September 1, 2017, was a deadline for high school instructors of academic college credit courses to have a masters degree and 18 graduate credit hours in the topic being taught.

High schools offer many such dual-credit or concurrent courses in cooperation with nearby higher education institutions. Those universities, community colleges and technical colleges are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). And the HLC set September 1, 2017 as a deadline for instructors of college credit courses having a degree higher than the course level being taught.

Therefore, if a high school teacher is teaching a math or biology class or other general education academic course for dual credit in college, that teacher must have a masters degree and at least 18 graduate credit hours of math or biology or the other academic field, respectively.

Many Kansas students are now graduating high school with a year or more of college dual-credits, but in many cases their teachers lacked those qualifications. The decline in dual-credit courses this fall would have been dramatic. Therefore the Kansas Governor and the heads of the K-NEA, the Kansas State Department of Education and the Kansas Board of Regents requested more time to meet this requirement.

The HLC responded by allowing: “…the opportunity for institutions with dual credit programs to seek an extension of the deadline from September 2017 to September 2024 as to faculty teaching in the dual credit program only.”

The following higher education schools chose not to apply for an extension: Allen County, Barton County, Highland, Independence, and Kansas City Kansas Community Colleges; Salina Area Technical College; and Emporia State and Fort Hays State Universities. Therefore high school academic dual credit courses taught under their purview should now all have instructors who have a masters degree and at least 18 graduate credit hours in the subject taught.

The following schools did apply to HLC and received an extension, usually to 2022: Butler County, Cloud County, Coffeyville, Colby, Cowley County, Dodge City, Fort Scott, Garden City, Hutchinson, Johnson County, Labette, Neosho County, Pratt, and Seward County Community Colleges; Flint Hills, Northwest Kansas, and Wichita Area Technical Colleges; and Kansas, Washburn, and Wichita State Universities. High school academic courses under their purview may have instructors who do not yet have the credentials but may continue teaching until 2022. Some institutions are working with high school instructors to bring them up to the HLC standard.

A few higher education institutions have not yet replied to my inquiry: Manhattan Area and North Central Kansas Technical Colleges; and Kansas State and Pittsburg State Universities.

In both high school and higher education, the need for a teacher credentialed higher than the level being taught has universally been recognized for academic courses, such as college general education courses in math, sciences, etc. At both high school and college levels, the only exception is for technical courses such as welding taught by a master welder, an art technique course taught by a noted artist who has had public exhibitions, or a higher ed course in forensic sciences taught by a veteran policeman.

Long ago, the Kansas Legislature established the opportunity for secondary students to take college credit work, intending that it would be for a few exceptional students—the few Doogie Howser child prodigies. And it was allowed only on the recommendation of a high school administrator. Today, everyone seems to have a Doogie Howser.

The quality and rigor of a course is dependent on the teacher. And while there are some advanced high school courses that are taught by excellent and qualified teachers, a very substantial number of regular high school courses have also been given college credit, in turn making a four-year college degree barely a three-year degree.

High school students taking academic dual credit courses this fall would be well advised to inquire if their teacher is qualified to teach the course for college credit. They are paying college tuition and deserve a college-level course. And the future accreditation of the overseeing higher education institution depends on following the HLC rules.

Regent schools that have requested an extension
Butler County Community College
Cloud County Community College
Coffeyville Community College
Colby Community College
Cowley County Community College
Dodge City Community College
Flint Hills Technical College
Fort Scott Community College
Garden City Community College
Hutchinson Community College
Johnson County Community College
Labette Community College
Neosho County Community College
Northwest Kansas Technical College
Pratt Community College
Seward County Community College
University of Kansas
Washburn University
Wichita Area Tech College
Wichita University

Regent schools that have NOT requested an extension
Allen County Community College
Barton County Community College
Emporia State University
Fort Hays State University
Highland Community College
Independence Community College
Kansas City Kansas Community College
Salina Area Technical College

No reply
Kansas State University
Manhattan Area Technical College
North Central Kansas Tech College
Pittsburg State University

John Richard Schrock is a professor at Emporia State University.

Whether the Democrat Party, liberalism, progressive, or mainstream media, it’s all one and the same thing as they exhibit total insanity with their rhetoric about Donald Trump.

Readers don’t have to go very far to read Trump trash talk, if you know what I mean. It’s a daily thing in local media. The coverage of Trump nationally (and locally) clearly shows leftist insanity. Most need to be committed for therapy and rehab. It’s being called the “Trump derangement syndrome.”

If Trump is not fit, competent, or sane enough to be president of these United States what does that say about his opposition? These anti Trumpers should be in straight jackets. Calling Trump insane is like the pot calling the kettle black! It’s interesting to note Trump’s approval numbers are far better than all those leftists trying to destroy him.

What’s a stronger word than the word insanity? Whatever you want to call it, that’s the ideological left I refer to above. If Trump is batty, the left is battier. If Trump is crazy, the left is crazier.

I choose to believe Trump is just what this country needs at this point in our history. Make America great again and drain the swamp rings loud and clear with grassroots Americans that voted for Trump and will vote for him again. I choose to believe Trump will prevail because he has the support of Americans that count. Knock our president all you want, he is resilient even with some in his own party acting like Democrats.

The other night Sean Hannity on Fox News showed a list of Trump accomplishments and the list was a mile long. Just to name a few, the economy is better, illegal immigration down, a million new jobs, fewer on food stamps, consumer confidence up, and much more. In seven months he has accomplished more that is positive than most presidents in a full term. Of course, media dwells on negativity 100% of the time and doesn’t dare mention any positives.

Total insanity is the norm from the left. An African American woman who is a Missouri state legislator said Trump should be assassinated. And, of course, she pays no penalty for such a totally insane remark. Media chose to ignore what she said. Had a Republican made such a comment about Obama, off to jail he or she would go.

I admit some of my words are pretty strong in this letter, but they pale in comparison to leftist rhetoric wanting to destroy a duly elected president and there is nothing they won’t do to accomplish that goal. Americans need to stand up to the agenda coming from the left of distract, distort, and demonize, all of which amount to untruths when it comes to reality.

Let’s be clear, Trump’s comments about Charlottsville were not out of line. If ever a mountain out of a mole hill was made from nothing, this story qualifies as the ultimate “nothing burger.”

What Trump said about Charlottesville, when listening to the left (and some weak establishment Republicans). one would think there were never any words by a country’s leader more controversial in world history. The New York Times had to print a retraction four times about what our president actually said.

Fair minded people know that no matter what Trump said about Charlotsville it wouldn’t be good enough for the insane – no matter what! Damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.

As I said before in some of my other writings, this is not a time in our history where we are experiencing politics as usual. We are in unprecedented times where the left lies daily about every thing they disagree with.

As I see it, the insanity from the left has escalated to the point of being totally and completely immoral.

Les Knoll lives in Victoria and Gilbert, Ariz.

The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline climbed another penny Tuesday to $2.648. That’s 27 cents higher than a week ago and the highest average price thus far this year. Motor club AAA reports the average across Kansas was $2.485, up more than 25 cents from a week ago. We spotted $2.49 in Great Bend and $2.48 at most outlets across Hays.

Drillers in Ellis County continued to lead the state in oil production, according to new numbers released Aug. 28 by the Kansas Geological Survey. Kansas operators produced about 3.1 million barrels of oil statewide in May, compared to 2.97 million in April. Total production statewide through May is just over 15.04 million barrels. Ellis County leads the state with over 234,000 barrels of new oil production in May, for a total this year of just over one million barrels. Barton County produced just over 154,000 barrels in May for a year-to-date total of 714,000 barrels. In Russell County, operators produced over 141,000 barrels of oil in May, 668,000 so far this year. Stafford County production in May was over 90,000 barrels, which brings their year-to-date total to 436,000 barrels of oil.

Top oil production by county through May 2017:
Ellis County 1.09 Million bbl
Haskell County: 970,000 bbl
Barton County: 714,000 bbl
Finney County: 675,000 bbl
Russell County: 668,000 bbl
Rooks County: 662,000 bbl
Ness County: 636,000 bbl
Harper County: 462,000 bbl
Stafford County: 436,000 bbl
Barber County: 419,000 bbl
(KGS)

Baker Hughes reported 943 active drilling rigs across the US Friday, an increase of three gas rigs. Canada reported 201 active rigs, which is down 16 from last week. Independent Oil & Gas Service reported ten active drilling rigs in eastern Kansas, down three, and 23 west of Wichita, up one for the week. They’re drilling on two leases in Barton County and moving in completion tools at a pair of sites in Ellis County and two more in Stafford County.

Last week there were 51 permits filed for drilling at new locations in Kansas, 38 east of Wichita, 13 in western Kansas. There was a permit filed in Barton County, and one more in Ellis County last week.

Operators across Kansas completed 18 new wells last week. Independent Oil & Gas Service reported 13 well completions in western Kansas, including one in Barton County, one in Russell County and one in Stafford County,. There were five newly-completed wells east of Wichita last week.

Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota is urging the US Geological Survey to do another survey to determine just how much oil and natural gas are available in his home state. According to Inside Energy dot org, the USGS did such a study in the Bakken shale formation in 2008, and concluded the play contained 3.7 billion barrels of oil available for operators to extract. By 2013, another survey doubled the estimate to 7.4 billion barrels, thanks to advances in technology. Senator Hoeven says he’d like to ensure his state continues to receive the jobs and dollars that have boosted the state over the last decade. Agency officials say they will reach a decision in a week on whether to update their estimate for North Dakota’s oilfields. That decision depends, in part, on whether enough has changed in the oil patch here since 2013 to make that new survey necessary.

A report in Forbes Magazine suggests that OPEC’s role in managing the price of oil will be over if Russia ever “hops on the shale bandwagon” in Siberia. There are sanctions in place that currently restrict US companies from showing the Russians how to recover shale oil. The Siberian Bazhenov formation has hydrocarbons just 98 feet deep. The formation is larger than the Bakken and Eagle Ford plays combined. Because of that formation, Russia is home to the second largest shale oil reserves in the world, with an estimated 74.6 billion barrels, compared to 78.2 billion in the U.S., according to US government figures.

Whether a writer has written for 40 months or 40 years, most of us have collected, filed or shelved evidence of our work. The amount varies from a few stories, to several boxes and to possibly hundreds of gigabytes.

Most of these collections include every magazine issue that has showcased our work. Every column we have penned. And don’t forget every photo that’s graced a magazine cover and the stories inside.

Radio shows, printed components of a promotional campaign – you name it, it’s probably collecting dust somewhere.

Why do we keep these stories?

For one thing, it authenticates our careers. The people we’ve interviewed. What we’ve written, and sometimes, we return to such works.

We may even read them ourselves or show them to others who may choose to catch a glimpse of the stories we’ve written. Anything that reminds us of what we’ve done, seems to satisfy.

While reading through such archives, it’s not always about the words we’ve written or the photographs of the people we’ve visited that rekindle our emotions and memories. Sometimes it’s a segment of the story we didn’t write or couldn’t.

It might have been about the dairy farmer in south-central Kansas who finally took his wife on a vacation after 30 years. It included a trip to Wisconsin to visit his wife’s mother.

Another untold story might have included the broken-hearted cattleman in southwestern Kansas who lost half of his momma cows in last spring’s wildfire. Would he ever be able to stand the pain of losing another precious animal he took responsibility for?

Or the story in the eyes of a farm couple who toured the first wind energy farm in southwest Kansas. Their sorrowful lament at seeing the turbines spinning slowly in the Kansas wind, “Why couldn’t they have been on our land?”

How about the nine-foot tall, red granite monolith firmly planted on the farm of another western Kansan. What was the rest of this story?

Could this have signaled his displeasure about the dairy policy of a previous U.S. president?

These tales are many and as varied as the people who tell them. They’re real and impact the livelihoods of families throughout our state – some for generations.

Some surely would provide insight into the lives of those (farm/ranch journalists) who wrote them. The logistics involved in setting up and conducting interviews. Working around the harried schedules of farmers and ranchers during calving season, fall harvest or planting a winter wheat crop during an unusually wet autumn.

And the weather – now there’s a constant fly in the proverbial ointment. How many times has weather changed or altered plans of both the farmer/rancher, writer or both?

How about when farmers or ranchers couldn’t, or wouldn’t, reveal what we knew they understood so we could share this story with others?

Through it all, we choose to remember the good ones. Those experiences, people and stories we’ll never forget. We cling to such memories.

That sage old farmer from Furley who spoke with a voice of reason, wisdom and common sense. When he rose to his feet to talk, everyone listened. He’s no longer with us.

Or the articulate farm lady, with hair the color of snow, who impressed us with her knowledge and innovative spirit?

She was a force to be reckoned with and revered within the farm community.
Today, she lives in her twilight years.

People change. The years fly by. No one out there is exactly the way they were when we met them, or remember them.

Neither is the landscape and we aren’t either.

Technology and time wait for no one. Both leave us bobbing in their wake. We either climb aboard or fade away.

We’re all shoe-box museums of different sizes filled with artifacts we rarely discuss but rely on to prove who and what we were then, and are now. Still, they’re important for a far more important reason.

They kindle in us what we must still become as we carry on work in this vital industry of which we are a part – agriculture.

John Schlageck is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas. Born and raised on a diversified farm in northwestern Kansas, his writing reflects a lifetime of experience, knowledge and passion.

It started with my sister-in-law’s request to build her a bat house. I was online looking for bat house plans when I came across an interesting website for an organization based in Texas called Bat Conservation International (BCI).

There focus is no secret, but a “stroll” through their amazing website gave me the idea that just maybe a column on bats with some educational information about bats here in Kansas would be of interest to readers; after all, I do like the unusual.

It’s hard for me to think that here in mid-western farm country we would need a lesson in “bat conservation” as I think the only time we would frown on a bat’s presence was if it showed up loose in our living room. Mylea Bayless, Director of Partnership and Networking for BCI gave me a crash course on bats and taught me a little about their value and impact on agriculture nationwide.

Bats are mammals and are the only mammals in the U.S. capable of true flight. Of more than 1300 species of bats in America, 15 species have been recorded here in Kansas. Interestingly enough, 32% of the nation’s bats reside in Wyoming. Everything’s big in Texas, so it only seems fitting that the WORLD’S largest single bat colony should be found there too. From March through October of each year, a cave known as Bracken Cave north of San Antonio is home to a colony of Mexican Free Tailed bats estimated to be 20 million strong, also making it the WORLD’S largest single known concentration of mammals.

According to Dr. Elmer Finck, professor of biology at Fort Hays State, the most common bat in our state is the Big Brown Bat. Big Brown Bats are insect eaters and inhabit KS year round, hibernating in bat houses or in old building during cold months. All bats found in Kansas are insectivores, meaning they feed on insects only, but other bats elsewhere in the world also eat fruit or nectar. Bats are not blind as was once thought, but in fact see quite well, however insectivores use a type of echolocation to locate insects at night.

Although Dr. Finck knows of no studies regarding bats value to agriculture in Kansas, bats are credited with being very valuable to agriculture nationwide. Dollar amounts vary widely depending upon the study, but bats are thought to save corn farmers billions of dollars by feeding on the corn earworm moth. These moths attack many different crops, laying eggs that hatch into destructive worms, and are also called tomato fruit worms and cotton bollworms depending on the part of the country and the crop they are targeting. Although some larva are able to survive mild winters in some states, great swarms of the moths emerge from the gulf coast and the Rio Grande valley each spring heading north, and high flying Mexican Free Tailed bats like the huge colony from Bracken Cave, intercept those swarms, devouring millions of them in-flight. Bats are also thought to pollinate more than 500 species of plants, and are known to be the main pollinators of the agave plants in Mexico from which tequila is made.

Again, though studies are sparse about bats insect consumption here in Kansas, it’s widely accepted that they, along with birds like swallows, swifts and purple martins, devour hoards of mosquitoes and other pesky bugs. Existing structures like old barns and bridges offer ample housing for swallows, and old brick chimneys protect swifts and those same structures out in the country beckon bats as well. But in town we build martin houses by the dozens to attract those hungry bug gulpers to our neighborhoods, so why not place a bat house or two in your neighborhood too to attract even more help.

Bat houses are wide, flat structures with narrow compartments in which bats can take up residence when they are not out hunting. Put them on a pole by themselves or on the side of a tall building, preferably not on or near a tree to make it tougher for predators like hawks and owls to lay in wait to ambush the bats as they come and go. Also put them at least 15 feet off the ground to give bats plenty of space to swoop down and get the necessary lift they need to fly. You can find a dandy bat house plan on BCI’s website. www.batcon.org. You can also buy electronic devices to turn your I-phone or android device into an electronic bat locator, actually allowing your device to locate and follow bats using their echolocation signals. In 2014, bat conservation groups and the National Forest Service set aside the last week of October to celebrate Bat Conservation Week, and no, it’s not a coincidence that it culminates each year with Halloween. This year’s dates are October 24 – October 31, 2017. Go to their website www.batweek.org and check out all the activities they offer for kids and adults alike.

Ok, so the only bats that crave blood are buried in the jungles of central and south America, and don’t target humans anyway. Bats won’t tangle themselves in your hair, and having “bats in your belfry” really has nothing to do with bats at all. And as for the warnings that bats carry rabies, every study I read put the percentage of rabid bats at less than 1%; in other words, you’re much more likely to be struck by lightning. Bats seem a little creepy only because of myths and legends, and really are very good and valuable to our society. Check out bat house plans on the 2 websites listed above and put up a couple to draw a few more bug guzzlers to your neighborhood; yet another “batty” way to Explore Kansas Outdoors!

Steve Gilliland, Inman, can be contacted by email at [email protected].

As daylight wanes and nights grow longer, neighborhood kids return to classrooms. While much of these kiddoes’ work involves the three Rs combined with social studies, science, technology, art, and music, don’t forget all-important recess. Seeing little ones walking to school made me wonder if youngsters still love to jump rope as much as I did when I headed to school, pig-tails bouncing and dressed in plaid dirndls and black and white saddle oxfords. While I loved learning to read and figure math problems, I adored breaks where we took turns turning the rope for one another and jumping in time to catchy rhymes.

As a youngster, I never considered the history of my favorite playground activity, but after some research, I discovered it’s been around more than a while. That’s not surprising when you think ancestors had to deal with vines, fallen trees, big rocks, and deep ditches. The ability to leap high and far made a difference between eating and being eaten our DNA contributors. I’m guessing this aptitude is programmed into bone and muscle, even if we haven’t consciously developed it.

Somewhere over centuries, folks learned to weave lengths of cord and then turned that object into skill training for boys. By the 1600s, painters captured scenes of children jumping rope on Europe’s cobblestone streets. Soon afterward, Dutch immigrants brought the game to America, where English settlers titled one activity Double Dutch. I bet that rings a bell with older readers.

Yes, those of us who attended elementary school from the 40s through 60s recall gathering a minimum of three participants—two to turn long ropes in opposite directions and one to jump into the spinning midst while also reciting a memorized verse. If you were lucky, friends spun those lanky cotton twists at a speed you could manage without hurting yourself.

Once you’d developed stamina and agility, the chants required the performance of tricks while simultaneously leaping over cement-slapping cordage. My favorites included, “Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear turn around, Teddy Bear Teddy Bear touch the ground…” and “Not last night but the night before 24 robbers came knocking at my door. I asked them what they wanted, and this is what they said: Spanish Dancer do the splits, Spanish Dancer do the twist, Spanish Dancer turn around, Spanish Dancer touch the ground, Spanish Dancer go out back, Spanish Dancer please come back, Spanish Dancer read a book, Spanish Dancer 1, 2, 3, …” and continued till the jumper missed or got tired. Girls interested in romance could skip rope while counting the number of Cinderella’s fella’s kisses.

What good memories! We thought we were just playing while, in reality, we refined coordination and agility and practiced counting skills, verse memorization, and turn taking. It didn’t take new kids long to learn that they had to play nice if they wanted to be included.

I know modern youngsters participate in Jump for the Heart and other physical education class challenges. I hope my little grandchildren have the chance I had to join friends on the playground and take turns either spinning ropes or jumping in the middle of crazy egg beaters. It does them good physically and socially.

Native Kansan Karen Madorin is a local writer and retired teacher who loves sharing stories about places, people, critters, plants, food, and history of the High Plains.

At Women’s Foundation, we believe in using research and data to identify real problems and develop meaningful policy solutions.

That’s why we are disappointed that the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is stopping the pay data collection aspects of the EEO-1 form that sought to reduce the gender pay gap. Data collection is a necessary tool to increase transparency and inform policy solutions to close the pay gap.

When it comes to the gender pay gap, working women have waited long enough. We will continue to work for change to end the gender pay gap for women and their families through both market-based approaches like our Pay Equity Best Practice Guidelines and practical policy solutions.

Women earn an average of only 77 cents in Kansas and 78 cents in Missouri for every dollar men make for the same work, according to Women’s Foundation research. Both states fall behind the national gender pay gap of 80 cents. Women are not expected to achieve gender pay equity until 2059.

The Women’s Foundation promotes equity and opportunity for women of all ages, using research, philanthropy and policy solutions to make meaningful change. More information about the organization can be found at www.Womens-Foundation.org.

Wendy D. Doyle, is President and CEO of Women’s Foundation, Kansas City, Missouri.

OK, summer is officially over, even though the kids have been in school a couple weeks, and we’re still using the air conditioner. But things are heating up…

The end of summer in the Statehouse means that it’s just four months until the start of the election-year 2018 session of the Kansas Legislature; the issues are already piling up that lawmakers and statewide elected officials are going to have to deal with in the same year many of their names and voting records will be on the ballot.

Oh, and that little fire that Gov. Sam Brownback may have cooled slightly with his 10 percent (El Dorado Prison) and 5 percent (all other corrections officers) raises has damped that prison pay issue but sparked statewide calls for pay raises for state workers who now-quite randomly received pay raises of either 2½ percent or maybe 5 percent. That’s one issue heating up.

And, as a sidebar to that prison pay, at least one state agency is offering 2½ percent pay raises to employees who haven’t already given up their civil service employment protection rights which essentially reduces them to day workers who can be fired or laid off or not returned to work on the whim of his/her supervisors.

Get the idea that this summer was a relatively simple one for lawmakers, if you manage to ignore the biggest income tax increase in state history that for most Kansans amounted to just a little more Kansas income tax withholding from their paychecks each week and those Kansas Limited Liability Company owners getting ready for their first income taxes on non-wage income in four years.

Medicaid coverage? The expansion proposal that passed both chambers last session but was vetoed by Brownback? It’ll be back, under a new governor who isn’t a fan of allowing maybe 110,000 more Kansans to have health coverage but is going to have to pencil it out: Conservative voters vs. hundreds of millions of dollars of state revenue for the new guy in the job as Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer takes the reins and budget responsibilities from exiting Brownback.

Individual legislators? Well, the picnics are over and it’s State Fair Week in Hutchinson, but while lawmakers will have some events they can attend, they won’t have to wear their nametags and most—if they want to—can be just “that guy/gal with a pronto pup” wandering the fairgrounds.

Don’t forget, also that now that school has started, the Kansas Supreme Court may in the coming weeks issue its decision on state aid to K-12 schools and whether it is adequate to provide good education for the state’s public schoolchildren. Will that take new money that the state doesn’t have—or shift more of the cost of schools to local school districts? Nobody’s sure; this whole issue of “adequacy” becomes complicated because it essentially shifts responsibility to turning out those bright, ready for more education or entering the workforce children to the school districts.

But…remember those new legislators, about 50 who were brand new to the job last session after winning elections, probably didn’t have much of an idea of all the little scraps they were going to be dragged into, and it is quiet so far, but there is Statehouse halltalk about some not interested in seeking re-election. The job just turned out to be a lot different than the one they believed they were running for, and the complexity of issues in even the simplest of bills can turn out to make what seemed like a nice idea into a bullet point on an opponent’s campaign literature in the next year.

Summer’s over…but the winter is already shaping up to be interesting.

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

So Sarah Palin does not get to move forward with a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times for linking material on a Palin political website to shooting incidents targeting politicians.

The link appeared in a Times editorial published June 14 after a shooting incident in Washington, D.C., where the shooter opened fire on an early-morning softball practice involving members of Congress and legislative aides.

It was plain, flat wrong to draw such a direct connection. Palin said so immediately, and the Times quickly published a correction. Two corrections, in fact, with the second more specifically repudiating any connection with Palin.

The dismissal of the lawsuit does not mean the Times “got away” with publishing fake news. Nor does it mean open season for journalists on controversial public officials and public figures.

It does mean that laws protecting the First Amendment were upheld and remain in force: Specifically, the law that says public officials must prove not just error but actual malice — knowing falsity or reckless disregard for truth — to successfully pursue a defamation lawsuit.

The decision has significant implications for political reporters and public figures, of course, but also for the rest of us who may occasionally share critical opinions about officeholders or public figures. We write under the same protection — and without it, I suspect far fewer would take pen or keyboard in hand.

Let’s say this again (important to do in an era when many are questioning whether “real news” even exists): Nothing in the Sarah Palin ruling condones error. But the judge’s decision does recognize that without protection for inadvertent error, political discussion — which the nation’s founders saw as vital to a self-governing democracy — would grind to a halt for fear of instant legal action and ruinous financial penalty.

The decision Tuesday, made in the Southern District of New York, rests on a 1964 U.S. Supreme Court decision that, with some irony, also involved The New York Times. In Times v. Sullivan, a case involving a political ad, the Court said that a simple factual error is not enough for a public official to collect defamation damages, when weighed against the value to society of robust, energetic political debate.

The offending Times editorial published this June referenced a map that appeared on Palin’s political action committee website, and wrongly implied that the material incited political violence. The Times correction stated that “no such link was established” between incitement and violence.

The stirring, 26-page opinion by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff is a textbook explanation of why political speech — even, at times, if it is erroneous — is and ought to be protected.

“Nowhere is political journalism so free, so robust, or perhaps so rowdy as in the United States,” Rakoff wrote. “In the exercise of that freedom, mistakes will be made, some of which will be hurtful to others. Responsible journals will promptly correct their errors; others will not.

“But if political journalism is to achieve its constitutionally endorsed role of challenging the powerful, legal redress by a public figure must be limited to those cases where the public figure has a plausible factual basis for complaining that the mistake was made maliciously, that is, with knowledge it was false or with reckless disregard of its falsity” — which, in Rakoff’s view, Palin did not have.

An old journalism bromide says that getting it right is more important than getting it first.

In Rakoff’s decision, he noted, “What we have here is an editorial, written and rewritten rapidly in order to voice an opinion on an immediate event of importance, in which are included a few factual inaccuracies somewhat pertaining to Mrs. Palin that are very rapidly corrected… Negligence this may be; but defamation of a public figure it plainly is not.”

The Times initially got it wrong. But the judge has it right, from the start.

Gene Policinski is chief operating officer of the Newseum Institute. He can be reached at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter at @genefac.

By RON WILSON
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

“Let’s go to the lumber yard.” At our house, that usually means we need supplies for carpentry repairs or a do-it-yourself project. Today we’ll learn about a lumber yard where one can find a whole different set of supplies. Instead of wood, we find wine. Instead of hardware, we find hamburgers. Instead of stacks of lumber, we find steak dinners. This business is owned by a pioneering cattleman from rural Kansas.

Last week we learned about the community of Zenda. One of the prominent businesses in Zenda is the Lumber Yard Steakhouse, now owned by local rancher Mike Molitor. Special thanks to Kansas writer Steve Suther and the Angus Journal whose 2014 article provides background about the Molitors.

In 1902, the Ultch Lumber Company built a lumber yard in Zenda, providing the community with the typical wood and building supplies that one would expect. The lumber yard operated on that spot for 73 years.

In 1991, a local family named the Grabers bought the property. When Zenda’s supper club closed in 1993, the Grabers decided to put a restaurant on that location. In order to be consistent with its history, the restaurant was named the Lumber Yard Steakhouse.

In 2010, the restaurant was bought by Mike Molitor. Mike wasn’t an expert in restaurants, but he did know about one key component: Beef.

The Molitor family came to south central Kansas around the turn of the 20th century. The Molitors were looking for a German Catholic community, and they found one in Willowdale, north of Zenda. Today, the beautiful St. Peters Church still stands at Willowdale.

The Molitor family farmed and raised cattle near Willowdale. Mike Molitor’s parents, Richard and Angela, started their Angus herd in 1952. Mike and his sisters showed cattle and sheep in 4-H. The family won lots of cattle shows and improved their genetic seedstock over time.

Mike earned college degrees in mathematics and business management and worked for Farm Credit Services before coming back to the farm and growing the Angus operation. Molitor Angus became a pioneering business in the use of embryo transfer, ultrasound technology, and effective marketing tools. Mike got involved with the Certified Angus Beef program. He was a founding member of U.S. Premium Beef and served as president of the Kansas Angus Association.

Continuous improvement has been a theme of the Molitor Angus operation. The Molitors have developed a 300-cow herd on 4,000 acres. New bloodlines have been introduced through strategic mating of individual females to proven sires. In 2014, the operation was honored as the national winner of the Certified Angus Beef Seedstock Commitment to Excellence Award.

That’s quite an honor for a rancher who comes from Willowdale, an unincorporated rural community with an estimated population of “30-some” people. Now, that’s rural.

When the Lumber Yard Steakhouse in nearby Zenda was at risk of closing, Mike bought it and upgraded it. This fits with his lifelong goal of producing high quality cattle and high quality beef.

“I see the full circle from conception on, but it’s not only about the big picture,” Mike said on the Lumber Yard website. “Whether we’re talking about diners at the steakhouse, bull buyers or cattle, the individuals are the most important consideration.”

Mike also sees the importance of such services for rural communities. “Small towns will die if they don’t have places like this,” Mike said. “It’s church, it’s community, it’s the whole works.”

Today, the Lumber Yard Steakhouse serves what the Molitors proclaim are the “best Angus steaks in Kansas.” The extensive menu also features salads, seafood, sandwiches, and full dinners. Travelers come from long distances to enjoy high quality food and friendly small town service.

For more information, go to www.lumberyardsteakhouse.com.

“Let’s go to the Lumber Yard.” No, not for a two-by-four, but for a terrific steak. We commend Mike Molitor and Richard and Angela Molitor for making a difference with leadership in the beef industry, all the way from the pasture to the plate.

We’ve had drought, wildfires, a spring blizzard, damaging hail and flooding in Kansas this year and it’s just the end of August. If your home or office was affected by a disaster, would you have an accurate record of what you lost? Would you easily know who to report it to and how to reach them? Would you know when, where and how much to pay for regular bills which are still due even if your property is damaged or destroyed?

Prepare Kansas 2017, an online challenge to all Kansans and others available through the K-State Research and Extension Facebook page, will guide you through steps to be more prepared for emergencies. We will also share information, links, and resources that can make recovery smoother and faster.

The Prepare Kansas social media campaign will run through September to coincide with National Disaster Preparedness Month, coordinated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Prepare Kansas this year will help you take steps to be more financially prepared in case of emergencies, plus it’s a good way to stay organized in your day-to-day life. So, follow “K-State Research and Extension” on Facebook and join in to learn more. Here are the topics which will be featured during each week in September.

Week 1: You don’t know where to get back to if you don’t know where you started, right? This week’s challenge takes you step by step through preparing a household inventory, a critical step in case of emergency, but also valuable for estimating insurance needs and documenting ownership anytime.

Week 2: Things change. Circumstances change. Know the right questions to ask as you review homeowner’s or renter’s insurance and auto insurance coverage.

Week 3: If you had a few precious minutes to leave your home or office, what would you take? Learn the basics about what to include in a grab-and-go kit to help get you back on firm financial footing more quickly after a disaster.

Week 4: Communication is key. The final Prepare Kansas weekly challenge is to develop and practice a family emergency communication plan.

The Prepare Kansas Facebook Challenge will be interactive, with information and resources to help individuals and families be better prepared and the opportunity for participants to comment on their own experiences and what they’re doing for personal and community preparedness.

You can also learn more at the free noon-hour program “Disaster Preparedness for Home, Family and Furry Friends” on Thursday, September 14 at noon at the Cottonwood District Extension Office, 601 Main Street in Hays.
Extension agents Alicia Boor and myself will present information on preparing a disaster survival kit and grab-and-go kit for people and pets. The Prepare Kansas campaign runs during September, but K-State Research and Extension provides emergency preparedness information on many topics throughout the year on the Prepare Kansas blog at http://blogs.k-state.edu/preparekansas/.

Instead of just hoping to avoid a disaster, it is important to put some time and thought into preparing for the possibility. In case of emergency, you’ll be glad you planned ahead.

Linda K. Beech is Cottonwood District Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.

Many colleges have rules against “hate speech.” But racial supremists and others fire back that the counter-demonstrators who yell back “fascist” and other epithets are engaging in hate speech too. In the wake of the violence at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, higher education institutions across the country are facing a dilemma in how to handle controversial speakers, attempting to balance the need for open dialogue with the risk of physical violence on campus.

Unfortunately, we do not teach much about “free speech” and the restrictions to speech. As a result, many graduate into society believing that they can say anything they want.

Yes, the First Amendment reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Some may recall that free speech does not extend to yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theater. But speech can cause harm in many other ways. And that provides the basis for a considerable number of legal restrictions on speech.

It is our U.S. Supreme Court that encounters the many ways speech harms others, and has imposed limitations on freedom of speech. In many cases, these limitations are specific to various institutions including the press, the courtroom, the government, industry, schools, and other venues. And restrictions may be crafted differently in different states.

Libel and slander laws limit what we can write and say about others, although if the target is a public figure, only a statement made with malice is actionable.

In Kansas, you cannot parade obscene material in public; but medical doctors and teachers have an exemption from obscenity restrictions for appropriate materials in the doctor’s office or classroom. There is no free speech right when it comes to child pornography.

Sedition is speech or organization to overthrow the government. Speech that promotes armed insurrection is illegal. Incitement to riot is therefore a no-no. Get in someone’s face and shout fighting words and get slugged in response; you can probably forget claiming assault.

Lie in court and you can be charged with perjury—no freedom to say anything you want there. Legal settlements can also involve a non-disclosure agreement; you agree to curb your freedom of speech.

In some civilian jobs, as well as military service and government, there is classified information that may not be revealed to the public. Schools cannot disclose grades and hospitals are restricted in issuing patient information. –No public disclosure of your social security number. And of course there are those government leaks, acts also subject to prosecution.

So there are many situations where “freedom of speech” in America is rightly constrained. And nearly all center on the issue of preventing harm. There are additional restrictions that can be applied in academic institutions, based on varying state laws, whether the school is public or private, and even the nature of the environment (a crowded downtown urban campus versus a spacious rural setting).

Looking back on the violence at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, various authorities have noted that the torches could have been banned or confiscated, as well as the guns and clubs. And there was no right to be masked; such individuals can be excluded.

These tragic events should provide American teachers with a teachable moment to discuss the complexities of “freedom of speech” and its limitations. Yet, the reaction of many administrators is to avoid controversial speakers and barricade the doors. Meanwhile, the ignorance of the younger generations continues. While some recognized the Nazi swastika, I have yet to locate a student who knows what the symbol was on other shields: crossed bundles of sticks forming the handle to a battleaxe. Those were “fasces,” Mussolini’s symbol for fascism. You can be pretty sure that our 90-year-old World War II veterans know. That is why “freedom of speech” is culturally-dependent.

There is no better time than now for social studies teachers from high school up to seize this teaching moment to discuss our very complicated freedom of speech. And the best textbook for that is Stanley Fish’s book, clearly titled: “There’s No Such Thing as Free Speech…and It’s a Good Thing Too.”