Author: Becky Kiser
Federal Grant Funds Education Improvements for Kansas Foster Care Children
TOPEKA–A new federal grant will help the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services improve the policies and practices for educating children who are in the Kansas foster care network.
The $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will fund a 17-month collaborative initiative between SRS, the University of Kansas, and the Kansas State Department of Education. The purpose of this initiative is to develop a stable educational environment for youth in foster care. Its approach is to improve the sharing of information among the agencies involved in their lives, specifically SRS and the schools they attend. The goals are to reduce the number of times foster children have to change schools, and improve their graduation rates.
During the 2011 legislative session, lawmakers passed House Substitute for Senate Bill 23, which allows foster children to graduate from high school if they meet specific graduation requirements adopted by the State Board of Education. Often times, foster children in high school have trouble graduating on time because graduation requirements are different at each high school they have attended.
Foster children who leave state care at 18 are eligible for free tuition at state universities, community colleges and technical schools.
Leawood Man Awarded Presidential Citizens Medal
The Associated Press WASHINGTON |A Leawood man is one of 13 Americans to receive the 2011 Presidential Citizens Medal. It’s the nation’s second-highest civilian honor.
Roger Kemp of Leawood started a program called TAKE after his daughter, Ali, a 19-year-old college freshman, was killed in 2002. Kemp, who believes his daughter might still be alive if she knew how to defend herself, began The Ali Kemp Defense Education Foundation to train women to fight off attackers. More than 48,000 women have taken his classes, he said after the ceremony.
Kemp said he was overwhelmed by the presidential recognition. “It’s a very nice acknowledgement of what we’re doing but we’ll continue what we’re doing just like we always have,” he said in a telephone interview. “This isn’t the culmination of anything we’re doing.”
Recognizing the good deeds of 13 compassionate Americans, President Barack Obama said Thursday he hopes their work helping the poor, the illiterate, veterans, service members and others will “inspire us to put ourselves in another person’s shoes.”
For their service, totaling decades in some cases in communities stretching from Alaska to Florida, each of the 13 received the 2011 Presidential Citizens Medal from Obama during a ceremony in the White House East Room.
Obama said Kemp and the other medal recipients were “chosen not for the work that they do, but for the example that they set.” “We don’t always get to choose the challenges that we face,” Obama added. “But how we respond is entirely up to us.”
Obama opened this year’s nominating process to the public, hoping to recognize ordinary citizens and local heroes. Nearly 6,000 submissions flooded into the White House, which needed nearly four months to whittle them down to the 13 individuals honored Thursday, he said.
KDOT Secretary Miller to Take Private Sector Job
Topeka – Kansas Governor Sam Brownback today announced that Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) Secretary Deb Miller will be stepping down to take a position with Cambridge Systematics, a national transportation planning and policy firm. Secretary Miller has served under three Governors in her tenure at KDOT.
Originally appointed by former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius in 2003, Sec. Miller was the first woman to lead KDOT. During her 26 years in the field of transportation, Miller was closely involved in the state’s comprehensive transportation programs of 1989, 1999 and 2010.
“While there is never a perfect time to make this kind of transition, this feels like the right time,” Sec. Miller said of her departure. “One of the reasons I stayed on after the election was to get TWORKS launched. I feel good about getting that done and appreciate very much Governor Brownback giving me the opportunity. Working at KDOT, on behalf of the citizens of Kansas has been more than a job to me, it has been a labor of love.”
Miller also has worked to shape national transportation policy as a member and chairwoman of national boards and committees. Prior to her service as KDOT Secretary, Miller worked for HNTB and provided assistance to state Departments of Transportation and municipalities. She also served as KDOT Director of Planning and Development and as a special assistant to the KDOT Secretary.
Sec. Miller’s last day with KDOT will be on December 16, 2011.
Updating the Hays Comprehensive Plan
The second of four public meetings this week was held over the noon hour Tuesday to begin fine tuning the update of the city of Hays comprehensive plan.
The focus concepts, according to RDG Consultant Group Project Manager Amy Haase, include reinvestment opportunities for the downtown and 8th Street corridor to FHSU, Vine Street phases, and development near the Mall.
Hays residents are asked to participate in the “Design Studios.” Two meetings will be held Wednesday, October 26 at the Hays Arts Council. The first is 8-10AM. The second, a follow-up and steering committee meeting, is 3:30-5:30PM.
More information is available online at www.planhays.com.
New Russell Main Street Director
A new executive director for Russell Main Street. Linda O’Neal started on the job last week. She’s a Hays resident and will soon move to Russell where she has family.
O’Neal graduated from Fort Hays State with a Master’s Degree in Public Relations. She is the former special events chairperson for the United Way of Ellis County and most recently has worked an an administrative assistant for Stromgren Athletics, Inc., in Hays.
New Ellis Public Works Director Hired
The city of Ellis has hired a new Public Works Director. Steve Ferland will replace Gary Haddock, who is retiring at the end of the year. Ferland will start training immediately with Haddock to become familiar with the job.
Ferland is an Ellis resident. Haddock has been the Public Works Director the past six years.
Hays Man Arrested in Garden Plain Underage Sex Sting
BY STAN FINGER and TIM POTTER
The Wichita Eagle
GARDEN PLAIN — Seven people — including Garden Plain High School football coach Todd Puetz and a 59 year old Hays man— have been arrested in a law enforcement operation targeting human trafficking, authorities announced today.
The arrests were made late Friday and Saturday nights, Wichita police Capt. Brent Allred said.
The special operation was conducted in response to a surge in the number of human trafficking cases in Wichita over the past couple of years, he said.
“It was a pro-active assignment due to the issues and problems that we have with child sexual predators in our community,” Allred said at a briefing held by police.
“I’d like to say it’s successful, but it’s really not, because when you get this many people, it’s kind of a sad commentary of what’s in our community.
“When you arrest this many people, you know it’s a problem.”
Five of the men are from Wichita, one from Garden Plain and one from Hays, he said. They range in age from 25 to 59.
All of them communicated electronically that they were interested in having sex with an underage girl, Allred said, and six of the seven made an attempt to meet with a girl for sex.
Another four people are under investigation and could be arrested later, Allred said.
He declined to offer many details about how the operation was conducted because authorities plan to do more of them.
The Garden Plain coach and teacher has been suspended from all duties, school district superintendent Tracy Bourne said today. A relative of Puetz, who asked that her name not be used, said his family is “very supportive” of him.
Records show the others arrested in the operation were:
* Viraqd Weerappumac, 51, Wichita
* Reginald Shepard, 35, Wichita
* Joshua Hetzel, 26, Wichita
* David Walter, 59, Hays
* Chris Squires, 25, Wichita
* Kyle Miller, 25, Wichita
The three-day operation was a month in the making and involved the FBI, the Internet Crimes Against Children task force, the Wichita/Sedgwick County Exploited and Missing Child Unit, Wichita police and Sedgwick County sheriff’s officers, Allred said.
Federal charges could result from the arrests, he said. Investigators will be meeting with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office later this week or early next week to present evidence in the cases.
Read more: https://www.kansas.com/2011/10/24/v-print/2075367/garden-plain-high-coachteacher.html#ixzz1bjV2LTr4
FDA Report of Listeriosis Outbreak; 3 Kansas Deaths
Topeka – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its environmental assessment report of Jensen Farms on Oct. 19.
The report lists a number of environmental factors that most likely led to the contamination of cantaloupe with the pathogen Listeria monocytogenes at Colorado-based Jensen Farms, which was implicated in a multi-state outbreak of listeriosis. Contributing factors observed included those in the growing environment as well as in the packing facility and cold storage. The full report can be accessed at https://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FoodborneIllness/ucm276247.htm.
Kansas has now had 10 cases of listeriosis, including three deaths, definitively linked to the multistate outbreak. The three additional cases from the last update provided by KDHE on Sept. 22 have been linked to the multistate outbreak as a result of additional laboratory tests on previously reported cases. Typically, Kansas reports fewer than six cases of listeriosis per year.
Welcome for New Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development Executive Director
Members of the public will have the opportunity to meet the new executive director of the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development Thursday, October 29.
Aaron White, who served the Salina Chamber of Commerce for more than three years, stepped into his new role with the coalition on Sept. 26.
The event will be from 4 to 6 p.m. at Hays Welcome Center, 27th and Vine.
Blue-Green Algae Warning Remains for Great Bend Lake
Only one Kansas lake remains under a warning for high levels of blue-green algae.
The Department of Health and Environment said Thursday a warning was in place for Memorial Park Lake in Great Bend. The warning means direct contact with the water through swimming, skiing and wading should be avoided.
The agency also said advisories remain in place for Augusta City Lake, Harvey County East and West lakes and Logan City Lake. A warning for Warnock Lake in Atchison County has been downgraded to an advisory.
An advisory signifies boating and fishing may be safe, but direct contact by people and pets is strongly discouraged.
Blue-green algae become a problem when they bloom in massive amounts and release toxins that may cause rashes, vomiting, nausea and other symptoms.
Kansas Jobless Rate Unchanged; Ellis County at 3.6%
Topeka — Unemployment remained unchanged in Kansas in September, holding steady at a seasonally adjusted 6.7 percent, the same as in August. The unemployment rate for Ellis County was 3.6%.
The Kansas Department of Labor report released Friday shows the economy did show signs of improvement, adding 7,800 new jobs over the past year.
Labor Secretary Karin Brownlee says the number of initial and continuing unemployment claims fell for the month. She described economic activity as heading in the right direction, though at a slow pace.
The labor force grew by 7,000 people, which an economist said indicates more people are finding jobs while others are showing enough confidence in the economy to begin looking for employment.
Regents Approve Salary Increases for University Chiefs; Hammond Up 12.2%
Topeka — Kansas University Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little on Thursday got a 1.8 percent salary increase, while her counterpart at Kansas State got a 14.3 percent hike.
Why? Because Kansas State President Kirk Schulz was one of three chief executives of regents universities to receive a hefty “market adjustment” from the Kansas Board of Regents.
“We all believe we have great university leaders at our regents institutions,” said Regent Fred Logan Jr. of Leawood as he laid out the plan.
All of the school leaders received the 1.8 percent cost of living increase.
But the regents also provided “market adjustments,” ranging from 12.2 percent to 14.7 percent, for the heads of Kansas State, Fort Hays State and Pittsburg State. Under the pay plan, K-State’s Schulz will see a $50,500 annual increase, while Gray-Little’s dollar increase was $7,650. Gray-Little’s salary cap, however, is still more than Schulz’s.
In addition, Steve Scott, president of Pittsburg State University, will receive a 14.7 percent market increase and Ed Hammond, president of Fort Hays State, 12.2 percent.
Prior to the action, the board had not granted salary increases to the heads of regents schools since 2009 as the state has struggled with the recession.
The increases will take effect Jan. 1 and will be paid through a combination of public and private, endowment funds. But how much will be state dollars and how much private, hasn’t been worked out yet, Regent Chairman Ed McKechnie of Arcadia said. Essentially, what the regents did was increase the salary cap for the chief executive officers.
The method of payment was criticized by Regent Tim Emert of Independence who was the lone opponent of the plan, which was approved 8-1.
Emert said the raises should be paid with state dollars, and not placed on the backs of students, through tuition and foundation funds.
The regents are currently searching for a new president at Emporia State, and Wichita State President Don Beggs, who is leaving next year, received a 1.8 percent cost of living increase.
The current and increased salaries, which include state and private funds, under the regents vote are as follows:
• Beggs, WSU, $277,160 to $282,150 (No market adjustment; 1.8 percent cost of living increase).
• Gray-Little, KU, $425,000 to $432,650 (No market adjustment; 1.8 percent cost of living increase).
• Schulz, KSU, $350,000 to $400,050 (12.5 percent market adjustment and 1.8 percent cost of living increase).
• Hammond, FHSU, $222,860 to $255,200 (12.2 percent market adjustment and 1.8 percent cost of living increase).
• Scott, PSU, $213,200 to $248,378 (14.7 percent market adjustment and 1.8 percent cost of living increase).
• ESU to be determined.