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Author: Hays Post
Hep A and Meningococcal Vaccines to be required for 2019-20 School Year
Vaccine changes effective August 2
Kansas Department of Health and Environment
Two new vaccines will be required for school-age children for the 2019-20 School Year: Meningococcal and Hepatitis A. KDHE proposed changes to the vaccine requirement regulations earlier this year and held a public hearing concluding a 60-day public comment period in June. The regulations were approved by KDHE and will go into effect on August 2.
“We received many comments and input from all viewpoints,” KDHE Secretary Lee Norman said. “We listened and read all of the input and concerns submitted to us. We looked at the evidence. Both Meningitis and Hepatitis A illnesses are severe and preventable, and the safety profile of the vaccines is well-recognized. As an agency charged to establish policies that protect and improve the lives of Kansans, we felt the addition of the two vaccines was essential for the health and safety of our state.”
Changes for 2019-20 School Year
Students entering Kindergarten and Grade 1 for the 2019 -2020 school year now need two doses of the hepatitis A vaccine.
Students entering Grade 7 for the 2019-2020 school year need one dose of the meningococcal ACWY vaccine.
Students entering Grade 11 need one dose of the meningococcal ACWY vaccine if not vaccinated prior to their 16th birthday. They will need two doses if their first dose was before their 16th birthday.
Vaccine requirements for schools can be found online at: https://www.kdheks.gov/immunize/schoolInfo.htm.
About the Vaccines
Meningococcal ACWY Vaccine
The meningococcal ACWY vaccine protects against meningococcal disease. Meningococcal disease has two common outcomes: meningitis (infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord) and bloodstream infections. The bacteria that cause meningococcal disease spread through the exchange of nose and throat droplets, such as when coughing, sneezing, or kissing. Symptoms include sudden onset of fever, headache, and stiff neck. With bloodstream infection, symptoms also include a dark purple rash. About one of every 10 people who gets the disease dies from it. Survivors of meningococcal disease may lose their arms or legs, become deaf, have problems with their nervous systems, become developmentally disabled, or suffer seizures or strokes.
Hepatitis A Vaccine
The hepatitis A vaccine protects against the hepatitis A virus. The virus is spread primarily person to person through the fecal-oral route. In other words, the virus is taken in by mouth from contact with objects, food, or drinks contaminated by the feces (stool) of an infected person. Symptoms can include fever, tiredness, poor appetite, vomiting, stomach pain and sometimes jaundice (when skin and eyes turn yellow). An infected person may have no symptoms, may have mild illness for a week or two, may have severe illness for several months, or may rarely develop liver failure and die from the infection. In the U.S., about 100 people a year die from hepatitis A.
Exemptions from Vaccines
There are exemptions to vaccines. In accordance with KSA 72-6262, legal alternatives to vaccination requirements include medical contraindications and religious beliefs. The medical exemptions signed by a medical clinician must be submitted on an annual basis by the family/guardian of the student. There could also be instances in which a person has a religious belief that prevents them from receiving a particular vaccination. The parent/guardian of the student must submit a written statement indicating they are adherent of a religious denomination whose religious teachings are opposed to such vaccination. The school board or governing body for nonpublic schools are responsible for ensuring compliance with the regulations and statutes.
Jury: Kansas man not guilty in rural Pawnee County burglary
The story has been corrected after the Pawnee County Attorney sent incorrect information.
PAWNEE COUNTY— A Kansas man has been found not guilty of burglary in Pawnee County.
On Wednesday a Pawnee County District Court jury heard testimony that on August 26, 2018, while checking cattle on leased property in northern Pawnee County a farmer noticed the chain leading back into the property had been cut, according to Pawnee County Attorney Doug McNett.
Upon closer inspection, he discovered the locks securing the barn, a trailer house and an RV located on the property had been broken. The Pawnee County Sheriff was then called to the scene.
Later the same afternoon, the defendant 49-year-old Harold Mason was stopped and arrested in Barton County on local charges.
Shayla Richmeier, 28, and Eric Reed, 47, both of Great Bend were also arrested at the time. A search of his vehicle located items from the Pawnee County Burglary, a faucet still in the original box with the victim’s name on the shipping label and various boy scout memorabilia. At the time, the defendant told a Barton County Detective he’d purchased the faucet and did not know how the other items ended up in vehicle. None of the other items reported stolen have been recovered.
Mason did not testify in his own defense, nor did he present any witnesses.
The jury made up of 7 women and 5 men deliberated for approximately 80 minutes before returning a Not Guilty verdict.
In March, the co-defendant, Richmeier, entered a No Contest plea to an amended charge of Criminal Trespass. The State agreed to dismiss similar charges against Reed prior to Preliminary Hearing, according to McNett.
City hopes ‘Baby Shark’ song will drive homeless away
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Officials in West Palm Beach are hoping a continuous loop of children’s songs played throughout the night will keep homeless people from sleeping on the patio of a city-owned rental banquet facility.
West Palm Beach parks and recreation director Leah Rockwell tells the Palm Beach Post they’re trying to discourage people from sleeping outside the glass-walled Waterfront Lake Pavilion, which she says rakes in some $240,000 annually from events.
The loop of “Baby Shark” and “Raining Tacos” is a temporary fix to keep homeless people off the patio. Rockwell says the city wants to formalize hours for the facility, which should make trespassing laws easier to enforce.
Illaya Champion tells the Post “it’s wrong” to chase people away with music. He says he’ll still sleep there, but “it’s on and on, the same songs.”
US Air Force warns against joke event to ‘storm Area 51’
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The U.S. Air Force has warned people against participating in an internet joke suggesting a large crowd of people “storm Area 51,” the top-secret Cold War test site in the Nevada desert.
A prank event on Facebook that’s attracted more than 1 million interested people suggests that a mass of people attempt to run into the mysterious site at 3 a.m. on Sept. 20.
The site is part of the vast Nevada Test and Training Range and has become the center of UFO conspiracy theories.
The Facebook event jokes “they can’t stop all of us” and “Let’s see them aliens.”
Nellis Air Force Base said in a statement that the Air Force is aware of the Facebook posting and says “any attempt to illegally access the area is highly discouraged.”
The Air Force says it does not discuss its security measures and that the test and training range provides “flexible, realistic and multidimensional battlespace” for testing and “advanced training in support of U.S. national interests.”
After decades of government officials refusing to acknowledge Area 51, the CIA released declassified documents in 2013 referring to the 8,000-square mile (20,700-sq. kilometer) installation by name and locating it on a map near the dry Groom Lake bed.
The base has been a testing ground for a host of top-secret aircraft, including the U-2 in the 1950s and later the B-2 stealth bomber.
But secrecy surrounding the site has fueled conspiracy theories among UFO enthusiasts and sprouted a small, alien-themed tourist industry in surrounding desert communities, including alien-themed cafes, an alien-themed motel and an alien-themed brothel.
Rep. Marshall: Democrats talk big on impeachment, but don’t vote for it
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House easily killed a maverick Democrat’s effort Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump for his recent racial insults against lawmakers of color , a vote that provided an early snapshot of just how divided Democrats are over ousting him as the 2020 presidential and congressional campaigns rev up.
The Democrats talk big on impeachment, but less than half vote for it. Hypocrisy.
I think @realDonaldTrump Derangement Syndrome will be in DSM-6. 🚑🏨 https://t.co/8ZUbLZN0t4
— Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) July 17, 2019
Democrats leaned against the resolution by Texas Rep. Al Greenby 137-95. That showed that so far, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has successfully prevented a Democratic stampede toward impeachment before additional evidence is developed that could win over a public that’s so far skeptical about ousting Trump.
Even so, the roll call underscored that the number of liberal Democrats open to impeachment remains substantial and may be growing. About two dozen more conversions would split the party’s 235-member caucus in half over an issue that could potentially dominate next year’s elections. Until now, just over 80 Democrats had publicly said they were open to starting an inquiry over removing Trump.
“There’s a lot of grief, from a lot of different quarters,” Green, speaking to reporters after the vote, said of the reaction he received from colleagues. “But sometimes you just have to take a stand.”
Democrats voting in favor of the impeachment resolution included some of the party’s most outspoken freshmen, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, but were mostly veteran liberals, including leaders of House Democrats’ black, Hispanic and progressive caucuses. With party leaders looking to give the effort as little oxygen as possible, there was no debate.
As some Democrats feared, the measure’s lopsided 332-95 defeat — the House’s first vote on removing Trump since Democrats took control of the chamber this year — opened the door for him to claim vindication.
“You see the overwhelming vote against impeachment and that’s the end of it,” Trump told reporters as he arrived in North Carolina for a campaign rally. He called the effort the “most ridiculous project I’ve ever been involved in.”
Green’s resolution didn’t mention special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether Trump’s 2016 campaign conspired with Russia to influence that year’s congressional election or whether the president obstructed Mueller’s probe. That inquiry and the questions it raised over Trump’s actions have been the main reasons some Democrats have backed impeachment.
Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters that six House committees are investigating Trump, adding, “That is the serious path we’re on.”
Mueller is scheduled to testify next week to two House committees.
Democrats rejected Trump’s claim that the vote showed he’d been absolved of anything.
“It’s not vindication,” said Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla. “It’s that we believe in an orderly process. We’re putting our faith in the Judiciary Committee and the hearing they’re going to hold.”
Every voting Republican favored derailing Green’s measure.
With Democrats preparing to defend their House majority in next year’s elections, Green’s measure forced those in tight districts to choose between upsetting liberals eager to remove Trump and moderates leery of that. Democrats owe their House majority to 39 challengers who won in 2018 in what had been GOP-held districts, places where centrist constituents often predominate.
“It’s not ideal for a lot of people to have to take that vote right now,” one of them, Rep. Katie Hill, D-Calif., said of impeachment. She said “if and when” the House votes on impeaching Trump, it should happen when “we can make sure our constituents understand and can get behind” the move.
Recent polling has shown solid majorities of the public oppose impeachment. Even if the Democratic-run House would vote to impeach Trump, the equivalent of filing formal charges, a trial by the Republican-led Senate would all but certainly acquit him, keeping him in office.
Trump is “unfit to be President, unfit to represent the American values of decency and morality, respectability and civility, honesty and propriety, reputability and integrity, is unfit to defend the ideals that have made America great, unfit to defend liberty and justice for all,” Green’s resolution said.
The measure cites Trump’s recent “racist” comments imploring Democratic congresswomen of color to go back to their native countries. The House voted Tuesday largely along party lines to condemn those statements . His targets were Ocasio-Cortez and Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
All are American and all but Omar were born in the U.S. They’ve also been among the party’s most outspoken advocates of impeachment, and all backed Green’s measure.
Mueller’s 448-page report detailed episodes in which Trump tried to influence his investigation. Mueller said he could not exonerate Trump on obstruction and indicated in a May news conference that it was up to Congress to decide what to do.
Some Democrats are frustrated with the slow pace of their party’s investigations of the president, and impeachment supporters say it would accelerate House probes and bolster their arguments in court. The White House has blocked several witnesses from answering questions.
Efforts by party leaders to dissuade Green from forcing the divisive roll call fell flat, as they did when he forced votes on similar impeachment resolutions in 2017 and 2018.
🎥 Ellis Cty Fair 4 H Interviews 2019
Members of 4H talk about projects entered in this year’s fair.
🎥 Russell County Fair 4H Interviews 2019
The 2019 Russell County Fair 4H interviews with Mike Koerner.
Science Café to present ‘Footprints on the Moon: A celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11’
Muslim group in Kansas wants city councilman to resign for “racist comments”
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas chapter of a Muslim civil rights group is calling for the resignation of an Independence, Missouri, city councilman who said during a meeting that Middle Eastern owners of discount smoke shops will “sell anything out the back door.”
Councilman Curt Dougherty made the comment Monday while discussing a proposal to regulate medical marijuana facilities in Independence. He was arguing that the city had rules restricting several types of businesses, including smoke shops run mostly by Middle Easterners.
The Kansas chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations said in a statement Wednesday that Dougherty should resign. CAIR-Kansas Board Chairman Moussa Elbayoumy said the comment showed Dougherty couldn’t represent a diverse constituency.
Dougherty did not immediately respond to an email or phone message seeking comment.
Kansas inmate hospitalized after fall while working at fairgrounds
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A Hutchinson Correctional Facility inmate was taken to a Wichita hospital after he fell while working on the Kansas State Fairgrounds.
Christopher Boothby, 38, was on some type of hydraulic lift working on a flag pole when he fell about 15 feet and hit his head, according to Hutchinson Police.
He was first taken to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center then transported to Via Christi St. Francis in Wichita.
He has been at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility since March after a move from the El Dorado Correctional Facility.
New U.S. 50/U.S. 281 roundabout is taking shape
By TIM POTTER
KDOT
On a summer day, the intersection of U.S. 50 and U.S. 281 looks and sounds like a busy place for a remote spot.
Just beyond the intersection, in Stafford County, it’s wide-open country – 3 miles south of St. John, 48 miles west of Hutchinson, 28 miles south of Great Bend. It’s a quilt of tree lines and crops, cattle and cattails. For stretches, the only movement on the hot pavement is tiny toads trying to hop from one side to another.
At the intersection of the two highways, traffic across a wide expanse of south-central Kansas converges, engines whirring, gears shifting. Big rigs rumble straight through without having to stop, blowing east and west on U.S. 50, while north and south traffic on U.S. 281 is signaled to stop before rolling on. At times, several vehicles line up before east-west traffic clears.
But everything about that key intersection is about to change in a big way: Around four weeks from now, the first key temporary change will be that traffic in all directions will have to stop before proceeding. That’s so construction can continue on a roundabout interchange.
The Kansas Department of Transportation is overseeing the project. Venture Corp., of Great Bend, is the primary contractor for the $5.2 million project.
The roundabout is designed to improve safety – with less chance of a high-speed, T-bone collision – and to ease the way for oversized trailers carrying, for example, huge wind-farm parts. Now, big loads have a hard time maneuvering through the square interchange.
Roundabouts help improve safety because they cause traffic to slow down, said James Middleton, a South Central Kansas Construction Engineer based in Pratt. The 15-year KDOT veteran is overseeing inspection of the interchange project. The project coordinator is Doug Coates, Engineering Technician Specialist has more than 30 years of field experience.
The roundabout will be composed of two spheres: a diamond-shaped outer road for the largest loads and a separate circular road inside the diamond for regular vehicles. Vehicles enter the circle by yielding to the left.
Crews are building legs of the diamond now. For a while, drivers will be using temporary roadway at the intersection. Traffic will be shifted around as the roundabout gets constructed in phases.
For visibility, the completed roundabout will be illuminated with 16 street lights – four at each approach.
The contractor’s schedule has a completion date of Dec. 13.
Check out our drone video of the project below:
Learn more about roundabouts and why KDOT uses them HERE.
MASON: HCI helps connect Hispanic students with America’s promise
One of my favorite summer activities is meeting the students and families who participate in Fort Hays State University’s Hispanic College Institute (HCI). For the past several years we have intentionally focused on initiatives which enhance opportunities, access, and support for Hispanic students to succeed in college. HCI is our most valuable contribution to fulfilling our promise.
Why is this timely? Ten counties in the southwest corner of Kansas have more than twice the percentage of Hispanic population than the state average. This past year, some of the regional high school senior classes were comprised primarily of Hispanic students: 81 percent in Liberal; 77 percent in Ford County; 65 percent in Garden City. Clearly, the education of this population is critical to the success of our state.
We are leading the way in meeting the higher educational needs of this growing population in Kansas and across the Midwest. HCI has already engaged over 275 Hispanic high school juniors and seniors from across the states of Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.
The HCI is a free, four-day residential program that prepares Hispanic high school students to enter and succeed in higher education. It is designed to bring in Hispanic educators and community leaders from all over the Midwest to build confidence in HCI students. The majority of the curriculum provides opportunities to get connected with Hispanic community leaders, college students, and university leaders who can relate to the students’ experiences and challenges. All students go through the college application process, learn about scholarship opportunities and financing college, and participate in mock classes and academic programs. They also take part in community service projects and create an issues-to-action presentation to cultivate our institutional mission to build engaged citizen-leaders.
The Institute is also valuable for the Hispanic students who are already Tigers and who serve as HCI Tiger Team leaders. Many were participants in the Institute when they were in high school, and now they help guide, support and inspire the students who will come after them. At the same time, they gain real-life experience as leaders and mentors, and practice the joy of “paying it forward.”
Each year, the university also brings in a dynamic keynote speaker and role model. This year’s students had the opportunity to learn from Oscar Rodriquez Jr., a 2005 FHSU graduate. Oscar, a native of Liberal, played football at Fort Hays State as a safety while earning his bachelor’s degree in physical education and health. He has just started his first season as the Zips’ secondary coach at the University of Akron. In 2015, Bruce Feldman from Fox Sports highlighted his heroic comeback from cancer to resume his coaching career.
Oscar was an NFL Bill Walsh Fellowship participant in 2018 with the Chicago Bears, and he has coached and mentored seven student athletes who are playing in the NFL. As an engaged citizen-leader, Oscar founded the Coaches Against Cancer Foundation and is involved in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.
Of course, my absolute favorite part of the HCI is listening to student stories. I was captivated by the students’ honesty about what they were learning and the deep friendships they were forming. Grace Johnson (Wichita), a rising junior at Bishop Carroll High School, spoke with great enthusiasm and affection about the value of experiencing college life from living in a residence hall, being in a classroom, and touring a college town. I was especially pleased with how the Institute incorporates the city of Hays, because I know our close-knit community fuels the success of students through a deep and sincere connection.
I smiled as Grace described the late night conversations with her HCI roommate and the lasting friendships she formed with her small group – called a familia. She talked about the confidence she gained in her leadership, communication, teamwork, problem solving and conflict management skills, and about how she felt more prepared for college life. Grace shared: “I didn’t know coming into HCI how to deal with conflict. Now, I know not only how to avoid it, but to work through it with others.”
Most importantly, I loved listening to students capture the essence of why we invest so much into programs like the HCI: “I am more compelled than ever to go to college, succeed, and graduate” said Grace.
The education of students matters to us. We get to know students and help them discover their talents and their dreams. With each conversation, we see their potential and are inspired to walk with them and to challenge them. We provide access to the opportunity to learn and to thrive. The HCI is just one of many examples of how we deliver on America’s promise to help people and communities prosper.