WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled Kansas prison officials are not deliberately indifferent to a transgender inmate who claims her medical treatment is so poor it violates her constitutional rights.
Lamb -photo Kan. Dept. of Corrections
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld a lower court’s summary judgment in favor of prison officials in a dispute about the treatment of Michelle Renee Lamb.
Lamb was born male, but has identified as female since a young age. She receives hormone treatment, testosterone-blocking medication and weekly counseling sessions in prison. She wants greater doses of hormones and surgery.
The appeals court said the record does not contain evidence these are suitable treatment options for her.
Lamb claimed a violation of Eighth Amendment protections prohibiting officials from acting with deliberate indifference to a prisoner’s serious medical need.
Lamb is serving time for first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, robbery and aggravated escape from custody in Johnson, Leavenworth and Pawnee County.
Justin Lee Wilkerson, age 40, passed away on Friday, June 22, 2018 at his home in Montrose, Colorado. Justin was born March 2, 1978 in Scott City. Kansas, the son of Tom & Tina (Biel) Wilkerson.
Justin was an avid reader. He loved the music he and his band created and was fond of sharing it with his many family and friends.
Justin’s surviving family includes-
His Children-
Jayde Wilkerson of Gunnison, Colorado
Brayden Wilkerson of Gunnison, Colorado
His Father-
Tom Wilkerson of Missouri
His Stepfather
Mitch Pecaric of Montrose, Colorado
His Sister and her Husband-
Stephanie & Shannon Shrieves of Gunnison, Colorado
His Grandparents-
Eugene & Billie Biel of Leoti, Kansas
And numerous aunts & uncles, nieces, nephews’, extended family and friends who loved him dearly.
Justin’s mother, Tina Swift, precedes him in death. Tina passed away on April 22, 2012 in Gunnison, Colorado.
A Celebration of Justin’s Life was held on Saturday, June 30, 2018 in Gunnison, Colorado under the direction of Crippen Funeral Home in Montrose, Colorado.
Graveside services will be held at 10:30 am Friday, July 27, 2018 at St. Mary Cemetery at Marienthal, Kansas with Reverend Father Tim Hickey officiating.
Vivian Ann (Long) Herrmann was born December 21, 1937 in her grandparents’ home in Union Township, Sheridan County, Kansas to John and Ura (Launchbaugh) Long. She attended one-room school in Waverly, Kansas and then earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Education from Emporia State University.
She married her husband of 47 years, John Herrmann, on December 27, 1958. After her graduation, John and Vivian moved to California where she taught middle-school Home Economics until the birth of their son. Vivian then focused on raising her family and added a daughter. Once her children entered high school, Vivian returned to work as a Quality Assurance Specialist for Rockwell International, working on the B1A and B1B Bombers. She returned to college and earned her Master’s degree in Business Management.
When Vivian retired in 1994, she and John returned to the family acreage in Sheridan County where they built their dream home. Vivian was an active and wholehearted member of the McGraw Methodist church, serving as pianist and treasurer for more than 20 years. Throughout her life she enjoyed sewing and crafting and always had a book of anacrostic puzzles in the works. She delighted in her flower garden, koi pond and animal friends of all kinds but without question, her greatest joy was her grandchildren.
Vivian passed away on July 9, 2018 in Hays, KS at the age of 80. She was preceded in death by her brother, Vernon Long, her husband, John, and her son David Herrmann. She is survived by her daughter, Kelly Smith, and her husband Adam, and grandchildren, Kyle Broxson of Yuba City, CA, Noah, Levi, and Emily Smith of Hays, KS; her daughter-in-law, Diane Herrmann, and granddaughter Sara of Oketo, KS; and nieces Jeanne Brooks and Joanne Long and nephews Jeff Long, Joe Long, and Jim Long.
Funeral services will be held 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 17, 2018 at McGraw United Methodist Church, with burial following in the Hoxie Cemetery. Visitation will be from 1:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Monday, July 16, 2018 at the funeral home. Arrangements were made by the Mickey-Leopold Funeral Home.
RUSSELL – The Ad Astra Music Festival colors central Kansas with classical music during the month of July.
Bringing over 60 artists from all around the country, Ad Astra is a unique music festival, spanning three weekends in July and integrating emerging young artists, community members, and professional musicians. In its fifth year of existence, the festival includes both main stage and chamber music performances as well as the festival’s new Sunday Evening Series.
The four main stage performances are large-scale events featuring world-class performers, suitable for large audiences. Tickets to each event are $10.
The main stage concerts include Brahms’ Requiem, performed by the joined forces of the Russell Community Choir, Ad Astra High School Honor Choir, and the Ad Astra Chamber Choir, Jazz at the Barn, featuring Russell native and Ft. Hays State University trumpet and jazz professor, Brad Dawson and his crew of jazz musicians in an intimate, outdoor setting, Semiconsciousness, which explores music composed within the last decade that illuminates our hopes, fears, and unspoken ideas, and the dramatic and beloved Bach’s St. Matthew Passion.
Additionally, the festival’s three chamber music performances in the Deines Cultural Center place audiences intimately close to smaller casts of performers. Limited seating available. Tickets to each event are $10.
Ad Astra String Quartet members Madeleine Wething, Arman Nasrinpay, Caitlyn Fukai and Sally Murphy
Kate Soper’s 2014 opera, Here be Sirens, The Elements, a recital featuring the 2018 Young Artists singing the music of Franz Schubert and Matthew Piatt about earth, wind, fire, and water, and Cannonballs Fly, an evening filled with musical responses to war and peace, featuring the Ad Astra String Quartet, mezzo-soprano Katelyn Mattson-Levy, tenor Michael Davidson, and pianist Matthew Piatt. The public can save $20 by buying season tickets to the seven ticketed events for only $50! Tickets will be available at the Russell Economic Development Office, Espresso Etc., and on the festival’s website: www.adastramusicfestival.org.
This year, the festival is also collaborating with local churches to offer sacred music during the festival’s new Sunday Evening Series. Three performances bring the historical music of the church home to Russell and provides an opportunity for people of all denominations to join together for these meditative events. Each performance begins at 7:00 p.m. and are free and open to the public.
Martin HawverWe’ve heard years of whining about public school funding in Kansas.
Legislators have griped that the state isn’t adequately supporting public schools, other legislators have complained that the state is spending too much on public schools or local school boards are spending it wrong?
Well, that’s nearly all over. The Kansas Supreme Court in its decision last month decided that if the Legislature will just appropriate enough money to make up for several years of low-ball spending, the state’s school finance not only will meet equity standards but that dollar-sign punctuated the adequacy threshold.
Now, folks in the Statehouse are still doing the long division and such to come up with a flat number for an increase in state funding the high court says is necessary. Early estimates are that somewhere between $80 million and $120 million in additional spending in each of the next four years would meet the court’s order. Few are doubting that there will be enough money to make that increase in state aid.
But…then…the whole issue of public education changes.
Once the money meets constitutional standards for adequacy—and if the Legislature doesn’t short-change that standard in the out-years as it has in past court-watched deals—what happens to public education?
There will be a sizable percentage of the Legislature that figures if the money is OK, it’s over. And there will be a sizable percentage which decides that “constitutional” doesn’t really speak to just what the students learn and how it helps them live a prosperous life, take care of their kids and their parents when needed, and make the state more prosperous.
The difference? Maybe that’s where Kansans find out—and tell their legislators—just what they want from schools. After years of fighting over the money, it’s likely the debate will switch to just how schools teach, how well the students do on standardized tests, and which districts produce the highest number of graduates ready to proceed with their lives, get technical education, go on to college or whatever.
Some of that debate will undoubtedly splash back on locally elected boards of education. Because the constitutional money issue can be off the table, it’s looking at individual districts to see which of the 278 districts uses that “constitutionally adequate” state aid to produce the smartest students with the best futures ahead of them.
New football helmets and cheerleader uniforms or additional classes to make sure students with disabilities get the best education they can? Or whether every student gets a computer to carry around and the schoolbooks (they still have them?) are the latest, best-written volumes in print?
We’re down to a court-blessed adequate funding plan and unless the State Board of Education radically changes its measurement of student performance, lawmakers will be able to see where money is being spent well and where it apparently isn’t being spent in the best interests of the students—and their families.
That’s a dramatic change in the school finance debate. It’s not just about money, though lawmakers could of course put more in, but it’s about just what the state is getting for its adequate spending of taxpayers’ money.
Now, of course, there is still battling to be done—ranging from the court’s “adequate” being too high or low to the authority of the court to decide cases in which the Legislature is held to a standard for funding of schools.
But there may be a dramatic change in K-12 education policy, and you can bet that there will be splash-back on individual school districts and their locally elected members if they can’t make “adequate” funding produce smarter and smarter students.
This might be interesting to watch…
Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump chose Brett Kavanaugh, a solidly conservative, politically connected judge, for the Supreme Court. Most members of the Kansas congressional delegation expressed support for the choice.
Congrats to Judge Kavanaugh on his nomination to the #SCOTUS. I take my responsibility of ‘advice and consent’ very seriously & look forward to the @senjudiciary‘s thorough vetting of his record. I look forward to mtg Judge Kavanaugh & hope for a fair confirmation process.
I’m proud of President Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. I believe whole-heartedly he’ll do a great job & continue his commitment to the rule of law & our constitution. Tonight’s #SCOTUSPICK is a victory for our great nation & our justice system.
— Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) July 10, 2018
I applaud Pres. Trump’s nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to serve on the SCOTUS. The president delivered on his promise to nominate a justice who will respect the Constitution, uphold the rule of law and defend the unborn & the 2nd amendment. Full statement: https://t.co/XXtNS7s5Jb
“Better than expected, but not what we’d hoped for.”
This is what I heard when I asked Kansas farmers about this year’s wheat harvest. Still, with the little moisture received during the growing season, the 2018 wheat crop panned out better than most Kansas farmers thought it would.
Steve Boor, Lincoln County farmer wrapped up harvest June 30, two weeks after he began. The 2018 wheat harvest dragged on longer than usual because of the pesky showers that dropped a few hundredths of rain then disappeared. The rain resulted in harvest delays as Boor and other farmers waited for the crop to dry out.
In addition to the holdups, the veteran Lincoln County wheat producer says the quality varied, the yields varied – everything varied. The wheat looked much better going into the (combine) header than it did going into the bin.
“Just spots, spots and more spots,” Boor says. “We’d be cutting along and go through a thin spot and ask, ‘what happened here?’ It obviously wasn’t the drill, it wasn’t the sprayer – it just amazed me that a field of wheat could go from little, if any wheat to good, thick wheat so quickly.”
One of the challenges harvesters face in thin wheat is traveling fast enough to keep a steady mat of crop flowing through the combine. This is necessary to utilize the machine’s large threshing capacity.
Traveling at faster speeds to ensure efficient threshing sometimes presents its own inconveniences.
“Hitting a good-sized badger hole at those speeds can certainly jar your teeth,” Boor says.
Another sign of a stressed crop this harvest included a small percentage of stalks lodged too close to the ground to recover. Some instances of broken stalks showed up throughout this year’s harvest.
Wheat protein levels on the Lincoln County crop will likely range from the upper 12s to the lower 13s. Yields varied from approximately 50 bushels-per-acre on the river bottom ground in widely isolated small patches to the mid-30s on much of the 2018 crop.
“I’m sure the wheat lightened up a bit the longer we cut,” Boor says. “Still, I’m hoping the test weight hung tough at least about 59 pounds-per-bushel.”
Amazingly enough, this year’s wheat crop demonstrated its ever-enduring properties. It proved once again, wheat needs timely moisture to produce an abundant crop.
During the early period of the growing season after the first of the year, Boor wouldn’t have bet a “plug nickel” on even harvesting this year’s crop considering the lack of snow and rain.
“You cannot fault the wheat for not yielding more,” he says. “The crop just played the hand it was dealt and did the best it could.”
After talking with neighbors and other producers across Kansas, Boor believes the crop he harvested is like many others across the state.
“I didn’t see anyone tearing up the roads with trucks hauling wheat to the elevators,” he says. “I have yet to hear anyone pounding their chest and saying, ‘Look what we cut.’”
Needless to say, there probably will not be much double cropping beans behind this harvested wheat crop. With the lack of moisture in most places of the state, farmers aren’t ready to gamble on a second crop.
The Lincoln County farmer remains optimistic the fall crops will benefit from some timely rains. This would move the milo and beans a long way down the road to a better fall harvest.
“When you’re cutting a tough wheat crop, it’s nice to look across the field and see milo that looks really good,” Boor says. “We’re not home yet, but with a few good rains, I think we could harvest a decent fall crop.”
And for those few farmers still cutting wheat in the far northwestern region of Kansas?
“Say a prayer for those still trying to finish harvest,” he says. “Wish them luck.”
John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.
KANSAS CITY– A Minnesota man was charged Monday with kidnapping a 13-year-old Kansas girl and taking her to St. Paul, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.
The case prompted the state to issue an Amber Alert on July 6. Authorities found the teen and she was safe at a bus station, according to the KBI.
Amber Lynn Rewerts-Schiavoni
Dechon White, 23, St. Paul, Minn., is charged with one count of kidnapping.
Documents filed in the case allege White and the victim met online in February 2018. On July 1, White came to visit the victim Amber Lynn Rewerts-Schiavoni at her home in Lenexa, Kan. He told the victim’s mother he was 16 years old.
During his stay in Lenexa, he had sex with the victim.
On July 4, White and the victim told her mother they were going to a shopping mall. Instead, they went to a Greyhound bus station in Kansas City and took a bus to St. Paul.
White -photo courtesy Dakota County, Minnesota sheriff
After the victim’s mother reported her missing, police found White and the victim at his residence in St. Paul.
If convicted, White faces a penalty of not less than 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a death and asking the public for help to locate a missing pickup.
The home involved in the murder investigation -photo courtesy KWCH
Just after 3 p.m. Saturday, sheriff deputies were dispatched to an unknown call for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in a rural area, the 4500 block of West 57th Circle North, according to Lt. Tim Myers.
Deputies located a deceased man in the residence identified as 67-year-old John L. Gaffney. Due to the circumstances surrounding the death, this case is being investigated as a homicide, according to Myers.
During the initial investigation, it was discovered the victim’s vehicle was missing from his residence. The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a 1997 Dodge 1500 pickup. The pickup is green with a light, possibly white, colored bed. The Kansas license plate on the truck is 388KER. We are asking anyone who sees the truck to contact 911 immediately.
We are also asking for the public’s assistance with this investigation. If anyone has any information regarding the homicide or if anyone had contact with the victim between Thursday evening, July 5, 2018 through Saturday afternoon, July 7, 2018, please contact Sedgwick County Sheriff Investigations at (316) 660-5300 or Crime Stoppers at (316) 267-2111.
A public forum at the Kansas Department of Agriculture was attended by more than 150 farmers, ranchers and other stakeholders in three sessions throughout the day on May 11.
KDA
MANHATTAN — An early draft of regulations for the Industrial Hemp Research Program in Kansas is now available for public input on the Kansas Department of Agriculture website. The draft was developed by KDA in consultation with the industrial hemp advisory board and with input from the public.
The draft can be found at agriculture.ks.gov/IndustrialHemp, and comments may be submitted to [email protected] through July 18. Following this public input stage, all input will be considered in revising the next draft prior to beginning the next step in the formal adoption process.
As part of the formal adoption process, the regulations will be reviewed by several entities, including the Department of Administration, the Attorney General, and the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and Regulations, and will be subject to a public hearing which will be announced in the Kansas Register 60 days prior to the hearing.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump chose Brett Kavanaugh, a politically connected conservative judge, for the Supreme Court Monday, setting up a ferocious confirmation battle with Democrats as he seeks to shift the nation’s highest court further to the right.
Trump welcomes Kavanaugh -photo courtesy White House
With customary fanfare, Trump unveiled hs choice on prime-time TV.
A favorite of the Republican legal establishment in Washington, Kavanaugh, 53, is a former law clerk for retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. Like Trump’s first nominee last year, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Kavanaugh would be a young addition who could help remake the court for decades to come with rulings that could restrict abortion, expand gun rights and roll back key parts of Obamacare.
“There is no one in America more qualified for this position and no one more deserving,” said Trump, who called Kavanaugh “one of the sharpest legal minds of our time.”
With Kavanaugh, Trump is replacing a swing vote on the nine-member court with a staunch conservative. Kavanaugh, who serves on the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, is expected to be less receptive to abortion and gay rights than Kennedy was. He also has taken an expansive view of executive power and has favored limits on investigating the president.
A senior White House official said Trump made his final decision on the nomination Sunday evening, then phoned Kavanaugh to inform him.
The official said Trump decided on Kavanaugh, a front-runner throughout the search process, because of his large body of jurisprudence cited by other courts, describing him as a judge that other judges read.
On Monday, Trump phoned retiring Justice Kennedy to inform him that his former law clerk would be nominated to fill his seat. Trump signed Kavanaugh’s nomination papers Monday evening in the White House residence.
Top contenders had included federal appeals judges Raymond Kethledge, Amy Coney Barrett and Thomas Hardiman. Relishing the guessing game beyond the White House gates, Trump had little to say about his choice before the announcement.
Some conservatives have expressed concerns about Kavanaugh, questioning his commitment to social issues like abortion and noting his time serving under President George W. Bush as evidence he is a more establishment choice. But his supporters have cited his experience and wide range of legal opinions.
Ahead of his announcement, Trump tweeted about the stakes: “I have long heard that the most important decision a U.S. President can make is the selection of a Supreme Court Justice – Will be announced tonight at 9:00 P.M.”
With Democrats determined to vigorously oppose Trump’s choice, the Senate confirmation battle is expected to dominate the months leading up to November’s midterm elections. Senate Republicans hold only a 51-49 majority, leaving them hardly any margin if Democrats hold the line. Democratic senators running for re-election in states Trump carried in 2016 will face pressure to back his nominee.
Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said he was bracing for a tough confirmation battle as Democrats focus on abortion. Kennedy, a member of the Judiciary Committee, which will get the first chance to question the nominee, predicted a “rough, tough, down in the dirt, ear-pulling, nose-biting fight.”
Trump’s success in confirming conservative judges, as well as a Supreme Court justice, has cheered Republicans amid concerns about his limited policy achievements and chaotic management style. Of the court’s liberal justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 85 and Stephen Breyer turns 80 next month, so Trump may well get another opportunity to cement conservative dominance of the court for years to come.
Kavanaugh is likely to be more conservative than Justice Kennedy on a range of social issues. At the top of that list is abortion. A more conservative majority could be more willing to uphold state restrictions on abortion, if not overturn the 45-year-old landmark Roe v. Wade decision that established a woman’s constitutional right.
Kennedy’s replacement also could be more willing to allow states to carry out executions and could support undoing earlier court holdings in the areas of racial discrimination in housing and the workplace. Kennedy provided a decisive vote in 2015 on an important fair housing case.
While the president has been pondering his choice, his aides have been preparing for what is expected to be a tough confirmation fight. The White House said Monday that former Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl would guide Trump’s nominee through the grueling Senate process.
Kyl, a former member of Republican leadership, served on the Senate Judiciary Committee before retiring in 2013. He works for the Washington-based lobbying firm Covington & Burling. The White House hopes Kyl’s close ties to Senate Republicans will help smooth the path for confirmation.
Trump is hoping to replicate his successful nomination of Justice Gorsuch last year. The president spent the days leading up to his announcement discussing the pros and cons of various contenders with aides and allies.
The White House invited a number of senators to attend the Monday night announcement, including Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and committee member Kennedy.
Democrats who were invited but declined included Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Doug Jones of Alabama, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Dianne Feinstein of California. Feinstein is the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. The others are Republican targets for the confirmation vote who come from Trump-won states where they face re-election this fall.
Kavanaugh is expected to meet in coming days with senators at their offices, going door-to-door in get-to-know-you sessions ahead of confirmation hearings.
Democrats have turned their attention to pressuring two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, to oppose any nominee who threatens Roe v. Wade. The two have supported access to abortion services.
One Democrat up for re-election, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, announced Monday he would oppose any nominee from Trump’s list of 25 possible candidates, drafted by conservative groups. He called it the “fruit of a corrupt process straight from the D.C. swamp.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said opponents were using “40-year-old scare tactics” over abortion and other issues but they “will not stop us from doing the right thing.”
