • Ask questions. If there is a disagreement about the claim settlement, ask the company for the specific language in your policy that is in question. Find out if the disagreement is because you interpret the policy differently. If your claim is denied, make sure you have a letter from the company explaining the reason for the denial — including the specific policy language which caused the denial.
  • Don’t rush into a settlement. If the first offer your insurance company makes does not meet your expectations, talk with your local insurance agent or seek other professional advice.
  • Document auto/homeowners temporary repairs. Auto and homeowners policies might require you to make temporary repairs to protect your property from further damage. Document any damaged personal property for an adjuster to inspect. An easy way to do this is by photographing or videotaping the damage before making the repairs. Your policy should cover the cost of these temporary repairs, so keep all receipts.
  • Don’t make permanent repairs. A company might deny a claim if you make permanent repairs before the damage is inspected. If possible, determine what it will cost to repair your property before you meet with an adjuster. Provide the adjuster any records of improvements you made to the property, and ask him/her for an itemized explanation of the claim settlement offer.
  • Seek accident and health claims details. Ask your medical provider to give your insurance company details about your treatment, condition and prognosis. If you suspect your provider is overcharging, ask the insurance company to audit the bill, and verify whether the provider used the proper billing procedure.

Contact the Kansas Insurance Department (KID). If you continue to have a dispute with your insurance company about the terms of the claims settlement, contact the KID Consumer Assistance Hotline at 1-800-432-2484, or go to the website, www.ksinsurance.org, to use the Chat feature.

Ken Selzer is the Kansas Insurance Commissioner.

EPA recognizes electronics leaders for innovative efforts, recycling achievements

EPA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the 2018 winners of the Sustainable Materials Management Electronics Challenge Awards. EPA recognized these leaders in the electronics industry for sustainably designing products and processes, while also diverting electronics from landfills.

“The participants in the Electronics Challenge saved roughly 276,000 tons of electronics from going to landfills and instead diverted it to certified recyclers,” said EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “The commitment of these companies to sustainable management of electronics proves that innovative business practices and environmental stewardship can go hand-in-hand.”

“We thank EPA for joining with the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)TM – owner and producer of the Consumer Electronics Show – to recognize the technology manufacturers and retailers making a real impact toward reducing our environmental footprint,” said CTA Vice President for Environmental Affairs and Industry Sustainability Walter Alcorn. “Each of this year’s winners exemplifies our industry’s commitment to increasing product sustainability and protecting the planet for future generations. Thanks to the leadership of these companies and others, the technology industry now uses less materials to produce tech devices than it did 20 years ago – even as the number and type of products available to consumers has significantly grown.”

Electronics Challenge participants kept nearly 276,000 tons of electronics from being sent to landfills by sending them to third-party certified recyclers. This is equivalent to saving the energy used by nearly 100,000 homes for one year. EPA will hold a ceremony at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada in January to showcase the innovative work of the winners. The Agency’s 2018 Electronics Challenge Gold and Silver Tier Awards are going to the following organizations:

Gold Tier Awards
• Dell
• HP
• LG
• Samsung Electronics America
• Sony
• Sprint
• Staples
• TCL
• Xerox

Silver Tier Awards
• Best Buy
• VIZIO

EPA is also recognizing Dell, Xerox, and Best Buy as the Electronics Challenge Champion Award winners for innovating processes and products that use materials in an environmentally responsible way throughout their life cycles. These companies serve as examples in demonstrating environmental, social, and economic outcomes for their organizations and the public that go above and beyond the requirements of the Electronics Challenge.

• Dell is receiving the Product Award for their closed-loop gold recycling program. Through the creation of innovative partnerships, Dell overcame the challenge of sourcing gold for their products by reusing gold from their recycled electronics in new computer motherboards. They also increased consumer awareness of the value of used electronics through creative and impactful outreach.
• Xerox is receiving the Non-Product Award for their take-back and recycling program in partnership with Close the Loop, a recycler of toner cartridges. In 2017, the takeback program reused 725 tons of material, recycled 1,050 tons, and kept all these materials out of the landfill.
• Best Buy is receiving the Cutting- Edge Award for their Teen Tech Centers. In partnership with certified electronic recyclers, these centers increase Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) education by encouraging youth through the reuse of older electronics to explore technology through training in coding, digital music and film production photography, 3D design, and other STEM related disciplines.

Background
Electronics are a global economic driver, with supply chains that reach around the world and products that touch every part of our lives. Today’s electronics are made from valuable resources and highly engineered materials including precious metals. If not properly managed at the end of their useful lives, some of the materials in electronics may pose a risk to human health and the environment.

EPA’s Electronics Challenge encourages electronics manufacturers, brand owners and retailers to strive to send 100 percent of the used electronics they collect from the public, businesses and within their own organizations to third-party certified electronics refurbishers and recyclers. The Challenge’s goals are to:
• Address the entire life cycle of electronic products;
• Help ensure responsible recycling;
• Increase collection of electronic equipment for reuse and recycling;
• Promote data transparency; and
• Conserve valuable resources and energy.

More information for consumers to find a location to donate or recycle their electronics:
https://www.epa.gov/recycle/electronics-donation-and-recycling

More information on the Sustainable Materials Management Electronics Challenge and how to participate:
https://www.epa.gov/smm-electronics

Sunny, breezy Sunday

Today
Sunny, with a high near 41. Wind chill values as low as 5. Southwest wind 7 to 15 mph.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with a low around 22. South wind 7 to 13 mph becoming northwest after midnight.
Monday
A 30 percent chance of snow, mainly before 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 31. Windy, with a north wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 36 mph.
Monday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 7. Wind chill values as low as -10. Blustery, with a north wind 20 to 24 mph.
New Year’s Day
Partly sunny, with a high near 17. Blustery, with a north wind 10 to 20 mph.
Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 7.
Wednesday
Sunny, with a high near 34.
Wednesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 17.
Thursday
Sunny, with a high near 44.

Hays native receives Quilt of Valor while home for the holidays

First Lt. Russel Mortinger, Hays native, receives his Quilt of Valor from the Kansas Grateful Stitchers.

By CRISTINA JANNEY

Hays Post

First Lt. Russell Mortinger received a special gift this holiday.

He received a Quilt of Valor on Wednesday night from the Kansas Grateful Stitchers while he, his wife Keegan and two young sons were home in Hays for Christmas.

He said he was very surprised by the tribute.

“It really means a lot,” Mortinger said of his quilt. “I don’t do my job for that. I didn’t think people would do that for service members. I don’t see that in other places. I think it is more typical in the Midwest. It is greatly appreciated. It is not just for the service members. It is also for family members and what they have to put up with. It is nice to know other people are thinking of us — people who we don’t even know.”

Quilts of Valor is a national organization. Volunteers make quilts for active service personnel as well as veterans in red, white, and blue patriotic patterns.

Local quilter Bev Glassman made Mortinger’s quilt. She has made more than 20 quilts for service personnel. She was inspired by her son, who is in the Air Force and returned from a deployment in the Middle East in July.

“I made a quilt for him,” she said. “It was very special to him and meant a lot to my own son. I wanted to do it for others.”

Mortinger’s mother-in-law Tammy Weigel nominated him to receive a Quilt of Valor.

“It really means a lot,” Mortinger said of his nomination for the quilt. “It was such a big surprise. I appreciate that my mother-in-law thinks greatly of my job and the sacrifice her daughter makes. She puts up with more and sacrifices, taking care of the kids and holding up the fort.”

This is Mortinger’s second stint in the military.

He enlisted in the Army in 2008. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011, where he regularly engaged the enemy.

He left active duty in 2012 to return to school at Fort Hays State University.

He served in the Army Reserves and went back to active duty in 2016. He is now an infantry platoon leader.

“I missed it,” he said of his military service. “I had some unfinished business. I wanted to get some other training. I missed the community and bond military members share. I wanted to deploy again. I really like it.”

It has been about a year since he has been able to come home and visit family in Hays. Although he and his family will be headed back to Louisiana and likely be stationed stateside for the next year, he knows he will eventually be deployed again.

He said he hoped the quilt will be a reminder to Keegan and his sons, Ansen, 5, and Rone, 2 of why daddy has to leave.

“It is not just for me,” he said of the quilt.

You can nominate an active serviceman or woman or veteran for a quilt on the Quilts of Valor website. The national organization refers nominations to local groups like Kansas Grateful Stitchers to make quilts for recipients. You can also donate through the site. Monetary donations help purchase fabric for the quilts.

NW Kansas man dies after pickup rollover crash

THOMAS COUNTY — One person died in an accident just after 2:30 p.m. Sunday in Thomas County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Ford pickup driven by Jarrod S. Taylor, 39, Colby, was southbound on Thomas County Road 11 eight miles north of Levant.

The pickup left the roadway to the left and the driver overcorrected. The pickup came back onto the roadway and rolled into the east ditch.

Taylor was transported to Citizen’s Medical Center where he died. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

Man charged in deadly Kan. shooting, crash rejects plea deal

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Lawrence man who claims he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot an acquaintance has rejected a plea deal that also would have resolved two other cases.

Drake- photo Douglas County

22-year-old Steven Drake III said Thursday that he was “absolutely” opposed to the deal.

Prosecutors say they would have recommended a 15 ½ year sentence in exchange for him pleading guilty to three charges — second-degree murder in the September 2017 shooting of 26-year-old Bryce Holladay, vehicular homicide in the November 2016 crash that killed 24-year-old Taylor Lister and aggravated battery in the July 2017 beating of a teenage boy.

Drake is currently charged with first-degree murder in Holladay’s death, which carries a possible sentence of life imprisonment with no possibility of parole for 50 years.

Sheriff: Kansas man dies after car stuck on rural road

BARTON COUNTY — One person died in an accident early Saturday in Barton County.

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Just after 8:45 a.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to the 10 block of Southwest 140 Avenue twelve miles west and one mile south of the city of Great Bend on the Pawnee County line, according to Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir.

Initially deputies believed it was a routine stuck vehicle call, but upon arrival they discovered the body of a man identified as Ronald Reuber, 68, Nickerson, lying near the vehicle.

Investigation at the scene indicates the 2018 Ford Escort became stuck approximately 50 yards south of 10 Road in the east ditch.

Barton County Coroner Dr. E. L. Jones was called to the scene to assist with the investigation. Examination of the scene indicates Reuber died due to health related issues compounded by hypothermia, according to Bellendir.

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by Great Bend Fire Department EMS and the Kansas Highway Patrol. Foul play is not suspected.

Felon back in jail hours after release from Kan. prison

RILEY COUNTY — A Kansas felon is back in custody just hours after his release from prison.

Canfield-photo KDOC

Terry Canfield, 25, had spent time in the correctional facilities in Lansing, El Dorado and Hutchinson since 2015 after convictions for theft and a long list of disciplinary issues, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

He was released from the Hutchinson Correctional Facility on Friday, according to the KDOC.

At 11a.m. Friday, police arrested Canfield in Manhattan for alleged aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery and aggravated battery, according to the Riley County Police Department arrest report.

He is being held without bond.

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