TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Department of Labor is recommending that federal employees who are furloughed because of the partial government shutdown should apply for unemployment benefits.
Impacted fed. workers who want to file for unemployment or who have questions, call the KDOL Contact Center at 1-800-292-6333.
The department said in a news release Thursday that unemployment insurance was created to help people who are not working through no fault of their own.
Federal employees in Kansas can apply for benefits by calling a contact center at 1-800-292-6333.
Applicants will need to provide wage verification, such as pay stubs or W-2 forms.
Federal employees who are working full time but not being paid are not eligible for unemployment benefits. The law requires anyone receiving back pay to any repay jobless benefits they received.
Friday Rain likely before 1pm, then a chance of rain and snow between 1pm and 4pm, then a chance of snow after 4pm. Widespread fog, mainly before 7am. Otherwise, cloudy, with a temperature falling to around 32 by 5pm. Breezy, with an east northeast wind 9 to 14 mph becoming north 17 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 32 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Friday Night A 40 percent chance of snow before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 15. Wind chill values as low as -2. Very windy, with a north wind 22 to 30 mph, with gusts as high as 41 mph.
SaturdayMostly sunny, with a high near 26. Wind chill values as low as -2. Blustery, with a north wind 17 to 22 mph decreasing to 9 to 14 mph in the afternoon.
Saturday NightMostly clear, with a low around 16. East northeast wind 6 to 9 mph becoming south after midnight.
WaKeeney – The TMP boys had three players score in double-figures and held off a late Hill City rally as they advanced back to the MCL tournament finals with a 48-45 win Thursday in WaKeeney.
The Monarchs used a pair of 7-0 first quarter runs to build a 14-4 lead.
TMP built their largest lead of the game at 15 two different times in the second quarter, the last time on a Lucas Lang jumper at 28-13. The Monarch led 30-19 at the break.
Hill City outscored TMP by six in the third quarter to cut the TMP lead to 44-39. The Ringnecks closed within one at 46-45 in the final minute of the game but TMP’s Lucas Lang hit a pair of free throws to lift the Monarchs to the 48-45 win.
Bill Meagher postgame interview
Ryan Karlin led the Monarchs with 15 points and Hill City’s Dalen Journigan finished with a team-high 14.
TMP improved to 8-4 with the win and Hill City drops to 5-4.
Game highlights
The Monarchs, for the second year in-a-row will play Phillipsburg for the MCL championship after the Panthers beat Plainville Thursday 68-45.
Plainville and Hill City will play for third place Saturday.
WaKeeney – The Norton Lady Jays outscored the TMP Lady Monarchs 23-5 in the first quarter and cruised to a 59-29 win in the semifinals of the MCL tournament Thursday in WaKeeney.
The Lady Jays scored the first 14 points of the game and held the Monarchs without a field goal for nearly four minutes.
Emilee Lane score the only first quarter field goals as Norton led 23-5 after one.
Norton outscored TMP 15-7 in the second quarter and 13-5 in the third to build a 34-point lead at 51-17 heading into the fourth quarter.
With the running clock in the fourth quarter Norton completed the 59-29 win.
Rose McFarland postgame interview
The Lady Jays finished with three players in double-figures led by the 18 of Taryn Kuhn. Emily Schippers scored a team-high nine for the Monarchs.
Norton improved to 10-1 with the victory and TMP dropped to 7-4.
Game highlights
The loss is the first ever in the MCL tournament for the Monarchs and ends a streak of four-straight appearances in the MCL tournament title game.
Norton will make their first appearance in the title game since 2013.
The Lady Jays will play the top-seed Trego in Saturday’s championship game. TMP will play Smith Center in the third place game.
SMITH COUNTY – The 15-year-old who was injured in the Dec. 15 officer-involved shooting incident in Smith Center has been arrested.
Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) agents served an arrest warrant for the teen at around 5 p.m. Thursday at Saint Francis Community Services, 5097 W. Cloud St. in Salina, Kan., where he had been held since his release from a Kearney, Neb. hospital.
The juvenile was arrested for attempted first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.
Following his arrest, the suspect was transported to the Sedgwick County Juvenile Detention Facility where he will be housed.
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SMITH COUNTY – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating the attempted murder of a woman in Smith County, as well as an officer involved shooting which occurred as police attempted to apprehend the 15-year-old suspect.
Google map
According to a KBI media release, just after 10:20 a.m. Saturday, the Smith County Sheriff’s received a 911 call, and responded to 10021 O Road in Smith Center. Upon arriving, they located a 66-year-old white female victim who reported being restrained, beaten, and strangled. She was taken to a local hospital, and is expected to recover.
The suspect, a 15-year-old black male, fled the area on horseback. When he was located by Kansas Highway Patrol troopers at 100 Road and L Road, in Smith County, he was armed with a firearm. KHP and Smith County Sheriff’s deputies spent a few hours attempting to apprehend the suspect. Then just before 2:20 p.m. the suspect fired at troopers. Two troopers returned fire, striking the subject.
They rendered medical aid and EMS responded. EMS transported him to a local hospital. He was then flown to a Kearney, Nebraska hospital where he underwent surgery. His condition is currently unknown. The identity of the subject will be withheld because he is a juvenile.
No law enforcement officers were injured during the incident.
Burdett Loomis, Professor, Political Science, College of Liberal Arts and Science, University of Kansas
As the governor, a skilled legislative veteran, prepared to deliver Kansas’s State of the State address, the multiple demands for state funding loomed large. The Supreme Court had mandated substantial additional monies for a critical state function. The highway fund was scraping bottom, placing Kansas’s reputation for excellent roads at risk. Moreover, the governor faced the implications of federal tax laws changes, which provided the state with so-called “windfall” revenue at the expense of taxpayers.
The Legislature had blown apart highway funding deals for two years and had deferred any action on the windfall. The court had grown impatient. What to do?
2019? Hardly.
The year was 1989, and Governor Mike Hayden, a past speaker, needed to unblock a legislative logjam that threatened his priorities. Given his legislative experience, Hayden’s circumstances were surprising. He knew how the Legislature worked and how to cut deals.
Yet, during his first two years as governor Hayden failed to make the deals that could move the process along. He deferred addressing the windfall, even as he pushed for a major highway package. In 1987, the year after his election, he called a legislative special session to address roads. The former House leader saw his proposal torn to shreds, as lawmakers resisted his proposals.
Hayden wisely refrained from pushing highway legislation in 1988, choosing to work with a newly elected body in 1989. Regaining his political acumen from his legislative days, Hayden made three important moves. First, he implored the Legislature to address the windfall as the initial order of business, thus sweeping this contentious issue off the table. Second, he encouraged a large highway coalition to back substantial spending, thus building support around the state and across party lines. Third, regarding the Supreme Court’s mandate to construct a new prison to alleviate unconstitutional conditions and overcrowding, he gave legislators running room to come up with a deal to satisfy the justices.
In the end, Mike Hayden’s combination of speed (the windfall), patience (highways), and deferral (the prison) paid off in victories across the board. The key to this success was moving quickly on the windfall; the tax cuts, after some modest delays, passed on March 2. For the rest of the session, legislators could focus on other issues.
Fast forward thirty years. With rebounding revenues, multiple needs, and fresh off a remarkable electoral victory, Laura Kelly noted in her State of the State address the host of issues that require attention. Moreover, the last two elections have mandated a change in direction from the Brownback years.
But where to go, and in what sequence?
Most Democrats have resisted “returning the windfall,” in that we don’t know its size and that we require revenue to address pressing needs. Understandable, but this ignores the fact that Republicans solidly control both House and Senate.
This past Sunday, the Kansas City Star opined that addressing the impact of federal taxes (the “windfall”) should be put off. Maybe. But it might well be more productive to negotiate a deal that links action on the windfall to legislative guarantees for votes on school finance and Medicaid. Both issues likely have the political support to pass.
Conversely, if windfall politics hold other actions hostage, legislative wrangling could easily replace productive negotiating. This would deny Kansans the policies that they have supported over the past two elections.
Tough choices, but as Mr. Dooley put it more than a century ago, “Politics ain’t beanbag.” Good luck, Governor.
Burdett Loomis is emeritus professor of political science at the University of Kansas and author of Time, Politics, and Policies: A Legislative Year, focusing on the 1989 legislative session.
Hays Poetry Group Meeting hosted by Sister Cities of Hays
Share your poetry or take time to listen to the poetry of others. Hays Poetry Group offers a safe place to explore your creative side and discover the unique gifts of other Hays area poets.
Tuesday, February 12, 2019 at 6 PM – 7 PM
Paisley Pear Wine Bar, Bistro and Market, 1100 Main St., Hays
HAYS, Kan. – The No. 12 ranked Fort Hays State wrestling team dropped the non-conference dual to the Colorado School of Mines on Thursday, 16-15, inside Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers dipped to 1-5 in duals this season, while the Orediggers improved to 9-1 in dual matches.
In a battle of many decisions, Broderick Green dropped the opening bout to Matt Lavengood in a tight-knit 5-3 match. Green moved to 8-15 on the year. Conrad Cole put the Tigers on the board in the 133-pound bout after securing a 3-2 decision over Jake Woods with a third period escape. Cole earned his eighth win of the season.
Things looked for the better for FHSU as No. 2 ranked Brandon Ball earned three more team points for the Tigers in the 141-pound match. Ball defeated Lukas Erickson with an easy 3-0 decision. With the win, Ball moves to 14-0 on the year and is now 4-0 in his Tiger career against Erickson. Ryne Cokeley fought until the end of his battle with Noah Ottum, when Ottum used a late third period escape to break the 5-5 tie and win in a decision, 7-5. Through four matches, Fort Hays State and Colorado School of Mines were even, 6-6.
No. 4 ranked Efe Osaghae stayed at his normal weight class (157 pounds) and gave the Tigers the 9-6 edge with a narrow 8-6 decision over Skyler Lykins. Osaghae earned his 16th victory in the process. Back and forth it was, as Jonathan Ball fell victim to a tough match against Keenan Willits. Willits won by another decision in the match, this time 11-4. FHSU and Mines were once again all square, 9-9, with four bouts to go.
At 174 pounds, No. 9 ranked Marty Verhaeghe couldn’t get anything going against Robert Gambrell and was shutout in an 8-0 major decision, giving the Orediggers the four-point, 13-9 team advantage on the scoreboard. Micquille Robinson pulled the Tigers back within one point with a nail-biting 4-2 decision over Connor Ventura in the 184-pound match. With two matches remaining in the dual, the Orediggers held the 13-12 edge over the Tigers.
True freshman Tyler Boone was called upon to wrestle two weight classes higher than normal and held his own until getting taken down in the final seconds of the third period to fall to Jake Feldman in a 6-4 decision of the 197-pound bout. The Tigers needed four points to tie the match and have a possible tie-breaking scenario when A.J. Cooper stepped onto the mat for the 285-pound battle with Weston Hunt. Cooper fell down early in the first period after Hunt picked up a takedown. Before too long Cooper earned an escape to close the gap to 2-1 after one frame. In the second round, Hunt escape Cooper’s grasp initially for one-point to lead 3-1, before Cooper earned his first takedown of the bout. Going into the third frame, the wrestlers were tied 3-3. Cooper eventually came out on top as he held off a late charge by Hunt in the final minute of the match. The 7-6 decision wasn’t enough point for the Tigers to overcome and the Orediggers earned their ninth dual victory of the season.
FHSU is back in action on Saturday (Jan. 19) when they travel north to Kearney, Neb. for the Midwest Duals. First up is a date with Colorado Mesa at 9 a.m. before taking on No. 7 ranked CSU-Pueblo at 10:30 a.m.
DODGE CITY – The National Weather Service in Dodge City has issued a Dense Fog Advisory for Trego, Ellis, and Rush counties, including the cities of WaKeeney, Pfeifer, Hays, and La Crosse until 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 18.
616 PM CST Thu Jan 17 2019
…DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM CST FRIDAY…
The National Weather Service in Dodge City has issued a Dense Fog
Advisory, which is in effect until 10 AM CST Friday.
* VISIBILITY…one quarter mile or less.
* IMPACTS…rapid changes in visibility creates hazardous driving
conditions. Freezing fog may create slick surfaces.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A Dense Fog Advisory means visibilities will frequently be
reduced to less than one quarter mile. If driving…slow down…
use your headlights…and leave plenty of distance ahead of you.
SEDGWICK COUNTY– A man found guilty of human trafficking has been sentenced in Sedgwick County District Court.
Reed -photo Sedgwick Co.
On Thursday, Judge Stephen Ternes sentenced Christopher Reed, 33, Wichita, to over 47-years in prison, according to a media release from the Sedgwick County District Attorney.
On December 3, a jury found Reed guilty of 19 crimes including aggravated human trafficking, rape, kidnapping, commercial sexual exploitation of a child, possession of marijuana, and possession of methamphetamine. The youngest identified victim was 17 years of age.
Reed started a business that used Facebook, Backpage.com as well as a cellphone application that created alternative phone numbers to promote his music, which he then used to sell drugs and under-aged girls and women.
Evidence in the trial showed Reed used a vacant apartment in a building that he owned to post photos of teenage runaways online and to force them to work in prostitution.
Detectives with the Exploited and Missing Child Unit and the Sex Crimes Division of the Wichita Police Department worked together to bring several connected cases against Reed from late 2016 through August of 2017.
Reed was on parole for voluntary manslaughter at the time he was trafficking teenaged girls and young women.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs – this week cosponsored the TRICARE Reserve Improvement Act, which extends TRICARE eligibility to all National Guardsmen and Reservists, regardless of their civilian occupation.
“Members of our nation’s National Guard and Reserves have sacrificed for this country and stand ready to serve at all times,” said Sen. Moran. “I’m proud to support legislation that would provide a choice in healthcare coverage for servicemembers who also work in the federal government, making certain their decision to enter both military and public service does not limit their access to benefits they have earned. The brave men and women who honorably serve our country deserve the best our nation has to offer, and I will continue to work to make certain they have the flexibility to choose the healthcare plan best for them.”
Under current law, federal employees who serve in the National Guard or Armed Forces Reserve are prohibited from participating in TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS). This disparity creates a financial incentive for transitioning service members to take their skillset and credentials away from the federal government, and penalizes those who choose to serve their country in a civilian capacity. It also limits the effectiveness of TRS as a recruiting tool within the public sector.
This legislation was introduced by U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), and is also cosponsored by U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.).
Hays High went cold in the second half against Scott City in the first round of the Orange and Black Classic at the Community Building in Colby. Hays started off the game with 22 total points in the first quarter which included a big play alley-oop to Trey Adams. Scott City recovered defensively in the second quarter and held Hays to just nine points.
Scott City was down 31-28 at halftime but went on a 13-1 run in the third quarter to make it 41-32 with a minute left in the third. Hays would score the final four points of the quarter to get within five of Scott City 41-36 to begin the 4th.
Hays could not find their offense in the fourth quarter and were outscored 14-11 over the final eight minutes. Scott City outscored Hays 27-16 in the second half.
Tradgon McCrae finished with 17 points, Trey Adams added in 12. Hays High falls to 4-4 and will play Goodland at 4:45 tomorrow at Colby High School.
Coach Rick Keltner
Highlights
Girls
Hays 59 – Goodland 36
The Hays High girls will play Scott City tomorrow at 3:00 at the community building.
MCPHERSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating six suspects on numerous drug charges after two drug busts.
Miller -photo McPherson Co.Wegele -photo McPherson Co.
On Wednesday, police executed search warrants on two homes in the city of McPherson, according to a media release.
At the residence in the 200 Block of West Woodside Street, police found meth, drug paraphernalia, items related to the distribution and sale of drugs and twelve firearms including one reported stolen.
Police arrested a 49-year-old David Wegele and 45-year-old Kimberly Miller of the home.
The man was jailed on requested charges for meth, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and possession of drug proceeds; felon in possession of a firearm and someone addicted to illegal drugs in possession of a firearm.
The woman was jailed on requested charges that include use of a communication device to facilitate the sale of illegal drugs; possession of meth and marijuana; possession of meth with intent to distribute within 1000 feet of a school and possession of drug proceeds. They are being held without bond, according to the release.
At the home on north Chestnut, police found more meth, marijuana and drug paraphernalia. They arrested a 31-year-old Chad Crosby and a 33-year-old Travis Crosby for meth, marijuana and drug paraphernalia possession. They are being held on a bond of $10,7000, according to the release.
Police also arrested a 56-year-old Glen Crosby and a 28-year-old Bryanna Phillips Weems for meth and drug paraphilia possession. They are being held on a bond of $10,250 each.
In addition, police arrested a 34-year-old woman on an unrelated municipal court warrant. She was booked into jail and later released.
