The issue of the Blue Sky Acres residential subdivision is set to go before the Ellis County Commission once more.
Property owner Mary Alice Unrein is again asking the commission to approve the final plat of the proposed housing addition south of Hays.
In November 2016, the Ellis County Commission rejected the final plat on a 1-1 vote. Commissioner Dean Haselhorst voted in favor of the plat while then-Commissioner Marcy McClelland voted against the plat. Commissioner Barb Wasinger recused herself from the vote because of a conflict of interest.
McClelland said she voted against the plat because of the possibility of groundwater contamination from septic systems and lack of available water in the area.
The commission’s failure to approve the plat led Unrein to sue the commission and McClelland in December 2016 in an effort to force her to change her vote.
A year and eight months later, in August 2018, a judge ruled in favor of McClelland and commission.
McClelland was defeated by Butch Schlyer in the Aug. 7, 2018, primary election, and Schlyer won a seat on the commission by winning a three-way race in the November general election.
In that same election, Wasinger was elected to the 111th District Kansas House of Representatives and Dustin Roths, Ellis County Republican Party chairman, was appointed to fill the remainder of Wasinger’s term.
The new commission will take up the issue at Monday’s commission meeting.
The commission will also continue discussing the 2020 budget at Monday’s meeting. The commission had previously requested each department within the county present a 2020 budget proposal with a 1.5 percent reduction from 2019. Those budgets will be presented to the commission Monday.
Monday’s meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the County Administrative Center.
Republicans in the Kansas Senate seem ready to end a long-running lawsuit by complying with a court ruling that said the state sends too little money to local school districts.
The Kansas House? Not just yet. It’s advancing a plan that would continue adding school spending for another year, and only another year.
That sets up a potential fight between the two chambers and threatens Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s hopes for a plan to finally settle the court battle and carve out increased funding for public schools for several years to come.
House Speaker Ron Ryckman, left, and Senate President Susan Wagle are leading chambers that could be headed for conflict in the school funding debate. CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
Leaders in the House want to mix conservative policies with a funding plan that only boosts spending for the coming fiscal year. They’d also strip away future funding increases already in state law.
Senators have approved a bill mirroring Kelly’s plan for a multi-year funding hike, which many lawmakers hope could end the lawsuit.
“It is our best attempt to provide a reasonable solution for the Supreme Court,” Republican Sen. Molly Baumgardner said last week when pitching the bill to her fellow senators.
In a way, the Senate vote marks a change of fortune for Kelly. Republican leaders have blasted and blocked many of her major proposals. But Kelly’s school funding plan, based on numbers from the Department of Education, has garnered bipartisan support.
The Senate sent the bill to the House on a 32-8 vote with support from Democrats, moderate Republicans and conservatives such as Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning.
But House Speaker Ron Ryckman said he has concerns the boost in school funding would leave lawmakers unable to fund other services like roads and mental health care.
“We have to balance everything out and not always do what is politically easy to do,” Ryckman said. “We need to protect other core functions of government.”
The House will continue to work first on a proposal introduced last week, Ryckman said.
That bill includes an initial injection of cash for local school districts, but it cancels future funding increases and mixes in some controversial policies. For instance, it would let bullied students transfer to private schools on the state’s dime. Letting students use public money for private schools already draw criticism from a teachers’ union and school districts.
The Kansas Supreme Court mostly signed off on a funding boost lawmakers approved last year. But the justices said that previous spending plan needs to be adjusted for inflation. Kelly’s bill offers that added money.
Rep. Tom Sawyer, the Democratic Party leader in the House, wants to simply approve the Senate plan and move on. He said the House Republicans’ bill reopens the entire school funding debate.
“That causes all kinds of problems with the court,” Sawyer said. “Do the Senate bill. Get it behind us. Fund our schools the way we should.”
A committee will continue work this week on the House plan.
If the House approves its bill, the two chambers will have to find a compromise between proposals that have a wide disparity in funding and policy ideas.
Kelly will stay out of the fight for now and won’t pitch her plan to House lawmakers.
“They would prefer just operating on their own,” Kelly told reporters.
The issue is further complicated by a group of dozens of school districts, including the four that sued the state in the latest lawsuit, that now say even the bill approved in the Senate falls hundreds of millions of dollars short.
Baumgardner said lawmakers can’t afford what the school districts want without crippling the state budget.
“A $900 million price tag over four years will be devastating to our state,” she said during the Senate debate.
Republican Sen. Kevin Braun said if the Senate bill doesn’t satisfy the high court, it’s time to change the state constitution so courts can’t weigh in on school spending. He’s not interested in another round of fighting over a funding increase.
“This is not an opening bid,” Braun said. “This is a final offer.”
Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for the Kansas News Service Kansas. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda.
Rural & Remote, an initiative of Ogallala Commons,is a program that provides job placement support for many different career tracks for people who want to live in northwest Kansas and work for companies across the nation that hire remote workers.Remote positions can include, but are not limited to, marketing, office administration, sales, graphic design, and more.Leads are given to those who inquire and are qualified for positions.It is then up to the Northwest Kansas prospect to follow up with these leads and secure the work.These positions often offer above average wages and benefits, beyond what currently exists in Northwest Kansas.
This Rural and Remote initiative will bring new and increased job opportunities to the Northwest Kansas territory of twenty-six counties that the Dane G. Hansen Foundation and NWKEICI serve.Remote work, also referred to as telecommuting, is work done outside of a traditional office environment. This could mean working from home, a coworking space, or a coffee shop.Over the last 10 years, remote work opportunities have been on the rise, as employers become more comfortable with having remote employees. It is estimated that 43 percent of U.S. workers spend at least some time working remotely.This provides a huge opportunity for people living in rural communities to access higher paying jobs, have more career options than currently exist, and to use degrees and training.
NWKEICI’s Coding Academy is also housed within Rural & Remote.The Coding Academy provides scholarships for applicants who want to stay in Northwest Kansas and learn computer programming through full-time or part-time online training.Computer programmers are in high demand nationally and internationally.Individuals that have been successful in this training are self-motivated, hardworking, open to learning, comfortable with technology, and good at communicating in a timely fashion through many different mediums.Basic knowledge of or experience in html, css, and other coding languages is helpful but not required.
“The Rural and Remote program works toward many of the goals that NWKEICI has for northwest Kansas,” said Scott Sproul, president and CEO of NWKEICI. “We think that the program will give new, higher paying, opportunities to allow people to stay home and come home to Northwest Kansas. We are excited to launch this program and see the changes that it brings!”
“I am excited to partner with NWKEICI and the Dane G. Hansen Foundation to help the residents of Northwest Kansas stay home or come home by being able to work remotely. The economic impact that we have the opportunity to create is tremendous,” said Rural and Remote’s Kade Wilcox.
Partnerships in Northwest Kansas will be essential to the success of Rural and Remote.If you are an employer, parent, grandparent, educator, foundation board member, community member, alumni organization, Chamber, or Economic Development entity that could use Rural and Remote, know someone who would be a good fit for Rural and Remote, or want to help spread the word, contact Wilcox at [email protected].For more Rural and Remote or to sign up for assistance go to www.ruralandremote.org.
Richard David Webster, 73, passed away March 16, 2019, at his home in Great Bend. He was born April 8, 1945 at Kingman, to Richard Leslie & Marietta (Fitzsimmons) Webster. He married Ann F. Reeder August 18, 1996 at Great Bend, She survives.
Coming from Pratt in 1996, Richard was a Great Bend resident. He was a truck driver for R.C. Williams and Rainbow Trucking. He was a member of St. Ann Catholic Church in Olmitz and the NRA and loved ham radios. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam war. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather.
Survivors include, his wife, Ann of the home; four sons, David Webster and wife Starr of Fort Collins, CO, Dustin Mitchell of MO, Brandon Clark of Kimberling City, MO and Kevin King of Hutchinson; one daughter, Evelyn Harr and husband Carl of Great Bend; one sister, Wendy Sloan and husband John of Norton; and 13 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Cremation has taken place and services will be announced at a later date. Memorials are suggested to the National Rifle Association, in care of Bryant Funeral Home.
Larry Dale Flora was born in Oshkosh, Nebraska on August 22, 1936 to Rev. George Flora and Genestia Foster Flora. As the son of missionaries, Larry grew up in a small village, twenty miles from the end of road in Liberia West Africa. After returning to the states, his family settled in Santa Cruz, California where he attended high school before going back to Nebraska at Midland College. There he met Bonita Bartels across the picket fence of his aunt’s house and later married her on August 24, 1958 – two days after his birthday, so they would be the same age. Moving to Northern California, he attended seminary and started his family. After serving for three years as a pastor, Larry felt called to serve his Lord in the secular world and so moved into sales, a job that allowed him to meet and share his faith with so many people.
Larry took an active role as father to his four children. He took them camping, taught them tennis, encouraged them to participate in community theater where he also took on occasional roles, and helped them understand that while life was not always fair, it was certainly worth living with a passion. He lived his passion every chance he got; he took his family canoeing down the rivers of Northern California. He could not get enough of boats.
Larry was an avid bridge player, eventually earning his Life Master Certificate. Larry was also active in Cursillo, a Christian organization that strives to build and renew leaders within churches. He often helped lead weekend retreats for churches up and down California, getting his children involved as well, and thereby building up a strong faith in them. Larry used God’s gift of a tenor voice and sang in several church choirs. And if you have ever sung in a choir, you know how hard it is to recruit tenors. Larry had an amazing and active sense of humor. Anyone who spoke to him could expect his demand: “Tell me a joke!” He always had one ready in return. In 2009, he and his wife moved to San Marcos in Southern California. There he continued his passions by taking on roles in community theater, finding some great bridge partners, and even playing the role of Santa Claus at various malls during the Christmas season.
In August of 2018, Larry and his wife moved to Hays, Kansas, to be closer to family. Here they celebrated their 60th anniversary. On March 16 of 2019 at age 82, Larry passed away at the Good Samaritan Society in Hays. He is survived by his wife Bonita Flora in Hays, KS; his siblings Miriam and Virgil Plautz in Walnut Creek, CA, Charles Flora in San Jose, CA, Russell and Donna Flora in Ormond By the Sea, Florida and Nita and Kent Mathews in Colorado Springs; his children Renee’ and Neil Scheuerlein from Cedar Rapids, IA, Melanie and Tim Folkerts in Hays, KS, Stephen and Michelle Flora and Daniel Flora in Washington state; ten grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Hays, KS, Wednesday, March 20. A private family inurnment will be held at a later date.
Arrangements in care of Brock’s-Keithley Funeral Chapel and Crematory 2509 Vine Hays, KS 67601.
Memorials can be made as donations in his name to My Brother’s Keeper Orphanage in Careysburg, Liberia West Africa. If making a donation, please make the check out to Trinity Lutheran Church.
Condolences may be left by guest book at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or emailed to [email protected]
Herman J. Gerhardt Sr., 83, of Russell, Kansas, passed away Sunday, March 17, 2019, at Wheatland Nursing Center in Russell.
Herman was born October 19, 1935 in Victoria, Kansas. He was one of thirteen children born to Michael and Florence (Brungardt) Gerhardt. He grew up on a farm near Victoria and graduated from Victoria High School.
Herman served his country in the U.S. Army, serving stateside. After his tour of duty he returned to the Olmitz, Kansas area.
Herman was united in marriage to the love of his life, Cicily Ann Masters on February 20, 1957 in Olmitz. This union was blessed with five children; Jerry, Herman, Jr., Marvin, Dorothy and Debra. They made their home in Olmitz, Hoisington and in 1980 they moved to Russell.
Herman worked in the oil field his whole life. He worked for Ivan Holt Drilling on pulling units. After his retirement, he enjoyed tinkering on washers and dryers for family and friends. He also enjoyed listening and dancing to Polka music.
Herman’s surviving family include two daughters, Dorothy Ramirez (Martin) of Pierre, South Dakota and Debra Carillo (David) of Great Bend, Kansas; three sons, Jerald Gerhardt (Patty) of Hays, Kansas, Herman Gerhardt, Jr. (Anita) of Russell, Kansas and Marvin Gerhardt of Great Bend, Kansas; brother, Tony Gerhardt of Liberal, Kansas; sister, Katie Rohr of Hays, Kansas; 19 grandchildren and several great grandchildren.
Herman was preceded in death by his parents, wife Cicily, five brothers and five sisters.
Celebration of Herman’s Life will be held at 10:30 AM, Thursday, March 21, 2019 at Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary of Russell. Burial will follow at the St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Russell. Visitation will be held from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Wednesday, March 20, 2019 at Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary. A Memorial has been established with Wheatland Nursing Center. Contributions and condolences may be sent to Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary, who is in charge of these arrangements.
SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating after a officer was forced to shoot a dog.
Just before 6p.m. Sunday, police responded to report of domestic violence at a home in 2100 Block of North Erie in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.
As officers left the home, they noticed a pit bull near the rear of their patrol vehicle. The officers backed up slowly to create some distance when the dog charged aggressively at one of the officers. The other officer did fire multiple shots from his handgun striking the dog, according to Davidson.
The dog’s owner did take the animal to a vet for emergency care, according to Davidson. Police released no additional details early Monday.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal appeals court is refusing to toss out a lawsuit filed by two female students alleging Kansas State University refused to investigate their rapes and other sex assaults at off-campus fraternity houses.
photo KSU
The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the women had sufficiently alleged that Kansas State’s deliberate indifference made them vulnerable to sexual harassment by allowing the students who they say attacked them to continue attending the university. The university purportedly did not investigate the rape allegations.
The two women contend in their civil rights lawsuit that this caused them to withdraw from participating in educational opportunities at the university.
While the appellate panel affirmed a lower court’s refusal to dismiss the students’ claims, its narrow ruling does not address the merits of the case.
Phillipsburg resident Robert “Bob” Ward passed away March 15, 2019 at the Hays Medical Center, Hays, KS at the age of 64. He was born Dec. 14, 1954 in Phillipsburg, the son of Carl & Hazel (Meyer) Ward.
Survivors include his wife Roxie of the home; his son, Westley of Columbus, OH; 2 daughters, Holly Ward of Tipton, KS and Ember Ward of Phillipsburg; 2 brothers, Doug of Glade & John of Phillipsburg; his sister, Shirley Robinson of Hoxie and one grandson.
Cremation is planned. A Memorial Service will be held Friday, March 22 at 2:00 p.m. in the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg, with Pastor Blake Stanwood officiating.
Memorial contributions may be made to his grandson’s education.
It was great to be home over the weekend and see the sun. Our hearts go out to our livestock producers who have had one challenge after another during calving season. But you will not find a more resilient group of folks than those involved in agriculture. Things are ramping up in Topeka, but it looks like this first year of the biennium will be one with out many issues being acted on. One of the issues that is working towards a vote is K-12 school finance.
Last Wednesday, the K-12 Education Budget Committee received an informational briefing on HB 2395. The bill addresses school finance, as well as a number of education policies. The education policies reflect language from bills heard earlier in the session. The bill contains supplemental appropriations for the Department for FY 19, based on the Governor’s recommendations. Appropriations are also included for FY 20, including for the 6 primary funding sources for school districts: State foundation aid; supplemental state aid; special education services aid; capital outlay state aid; capital improvement state aid; and KPERS employer obligations.
Appropriations are also included for: the ACT/Workkeys assessments; professional development for elementary teachers in identification of dyslexia and effective reading interventions; Teach for America; ABC early childhood intervention pilot program; and continuation of the safe schools grants.
Targeting funding for at-risk students; students with behavioral health concerns; dyslexia: The bill also contains a new weighting for behavioral health intervention. This weighting expands the mental health intervention team pilot program from 2018 SB 423. All districts would be eligible to participate. To receive the weighting, a school district must hire a behavioral health liaison for each school included in the program. Approximately $20 million is appropriated for this weighting. The weighting is 0.5 for each student attending a qualified school. The bill also adds 0.026 to the at-risk weighting of each school district. The additional moneys are to be expended only for at-risk evidence-based programs, such as Job’s for America’s Graduates—Kansas (JAG-K). The bill also extends the Legislative Task Force on Dyslexia for an additional three years.
Cash Reserves, Accountability provisions: The bill requires school districts to spend down a portion of their unencumbered balances. If their average monthly unencumbered balance is greater than 15%, the district would be required to spend the difference between that balance and 15% of their operating budget. Capital outlay and capital improvement cash balances are excluded from the calculation. The bill also contains provision to create performance accountability for the state, each school district, and each school. The reports are to be 1-page annual reports on student performance on state assessment, college and career readiness metrics, and the Kansans Can standard. Additionally, the Department will prepare annual longitudinal reports on student achievement, along with annual financial accountability reports. The bill also establishes uniform internet publication requirements, requiring that the Department and each district provide a displayed link on their websites.
Bullying Prevention: The bill creates the Legislative Task Force on Bullying Prevention in Public Schools. The Task Force would meet up to 6 times during FY 20 and twice during FY 21, with reports made to the 2020 and 2021 Legislature. The bill also contains the Kansas Hope Scholarship Act (KHSA), which allows student victims of bullying to participate in a scholarship program to transition to a new school, including a private school. The scholarships would cover the costs of attending a new private school. To be eligible for the program, a student must report they are a victim of bullying. An investigation, made within 30 days of incident being reported, must contain a determination that bullying occurred and who the victim is. If it is decided to transfer the student to another school, school district, or private school, KHSA provides that a certain percentage of the current year BASE aid amount is transferred from the KHSA fund to the student’s account (based on student’s grade level). If the student transfers to another school district, then the State Board is directed to adjust the school district’s state foundation aid.
Additional considerations: The bill amends current law regarding transportation requirements. Under the bill, a school district would be required to provide transportation to students living less than 2.5 miles from their school if there is no safe pedestrian route and if there is no additional cost to the district to provide that transportation. Other provisions address the bonding authority, special education excess cost, requiring a study on computer science and personal financial literacy courses, and the abolishment of the Mineral Production Education Fund.
There are many moving parts to the House version of K-12 spending we will see what survives. The Senate has proposed the Governor’s recommendations on school funding without many of these enhancements.
On Thursday, March 14th, the Senate concurred with the changes the House made to SB 22 with a vote count of 24-16. The House added provisions to reduce the food sales tax and the fix the loophole concerning internet sales tax collections, which will protect our brick and mortar stores, and passed the bill on March 8th with a vote of 76-43.
SB 22 is currently on its way to Governor Kelly’s desk. She will have ten days after receiving the bill to act. She has the option of signing the bill, allowing the bill to become law without her signature, or veto the bill.
Early last week, the House adopted HR 6016, a resolution recognizing the Kansas Small Business Development Center’s 2019 Businesses of the Year. Eight Emerging Businesses of the Year and eight Existing Businesses of the Year award recipients were chosen by the Kansas SBDC’s regional directors and staff. It was great to be on hand when Lost Creek German Shepherds from Clayton was recognized as one of the 2019 Emerging Businesses of the Year. Taylor and John Meitl are doing a fantastic job…Lead On!
The other 2019 Emerging Businesses of the Year are: ArtForms Gallery in Pittsburg, owned by Sue Horner, Janet Lewis, Ruth Miller, and Sylvia Shirley; Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore in Emporia, owned by Marcia Lawrence; Gravity Wellness Center in Garden City, owned by Kristi Schmitt; Leeway Franks in Lawrence, owned by Lee and K. Meisel; Norsemen Brewing Company in Topeka, owned by Jared and Emily Rudy and Adam and Melissa Rosdahl; Safely Delicious in Overland Park, owned by Lisa Ragan; and Triple Threat Ag Services in Conway Springs, owned by Aaron, Allen, Paul, and Phillip Lange.
The 2019 Existing Businesses of the Year are: Angela’s Wellness Center, LLC in Elkhart, owned by Angela Willey; Bolling’s Meat Market & Deli in Iola, owned by Cara Bolling Thomas; Dod Installations in Wichita, owned by Wilt and Tina Dod; Floyd’s Inc. in Emporia, owned by John and Ruth Wheeler; Good Energy Solutions in Lawrence, owned by Kevin Good; LaCrosse Furniture Co. in LaCrosse, employee-owned; The Winged Lion in Manhattan, owned by Ralph Diaz; and Wolcott Foods in Kansas City, owned by Ron Tilman.
If you come to Topeka during the session, my office is in Room: 149-S. My phone number is (785) 296- 7463 and email is: [email protected] and you can always try my cell number is (785) 302-8416.
It is my honor to serve you in the Kansas House of Representatives.
Rep. Ken Rahjes (R-Agra), is the 110th state representative and chairman of the Higher Education Budget Committee. House District 110 includes Norton and Phillips counties as well as portions of Ellis, Graham, and Rooks counties.
SALINE COUNTY — Authorities are working to determine the cause of a weekend fire that destroyed a rural Kansas home
Saturday fire destroyed a Saline County home
Just after 12a.m. Saturday, Saline County Rural fire crews and from Gypsum responded to a home in the 700 Block of King Street, according to a media release.
The occupants of the home 44-year-old Sean Corbett and 53-year-old Tina Tanner were able escape without injuries.
Corbett said he discovered the fire near the area of the water heater but the cause has not yet been determined. The house is considered a total loss is valued at $55,000.
