Repair of the Smoky Hill River Bridge on U.S. 183 south of Hays will begin next week. The bridge project is located near Schoenchen.
The work includes placing a polymer overlay to seal the bridge decking/driving surface along with some minor patching. KDOT awarded the construction contract to PbX Corporation, of Sapulpa, Oklahoma.
Traffic control will include the use of a daytime flagging operation.
Weather permitting, the project will be complete by September 21.
By The Associated Press
ULYSSES — An auction to determine the new owners of a Gove County ranch that contains the historically significant Monument Rocks chalk formations is ending.
The owners of the ranch announced in July that the land, along with 12,000 acres of mineral rights, was for sale.
Mark Faulkner, of Ulysses, whose is overseeing the telephone auction, says Tuesday was the last day to submit bids. He says the high bidder is likely to be determined Thursday or Friday.
As of Monday, Faulkner had received only one bid for $4 million, or $310 per acre.
The 13,000-acre Pyramid Ranch also includes fossil finds and two graves of U.S. Calvary soldiers. It was considered a territorial marker and spiritual site for Native Americans.
A.P. – Families of four of the six people who died in an explosion last year at an Atchison grain elevator have filed wrongful-death lawsuits against some the elevator’s employees.
The families contend in the lawsuits that employees of Bartlett Grain Co., including current president Bob Knief, disregarded the safety and health of the workers.
The State of Kansas Historical Mural, commissioned by the Hays Arts Council and painted by Hays artist Dennis Schiel, is finally complete.
The mural, more than 8 feet tall and 16 feet wide, is on display at the Hays Arts Council.
It’s a depiction of the history in the state of Kansas during the last 150 years.
Schiel says his project took three and a half years to complete, more than 2,500 hours of painting, 440 hours of book research, and 70,000 miles of travel throughout Kansas.
“It’s likely the mural is the most detailed ever created,” says Schiel.
The painting was unveiled during the HAC Summer Gallery Walk June 15. Schiel expects to eventually place the mural in the Kansas capitol building.
Find out what you can find on the mural, tonight on Street Beat Eagle Community TV Channel 14.
By BRENDA SHARPEBrenda Sharpe, of Overland Park, is the president and CEO of the REACH Healthcare Foundation in Merriam, Kan., a charitable organization that supports health services for low-income and uninsured people. The foundation invests nearly $5 million a year in local and regional health programs.
For those ready to talk about what the health care law really means to the states, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which the U.S. Supreme Court largely upheld in its ruling in June, represents an opportunity for almost 500,000 people in Kansas and Missouri to have access to the health care coverage most of us take for granted.
Our states now face a decision that could bring that health care access closer to home or continue to keep hundreds of thousands of people on the margins.
The Supreme Court ruling allows each state to decide whether to opt in to expansion of the Medicaid program for low-income citizens. As currently structured, Medicaid can hardly be called an entitlement. It provides health care coverage for poor children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with disabilities.
The new Medicaid expansion is not for people who can afford health insurance but simply choose not to purchase it. Instead, the intended beneficiaries are those who earn less than $14,856 a year. Citizens who earn barely enough to maintain housing and put food on the table might now be able to have health coverage.
In Kansas, 141,000 adults would be newly eligible for coverage through Medicaid starting in 2014; in Missouri the projection is 351,000 adults.
For our financially strained state governments, it’s important to note that the federal government will pay the costs for newly eligible Medicaid recipients for the first three years. The states will assume 5 percent of the cost starting in 2017, increasing to 10 percent in 2020. For our two states to consider opting out of Medicaid expansion, thereby turning down the additional federal support, ignores an opportunity to help our residents and our state outlook at very little cost.
Consider the economic impact: Most hospitals across our states receive supplemental payments to provide health care for the uninsured. These payments will be phased out starting in 2014 because of efforts to expand health care coverage.
Kansas hospitals received more than $41 million last year to cover uncompensated care; Missouri hospitals received $474 million.
If Kansas and Missouri refuse to take advantage of this new avenue for health care coverage, our hospitals will face a tremendous funding shortage. In largely rural states like ours, where most counties have a single community hospital and high levels of poverty, the phase-out of payments to cover uncompensated care could result in cuts in medical care, jobs and even the potential closing of some hospitals, the biggest employer in many rural communities.
Urban hospitals also will suffer because of the volume of uninsured people they serve.
Finally, Medicaid expansion will reduce state spending on chronically underfunded but critically needed mental health services for uninsured adults. States currently cover about 40 percent of the funding for mental health services, and still, resources and services can’t meet demand.
I understand that state leaders who have opposed the health care act may find themselves in a challenging situation politically in deciding whether to move forward with Medicaid expansion. However, Kansas and Missouri leaders have a history of doing what is right for people in the end.
Our elected leaders say the economy is the most critical issue. A healthy and productive citizenry is one starting point — and protecting the health care jobs that are the backbone of our communities is another.
Let’s take this opportunity to put our federal tax dollars to work in our own states, and move beyond our differences so that we can improve the health of our people and states today.
Topeka – The President of the United States has issued a proclamation as a mark of respect for the memory of astronaut Neil Armstrong.
In it, he has directed that flags will be flown at half-staff this Friday, August 31st- the date of a private service being held for Mr. Armstrong.
Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon, July 20, 1969. He died Saturday at the age of 82.
A power outage Wednesday shortly after 10:30a.m. plunged portions of east Hays into the dark for about an hour.
Midwest Energy spokesman Mike Morley says about 890 customers were affected when a substation breaker tripped.
The primary outage area was east of Vine Street between 13th and 22nd Streets and extending to the east edge of Hays. Both Roosevelt Elementary School and Hays High School were affected.
Morley says the electricity was restored by 11:40a.m.
Topeka — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach isn’t just interested in cracking down on illegal immigration.
Last week, at the Republican Party National Convention platform committee meeting in Tampa, Fla., Kobach argued against an amendment to the GOP’s party platform that would have backed same-sex civil unions.
In speaking against the proposal, Kobach equated same-sex relationships with drug abuse and polygamy.
“Our government routinely judges situations where you might regard people completely affecting themselves, like, for example, the use of controlled substances, like, for example, polygamy that is voluntarily entered into,” Kobach said. “We condemn those activities even though they are not hurting other people, at least directly. So this is worded way too broadly for inclusion in the platform.”
Thomas Witt, executive director of the Kansas Equality Coalition, said Kobach’s comments weren’t surprising, but they were disappointing.
“You would think that after spending some time in government, he would know that gay and lesbian people are just people too. We are not criminals,” Witt said.
Despite nearly three inches of rain falling in Hays last Thursday through Saturday, the city remains in a Water Watch.
The current drought conditions triggered the Water Watch August 6.
City Manager Toby Dougherty says conditions in the city’s well field have not improved and peak daily consumption is at an abnormally high level.
A Water Watch is the first level of alert in the Hays’ water operations plan. Residents and other water customers are asked to voluntarily reduce their water usage.
Hays is one of seven stops for the upcoming Kansas Small Business Empowerment Tour September 11 and 12.
State officials reach out to small business owners and individual Kansans about changes to the state’s business and tax environment over the past 18 months.
“There has been a great deal of change as we’ve worked to create a business environment that is welcoming to businesses and helps promote private sector job growth,” says Kansas Commerce Secretary Pat George. “The enactment of tax reform was huge, and we want to visit with Kansans to answer their questions.”
Topics to be addressed specifically include:
George, along with Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan, Labor Secretary Karin Brownlee and Securities Commissioner Aaron Jack will be in Hays September 11 at 1p.m. in the Fort Hays State University Memorial Union Stouffer Lounge.
Mid-Kansas Electric Co., owned by the six electric cooperatives that also own Sunflower Electric, will build a 110-megawatt natural gas power plant east of Ulysses in southwest Kansas.
Both Mid-Kansas and Sunflower are based in Hays.
Stuart Lowry, president and CEO of both Mid-Kansas and Sunflower Electric, says the Rubart Station will “further enhance our current fleet of natural gas, coal and wind resources.”
The $130 million project will get underway next year approximately 13 miles east of Ulysses in Grant County and is expected to be completed in April 2014.
Ellis Fire Chief Les Weber has retired after 43 years with the department, 25 of those as chief.
Weber announced his plans during Monday’s Ellis City Council meeting. Assistant Fire Chief Denis Vine is in charge until a replacement is found.
Two Hays men were arrested early Wednesday morning on drug charges in Russell at the Wichita and Ash Streets intersection.
According to the Russell Police Department, Darin Mewhinney was stopped for a traffic violation about 4a.m. and subsequently arrested for an illegal expired vehicle tag, driving while suspended and no proof of insurance.
Mewhinney was then also charged for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of paraphernalia. He was transported to the Russell County jail.
While waiting for a tow service to pick up Mewhinney’s vehicle for impounding, police arrested the vehicle passenger for possession of a controlled substance after a bag containing an illegal substance was discovered. Otto Chew, also of Hays, was transported to the Russell County Sheriff’s office for processing.
