The December meeting of the Kansas State Board of Education (KSBE) featured a presentation by University of Kansas Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation (CETE). The CETE linked their State assessment test scores with the equivalent scores on the national ACT tests that many Kansas students take for college admission.

    The very close correlation in scores on the state assessments and ACT was enthusiastically received by KSBE members. State assessment tests are currently required of all Kansas students and it can be difficult to get students to take the test seriously since it is used to rate schools but does not otherwise affect the student. Now that schools can show a close correlation between the state assessments and the ACT used for college entrance, that may provide some incentive for college-bound students to use state assessments as a practice for the ACT.

    But an obvious question was never asked: If the state assessment scores and the ACT scores are so highly correlated, why give redundant tests?

    The revised testing regulations in the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) that replaces No Child Left Behind includes the option for states to choose a nationally recognized high school test instead of a unique state assessment test. And there are many advantages to Kansas switching to use the ACT in place of state assessments.

    The state pays for the assessment tests and the students’ parents pay for the ACT test for students wanting to go to college. Currently, 74 percent of Kansas students take the ACT. Kansas could join the 18 states that currently underwrite the ACT for all students. It would save Kansas parents a lot of money.  And switching state funding from CETE tests to the ACT would likely save state funding as well since the ACT operation costs are supported by the majority of states nationwide.

    Some Kansas students who do not currently take the ACT—especially those from economically poor families—may not realize that they are college-able. Taking the ACT, when it is underwritten by Kansas as the state assessment test for all, will alert these students that they indeed are “college material.”

    Since customized state assessments are variable, it is difficult to make state-by-state comparisons using the CETE tests. But with a majority of states use the ACT, across-state comparisons could easily be made.  While all students participate in the ACT in 18 other states, Kansas is leaving out over one-fourth of its students and this makes current ACT comparisons difficult.

    The major damage of No Child Left Behind was the de-professionalization of teachers. High stakes testing forced many teachers to stop treating students as unique individuals and turned them into drill-and-kill test-prep workers. While the ACT is a standardized test of the accumulation of reading and mathematics skills, it is primarily an aptitude test, not an achievement test. It does not provide a consistent target that leads to teaching-to-the-test.  ACT-prep mainly provides familiarity with the test format and rarely boosts scores more than 2-3 percent. With ACT the only state assessment, Kansas teachers could get back to being professionals who use their own internal tests to educate unique students.

    The extra class time freed up from our current double testing, along with restoring the teachers’ role in determining in-class testing for unique students, would go a long way toward restoring teacher professionalism.  

    Kansas administrators, teachers and parents statewide will applaud any reduction in our continued over-testing.

    And every Kansas farmer knows that the more time you spend weighing them, the less time you have to feed them. It is time to get back more “feeding time” in school.

It’s curious how common items either go out of use or their intended purpose alters. One of those is the nutcracker. Most people nowadays think this term refers to a seasonal ballet where they might enjoy watching children or grandkids dressed up as old-fashioned ornamental German nutcrackers wearing military-style hats or as dainty sugarplum fairies. Others may store treasured family heirlooms until they retrieve them to decorate their tree. I recently had occasion to realize that actual nutcrackers frequently found in auction boxes serve a real purpose.

As a kid, my family bought whole nuts at Christmas time and offered them in a decorative bowl along with a metal pincer-style device and a silver pick for getting at hard to reach nutmeats. This practice continued a custom both my parents grew up with during the Depression. Their frugal families passed on a ritual long followed by their ancestors.

At our house, one of those traditions included filling Christmas stockings with an orange, an apple, and either some unshelled peanuts or whole nuts. Knowing many generations practiced this holiday tradition reminds me of a time when fresh fruits and nuts were luxuries one enjoyed only on special occasions. Despite knowing I’d see nuts every holiday that required a special opener, I never considered the nutcracker tool an essential kitchen utensil until I recently received a 5 lb. bag of fresh pecans.

An Oklahoma friend lives near the many groves in Eastern Oklahoma and shared his bounty. When I first saw lumpy grocery sack, I imagined it full of ready to eat pecans. When I opened this treasure trove, I realized my mistake. This freshly picked harvest had gone through a mechanical cracker to make it easier to extract the tasty center. However, I had to peel away shattered outer husks and separate the two pecans halves each shell once protected.

It didn’t take long to understand why nuts are holiday treats and why some people esteem pies, cakes, cookies, candies, and butters made with them. As a person who considers walnuts, pecans, peanuts, cashews, and almonds edible only when served by themselves but not in baked goods, I missed this message growing up.

After I spent a couple of hours freeing nutmeats from shells, I understand why I find nutcrackers at almost every auction I attend. They were essential in old time kitchens. Cooks didn’t go to the store to buy a sack of already shelled nuts. They roamed creek banks to harvest nature’s encased proteins and then spent hours extracting meats from hulls. Knowing how my grandmas made use of everything, I’m sure they saved the inedible material to create fabric dyes or enrich garden soils.

This lesson humbled me. I’ve enjoyed preparing family recipes from scratch for decades. I never considered how I take for granted buying already-ground flour or churned butter quarters at the market. This nutty experience reminded me that not-so-distant family cooks would consider such easy access to ingredients an extravagance.

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.

A new year brings with it new opportunities to get out and enjoy the Kansas outdoors. Extended deer firearms season begins statewide January 1, 2017 offering the opportunity to harvest antlerless whitetail deer and to use any unfilled deer tags from the regular 2016 firearms season. These season dates change from year to year according to deer populations in each deer management unit. Check the website www.ksoutdoors.com to be certain of your deer management unit; this year the schedule is as follows:

January 1-2, 2017 – units 6, 8, 9, 10, 16, 17
January 1-8, 2017 – units 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14
January 1-15, 2017 – units 10A, 15, 19

Remember this season allows taking of only whitetail antlerless deer, (and you must possess a new 2017 resident hunting license.)

A new year also brings with it the requirement for new 2017 licenses and permits. Resident general hunting licenses, fishing licenses and fur harvesting permits must all be renewed in order to use them in 2017. Remember that if you have turned 65, you are now eligible to purchase a lifetime combination hunting/fishing license for $42.50, a great deal for sure. The Kansas State Parks Passport purchased at your county treasurer’s office when you renew your vehicle tags is good until time to renew your tags again. All other state park passes and camping permits expire December 31 and must also be renewed to use them in January 2017.

We might tend to forget about upland bird hunting once deer season has come and gone and the weather gets cold and snowy, but some of the best pheasant and quail hunting of the season can still be had now. For starters, you may just have the fields to yourselves as the crowds of hunters will generally be gone after the second weekend of the season, leaving only dedicated bird hunters afield. This can prove especially beneficial on public and walk-in-hunting land that is sometimes covered with hunters at the beginning of season. It seems like it’s also easier to get permission to hunt private land this time of the year as landowners also know any hunters out now will probably be serious hunters and more dependable. Landowners may also be more apt to grant hunting permission this time of the year because hunting parties will most likely number only 2 or 3 and not a dozen guys piling out of pickups.

Cold snowy weather often causes birds to hole-up in thick cover, making them a challenge to flush without a dog, but making their whereabouts fairly predictable. Cool temps and the moisture from a little snow also helps dog’s noses find more birds. The pheasants and quail found this time of year will be more skittish though, so more stealth and strategy will be needed in pursuing them. After all, they didn’t survive until now by being stupid or impulsive.

Ice fishing also heats up this time of year, especially this year with the recent extreme cold snap resulting in good ice. I have not ice fished for a few years now and feel like I’m kinda’ out of the loop concerning what baits work well, so my advice to you is to find a friend who’s an avid ice fisherman and ask them to take you along. They will be more likely to offer advice when you actually accompany them onto the ice than if you just pump them for information. What I can tell you about ice fishing is to BE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN the ice is thick enough and solid enough before you venture out, (possibly even consider wearing a life jacket) and that fish caught from the cold water beneath the ice are the best tasting fish on earth.

By the time you read this, Christmas 2016 will be in the history books and New Years will be knocking at the door. I’m not big on new year’s resolutions, but this coming year, why not resolve to spend more time in the outdoors and take a kid along as you Explore Kansas Outdoors!

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

By RON WILSON
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

Identifying local talent and helping it to succeed: That’s part of the formula for successful local economic development. It’s also part of the formula for building a successful collegiate football program. Today we’ll learn about some of the in-state talent which is part of the bowl-bound Kansas State University Wildcat football team.

The K-State Wildcats are headed to a seventh consecutive bowl game. As they prepare for the game, it is interesting to look at K-State’s 120-man roster. It includes high profile recruits from around the nation, as one would expect on a power five conference team, but by far the largest number of players on the roster from any state come from Kansas itself. Forty-nine of the 120 players list Kansas as home.

They come from cities small and large. Their hometowns span the alphabet from Atchison to Wamego, and geographically from Kansas City to Ulysses. As one would expect, several come from the Wichita and KC areas.

No doubt some are walk-ons and some are scholarship players. Some are starters and regular contributors. For example, running back Alex Barnes from Pittsburg has been a major factor during Big 12 play in 2016.

Trent Tanking from Holton, population 3,334, has been a force on special teams and as a reserve linebacker. Against TCU he had five tackles in a single game. That was also the game where he intercepted a pass to stop the opponent’s drive in the final minute.

Trey Dishon is a defensive tackle. He has recorded 16 tackles on the season in 2016. Trey was an all-stater at the rural community of Horton, population 1,935.

Speaking of regular contributors, Nick Walsh has been huge for K-State. Nick comes from the rural community of Lyndon, population 1,038 people. He led Lyndon High School to a league championship and a state playoff appearance. He earned all-state honors as both a running back and a punter, but it is in punting where he has made his mark at the collegiate level. In 2014, Nick became the primary punter in just the second game of the season and has not relinquished that position since.

In 2015, Nick averaged 41.2 yards per punt on his way to All Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades. Against Oklahoma State, he averaged 47.5 yards per punt on six attempts.

During 2016, Nick had 45 punts during the regular season. He has increased his season average to 42.8 yards per punt. Against Texas Tech he averaged 50.3 yards per punt on three attempts, one of those a career-best 58 yarder. On the season, eight of those punts have gone 50 yards or more. With such a record, it is no wonder he is on the Ray Guy watch list.

Another contributor is Sean Newlan. At Phillipsburg High School, Sean was a four-year letter-winner and an all-state performer as a junior and senior. An outstanding athlete, he also lettered in basketball and was a state champion hurdler in track and field.

Sean is a defensive back and special teams standout for K-State. In his first year on the field in 2014, he appeared in all 13 games and had six tackles. In 2015, he had 52 tackles and several starts, including post-season.

In fact, he got the starting nod for the Liberty Bowl when K-State played SEC opponent Arkansas. Imagine getting the start at a game where there are more people in the end zone stands than in your entire home county. Of course, that would have been true at Bill Snyder Family Stadium as well.

2016 will mark Sean’s fourth consecutive bowl game as a player. That’s impressive for a young man whose hometown is the rural community of Prairie View, population 138 people. Now, that’s rural.

Identifying local talent and helping it to succeed – that’s a strategy for good economic development and for good football teams as well. In the case of economic development, it means encouraging entrepreneurs. In the case of football teams, it means attracting and developing in-state talent to go with the best of recruits from anywhere. We commend these Kansans for making a difference with home-grown talent.

By MARTIN HAWVER

Christmas is over, and 286 Kansas Unified School Districts are still waiting for their present…a fatter school finance formula that will bring them more money for the upcoming school years.

Pardon the double-negative, but nobody who runs or works for school districts doesn’t want more money.

And, while there is still the budget hole to fill, the biggest issue for the upcoming session is going to be responding to the Kansas Supreme Court which will in weeks or months determine whether the Legislature is appropriating enough money to schools so that every child–border to border, city, rural, whatever–is provided the same opportunity for getting a good K-12 education.

The state is now operating under a block grant system which provided districts about what they’ve received the past couple years, and if that seemingly static distribution of funds doesn’t inspire school superintendents, teachers and other employees to start looking at new cars, or maybe higher thread-count sheets, it is at least equitable. That means the simple block grant formula doesn’t favor or short-change any districts.

But equity is a whole different thing than adequacy. That’s the real big-number issue, which some are predicting could cost the state $500 million or may become a meal that, with tip, could cost the state, or someone, $1 billion.

And, that’s the Christmas present that school districts are hoping for. That somehow the state scraps the block grant program and figures out a formula that will boost aid to K-12 districts.

Oh, and there’s that other aspect of spending more money on K-12. It’s where that additional money comes from. The state can write the check, or the state could split the bill with school districts, requiring higher property taxes to support schools. The locally elected school board members would prefer, of course, that the state pay the bill and that their neighbors and constituents not be inconvenienced with a property tax increase.

Getting an idea of just how that double-negative sentence works out? Nobody at the local school level doesn’t want more money, but they are a more than a dab interested in where it comes from.

Because the whole issue of adequacy of aid to education is pegged to students having equal opportunities, some will say that the state or someone must decide what sort of education we want for the kids. Basics, which will get them into a college or community college or a vocational school or maybe just into a job. Or it might be specialized classes that deal with making sure a student has the social and collegial skills to live a good life that isn’t based on living in their parents’ basements.

And, if some districts want to offer scores of classes that influential parents want for their kids, must all districts offer those classes, or at least have the money to offer them if any patrons asked?

Defining just what a suitable education is will be the issue that may determine whether the Legislature will adopt whatever the court comes up with or whether it might hand that decision to the 10-member State Board of Education to hammer out.

The real key here is that whatever the court decides and whatever the Legislature decides isn’t going to end two decades of court fights over providing equal access to an adequate education. Just isn’t going to happen.

As big an issue as the state’s cash flow problem is, the hundreds of millions of dollars of shortfall that needs to be repaired, it comes down to elementary school arithmetic. Revenue minus spending equals the ending balance for each year.

Adequacy? Equal opportunity? Those are bigger questions that simple math won’t solve. It comes down to how smart you want those Kansas kids to be, and whether they learn enough at K-12 to live out their lives as we’d like them to.

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.

Hello from Agra!

Right before Christmas, the announcement was made on our committee assignments.

With so many new legislators, there were bound to be changes and I am on three different committees than last session. I appreciate Speaker-Elect Ron Ryckman for appointing me Vice-Chairman of a new committee, Water & Environment. In the past these issues were part of Agriculture Committee, but water is one of those issues which affects all of us, so I am pleased leadership wants to make this a focus on its own. Tom Sloan from Lawrence will serve as Chairman. The make-up of the committee is strong and all aspects of water use is represented, I look forward to working on the issues which will come before the committee.

The second committee I was appointed to (in no particular order) is Taxation. There will be much discussion and plans coming out of this group. I am energized working with new committee Chairman, Steven Johnson of Assaria. He is a level-headed, pragmatic thinker, who truly has the best interest of long term success for the state of Kansas. This will be one of the committees that will receive a lot of attention and scrutiny, but simply put, we need to find a fair and steady tax structure that provides for the obligations of the state, without placing an increased load on local property taxes. We will hear more on the future of revenue streams throughout this session.

The third committee is Transportation. Richard Proehl from Parsons will serve as Chairman. Representative Proehl is very even keeled and understands transportation issues as well as anyone in the state. We need good roads and highways and also need to develop a plan to keep our bridges and other infrastructures safe and reliable.

President-Elect Trump has been talking about a billion-dollar investment in infrastructure throughout the nation, if this moves forward we need to see how that would fit in the Kansas transportation plan. Now is not the time to play petty politics with what has or has not happened with KDOT. I firmly believe we need to have a strong structured plan for the long term, while doing the proper maintenance and safety projects across the state on an ongoing basis.

If you have questions, or if I can be of service, please contact me: Ken Rahjes, 1798 E. 900 Rd. Agra, KS 67621 or call (785) 302-8416. You can follow me on Facebook at Ken for Kansas or my website, www.kenforkansas.com.

Thank you for the opportunity to be your representative.

When I think about the perils associated with winter travel, I think about my dad’s simple, but sound advice, “Stay off the roads.”

Dad had lived by this creed for more than 80 years in northwestern Kansas. He’d seen his share of blowing and drifting snow. When he talked about western Kansas blizzards, the years of ’31 and ’57 were singled out.

The ’31 blizzard hit on April Fool’s Day and killed hundreds of cattle. One of Dad’s neighbors lost 80 head of cattle in a pasture less than a quarter mile west of their small community of Seguin.

I was just a youngster, but I remember the blizzard of ’57. Snow drifted as high as the roof on my friend, Vernon Rietcheck’s two-story home. We sledded down the drifts and played in the snow all day.

Our parents weren’t as lucky. There were roads to open and cattle to feed and water. Our homes were without electricity for five days.

My father and those hearty souls who lived on the High Plains learned from these storms. He learned to travel only when necessary – to feed, water and care for his livestock. He never traveled anywhere in his pickup without several pairs of gloves, a scoop shovel, a log chain and chains for the rear tires.

Dad always wore a cap with ear protection and carried a couple extra on the front seat of his pickup in the winter. The trunk of our car also had extras. He knew a person couldn’t last long outside in freezing weather with all of your body heat escaping through the top of a bare head.

If we traveled anywhere during the winter months, the trunk of the family car was always packed with extra warm clothes, blankets, overalls, gloves, a flashlight, fresh batteries, chains and a shovel to clear the snow from in front of the tires.

Dad had been stuck in snow before. He’d heard of, and known of, people who were stranded and froze to death in some of the fierce northwestern Kansas blizzards. Before every winter season began, and often throughout, he’d remind us of these stories.

My father always topped off his fuel tanks for winter travel. He believed a full tank provided extra weight on the rear wheels.

“It runs better on the top half (of the tank),” he always said.

Although Dad never carried sand bags in the back of his car or trucks, he did carry extra weight during the winter. He always lugged around tractor tire weights while some of his neighbors preferred sand and sprinkled the gritty stuff in front of their tires for extra traction in snow and ice.

If someone absolutely had to go out during a winter storm, Dad preached extra time and patience. If you’re frightened or overly concerned about weather conditions – don’t drive. Wait the storm out.

Remember, it takes a while to find your “driving legs” each new winter season, he’d say.

Relax. Sit back in the seat. From time to time take deep breaths. Don’t grip the wheel until your knuckles turn white.

Try to anticipate what other drivers intend to do. Let them speed, spin, slip and slide. Allow at least twice as long to reach your destination. Concentrate on the road ahead, behind and on your right and left.

While driving during hazardous weather brings out the worst in some drivers, it can also bring out the best in others. Some welcome the chance to brave the elements. To drive safely under such conditions can provide a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.

Drive safely and know your limitations. Remember, if you must take a chance that could result in an accident or worse, “Stay off the road.”

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.

The elections of 2016 produced significant change in state-level politics, and it appears that the voters were sending a message to those of us who serve or wish to serve as representatives of the people.

In the Kansas Senate, Republicans lost a single seat, producing a new Senate which will be comprised of 31 Republicans and nine Democrats. But that slight shift masks a fairly significant move towards the center, as a number of conservative Republicans chose to retire and others were defeated by more moderate Republicans in the primary.

A much larger shift occurred in the House, where again many incumbent hard-right conservatives retired and more were defeated in either the primary or general election. And when the dust had settled after the general election, what was revealed was a new Kansas House which will be fairly equally divided between far right (conservative) Republicans, centrist (moderate) Republicans, and Democrats.

That will change the dynamic of the House a great deal, as no single faction will have the numbers to dominate and control the movement and adoption of legislation. Many would view that as a very healthy development. My view is that the elections were not a “lurch to the left” but rather a return to the center, where Kansas has traditionally governed from.

That dynamic was evident in leadership elections, which took place on December 5. These individuals were elected to Republican House leadership:

Speaker: Ron Ryckman, Jr. (Olathe)
Majority Leader: Don Hineman (Dighton)
Speaker Pro Tempore: Scott Schwab (Olathe)
Assistant Majority Leader: Tom Phillips (Manhattan)
Caucus Whip: Kent Thompson (LaHarpe)
Caucus Chair: Susan Concannon (Beloit)

By their votes, the members of the Republican caucus expressed a strong preference for shared or blended leadership between the two wings of the party. There was talk of pulling off the jerseys, ripping off the labels, and coming together as simply Republicans.

I believe the entire leadership team is committed to that goal, and I am pleased to report that the three at the top are already working toward its advancement. Our picks for committee chairmanships and vice chairmanships reflect that philosophy of blended leadership. Committee memberships will soon be released, and will show balance in full committee memberships, both philosophically and regionally.

Additionally, Speaker-elect Ryckman, Speaker Pro Tem-elect Schwab and I intend to operate a process which lets the system work as originally intended, allowing extensive hearings in committees and full and open debate and consideration of the issues. That can lead to better legislation in the end, and more ownership and buy-in by all members as well as by the public.

All Roads Lead to Dighton
Dr. John Heim, Executive Director of the Kansas Association of School Boards, recently published a blog post entitled “All Roads Lead to Dighton”. I naturally found it a great read since it involves my home town:

http://heimkasb.blogspot.com/2016/12/all-roads-lead-to-dighton.html?m=1

But really, it is about much more than Dighton; it is about how we are all interconnected. As an example, Ron Ryckman Jr. was raised in Meade and Scott Schwab grew up in Great Bend. That means that come January, the three top leadership positions in the House will all be filled by individuals who originally called western Kansas home. I have to wonder if that has ever occurred before in the history of the state.

So will western Kansas get preferential treatment in the future? No. Both Ryckman and Schwab represent Olathe today, and that is and rightfully must be where their first allegiance lies. But I can tell you that through their western Kansas upbringing they have an understanding of rural Kansas and an empathy for it.

Ron Ryckman said it best at the meeting which John Heim references: “The better Meade is, the better Johnson County is.” And the converse is also true. Although I have spent my entire life in Dighton except for my college years, I have ties to Johnson County. Both of my sisters live there, as do a nephew and two nieces. My wife Betsy grew up in Leawood and she too has many relatives back in the Kansas City area.

As a leadership team we understand the interconnectedness of all Kansans, and as we work toward good policy we will keep that fact foremost in our thoughts.

Highlights of Opening Week Legislative Schedule

Monday, January 9: First day of the 2017 session, swearing in of all members

Tuesday, January 10: State of the State Address by Governor Sam Brownback

Wednesday, January 11: Release of Governor Brownback’s budget recommendations (although it has not yet been announced, this is the date on which most observers expect the release)

Thursday, January 12: Deliver brief remarks to Kansas Association of School Boards at 11:30

Friday, January 13: My first 2017 appearance on WIBW Radio at 6:00 a.m. Due to the retirement of Rep. Tom Moxley my partner this year will be Rep. Larry Hibbard (Toronto)

By U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.

The bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act), which was passed by Congress and signed into law this month, provides a measure of hope this holiday season for those suffering from devastating illnesses. This legislation represents a significant investment in the future of our country, with funding to accelerate the discovery and development of new cures and treatments for rare disorders, cancer, Alzheimer’s and many other diseases. It provides a significant increase in federal support for lifesaving biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that will impact the life of every American – certainly every American family.

Right now half of all men and a third of all women in the United States will develop cancer in their lifetime. The Cures Act’s ‘Cancer Moonshot’ provision will hopefully change those statistics and reduce both the prevalence of and the costs associated with cancer. It will focus on accelerating research, making therapies available to a wider range of patients and improving early-state detection – with the ultimate goal of preventing the disease altogether.

The best way to improve outcomes for Americans with diseases is consistent support of medical research. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Health Subcommittee, this has been a top priority of mine as we make funding decisions. NIH-supported research over the last several decades has raised life expectancy, improved the quality of life and lowered overall health care costs for millions. Given the progress we have made over the last century and the great potential current research holds, we must continue our commitment to advance cures and treatments.

Medical research also helps us develop new pharmaceutical strategies to fight diseases, and this legislation brings a patient-focused view to drug development. We need reforms at the FDA that speed up the approval of new medicines and medical equipment without sacrificing the FDA’s standards in the process of curing and treating Americans – especially as prescription drugs are increasingly used to treat diseases.

After visiting several of Kansas’ community mental health care centers and both Larned and Osawatomie State Hospitals, I have developed a greater appreciation of how critical it is to prioritize mental health treatment. Opioids have been a topic of conversation in the Senate for the last several years as millions across the country – in both urban and rural areas – struggle with addiction. Important sections of the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, which represent some of the most significant reforms to the mental health system in more than a decade, are included in the Cures Act. It is a much-needed follow-up to the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which I supported and which became law earlier this year, to help curb the spread of opioid abuse in communities across the country.

For the more than 11.5 million Americans living with a debilitating mental illness, the Cures Act will bring relief by focusing on improving mental health treatment and access, increasing funding for suicide prevention efforts, and combining a number of important mental health reforms to coordinate system-wide efforts.

The Cures Act also accelerates opportunities for smart, talented individuals across the country who wish to devote themselves toward the cause of improving Americans’ health and quality of life. To attract and retain the best and brightest researchers, NIH must be able to rely on sustainable funding from Congress. While the broad, bipartisan support for the Cures Act is a significant achievement, I intend to build on that success by continuing to support NIH. Over the last two years, the Health Appropriations Subcommittee I serve on has reprioritized funding by $4 billion, and I will continue working with my colleagues on the Senate NIH Caucus to encourage a greater understanding of how investing now will save our country billions in health care costs in the future.

In addressing these priorities, the Cures Act is the kind of policy change that truly impacts every American. It is progress we can be thankful for this holiday season as we gather with our loved ones and remember how precious our time together is. We all know someone who has suffered from a deadly disease, and this new law gives hope to families across the country that treatments and cures are on the way.

I trapped until deer rifle season, figuring to set out more traps this week, weather permitting. I had one spot I was very anxious to trap but couldn’t get into earlier because the farmers milo was not yet cut. What makes this spot special is a brushy draw about 30 yards wide and over 300 yards long that’s situated in the middle of a quarter section with milo stalks on one side and new wheat on the other. A drainage runs through the middle of the field and through the middle of the draw, making it low in the middle and much higher on each end. There is always lots of coyote sign on this property no matter what crops are there or how they are situated, and this year is no exception.

A month ago I was getting antsy to get back there and was able to drive in as far as the top of the draw, as some of the milo was cut. I parked there and decided to go for a stroll to look things over and get an idea of how to work it this year. As I strolled slowly along I caught a coyote slipping out just ahead of me and disappearing into the standing milo.

Sunday afternoon I finally got out there and set five traps, one at each end of the draw, two along one side where the drainage enters the draw and one on the far side of the property. Monday morning I had a coyote at the far end where milo stalks, new wheat and the brushy draw come together. As I approached the coyote, its fur and especially its head were an odd dirty color. When I examined it, I found a few small bare spots and notice its tail was partially bare; it had mange and its pelt was of no value. Tuesday morning I had a coyote at the near end where milo stalks, wheat and brush all came together. At first glance the fur on that coyote looked good, but a closer look showed me the fur on one hip was very thin; it also had the beginning stages of mange. Wednesday morning I had a coyote in the trap at the very back of the property. Its fur was the same strange color as the first and it had bald spots all over its body and its tail was nearly bare. All three coyotes had different stages of mange and I’m surprised any of them had survived the recent cold weather.

I spoke with Matt Peak, Fur Bearer Biologist with the Kansas Dept of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism about mange in Kansas coyotes. The simple explanation is that tiny mites burrow into the coyotes skin, making it scratch fiercely trying to relieve the itch, and causing bare spots to appear all over its body where fur has been rubbed off. That resulting condition is known as mange. Coyotes with mange in the spring will pass it on to their pups. Adult coyotes can survive the spring and summer with mange but pups contracting it from the adults will die. Matt said some coyotes seem to have a natural immunity to contracting the mites, so not all coyotes, even in the same area will get mange. I caught three beautiful coyotes this year not more than one and a half miles from this spot.

Adult coyotes with mange in the winter will almost certainly die from the cold, having rubbed off the thick fur necessary for survival. Mange also stresses a coyote, making it difficult for them to hunt and thus prone to starvation. The cold will not kill the mites as they are burrowed under the skin and will die only if the coyote dies. Matt told me no conclusive studies have been done as to whether a higher coyote population aid in the spread of mange, nor has any particular weather trend been proven to facilitate mange. Three coyotes caught on the same property in as many days is pretty respectable and I was feeling pretty good about my trapping ability, until Matt and I discussed the fact that coyotes stressed with mange are also seriously looking for an easy meal and will throw caution to the wind and put themselves into situations they normally might avoid or at least be more wary about. So catching mangy coyotes is probably not worthy of bragging rights.

Sadly, the pelts from mangy coyotes are worthless. I hate that, but my killing them is actually way more humane than allowing them to suffer and die from the cold and from starvation. I have this to say to folks who are against hunting and trapping; if hunting and trapping were to cease, nature would control populations of all wildlife, but it would be through very ugly means like disease and starvation, plus as populations soared, many animals would be indiscriminately shot by farmers and ranchers and simply allowed to lay where they fell. I’ll take my way thank you! Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors.

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

Christmas is a tough season for a political columnist. We are a grumpy bunch who find a lot to grouse about. This season, however, should bring good cheer and well-wishes for our fellow humans. Herewith an effort to put a little cheer into a meager Kansas political Christmas.

With the 2016 election over and the jockeying well underway for position and power we are being treated to various Kansas politicians from the governor on down seemingly determined to dampen our holiday spirits by focusing on the annual convocation of the legislature and the various revenue and policy messes with which it must deal. In an effort to maintain some happiness and good humor in this season it seems appropriate to send Santa a last minute wish list for the good people of Kansas.

First, for the statehouse press corps, a year’s supply of Gorilla Glue in the handy insta-spray applicator. This will help capture the cartoon balloons of rhetoric from the governor and his spinners concerning the great importance he attaches to not providing any substantive proposals for reducing expenditures now, and possibly forever more, to fit the state’s purposely diminished revenues. With these new applicators, journalists will be able to retain and analyze the ‘substance’ of these statements in their recently acquired “truth-o-meters.”

Second, for Senator Anthony Hensley, the Kansas senate minority leader, a fashionable new Kevlar and Teflon suit. This is no “ugly sweater” gift offered as a practical joke. This new garment will protect Kansas’s longest serving, and perhaps longest suffering, legislator from blunt force injuries and mud slung his way by the Republican administration. An educator by trade, the good senator keeps annoying people by suggesting that the governor should be applying better critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Third, for Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wassail Cup of wisdom with a side order of tempered ambition. This will be a most trying legislative session. After years of experience at speaking tough conservative rhetoric to her allies in Wichita’s famed Pachyderm Club, while managing efforts at the doable and expedient during legislative sessions, she will have a new set of circumstances to confront this year. She has signaled her displeasure with some hard-right attitudes. Once an eager and active participant in the Koch sponsored, politically conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Senator Wagle has become more centrist. In the last legislative session she executed a tart and tough dismissal of one social conservative senator from a committee chair’s position and had some pointed criticism for the governor as well. This term there are enough moderate Republicans in the senate that policy majorities, built jointly with the nine Democrats Senator Hensley leads, could stop the governor’s “glidepath to zero” tax reduction program, reverse the 2012 tax cuts, and constructively deal with school finance and Medicaid expansion.

Finally, for the Kansas House of Representatives, peace and goodwill. The voters made a clear statement favoring significant changes in public policies as to the state’s services and how to pay for them. The house is full of new, inexperienced members. The moderate Republicans and forty Democrats could come together and accomplish a good bit to fix the revenue shortage and address the policy issues, but it will take hard work and intelligence, coupled with a sharp reduction in aggressive partisanship. That will be a tall order in a body where many are strangers to each other and alpha personalities abound. Peace and goodwill may sound Pollyannish, but broad observation provides plenty of illustrations of what goes wrong when these qualities are absent.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and Festivus for the rest of us!

Dr. Mark Peterson teaches political science at the college level in Topeka.

Some people forget about the true meaning of Christmas – celebrating the birth of Christ, love, friendship and spending time with the family. As a youngster, I have fond memories of Mom inside fixing turkey and dressing while my siblings and I would be playing outside throwing snowballs, playing “fox and geese” and just being kids.

One thing I’ll never forget about this period of my life are some of my dad and his friend’s favorite sayings. It seems like we always visited more during the holiday season and as children we had the opportunity to hear some of these words of wisdom more often during this time of year.

These sayings came from neighbors, brothers and cousins – folks he’d lived with for years, some as many as 70 years. A few were rare buddies, with special names (nicknames) like, Cactus, Drawers, Baldy, Short Legs, Fuzzy – you get the picture.

Here are just a few – the gems – the ones I’ll remember always:

* Your friends are the measure of your real worth.

* The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man.

* Why do you think the good Lord gave you two ears and one mouth? So you could listen twice as much as you talk.

* Wait until you get a little older, then you’ll understand.

* If you’re going to train your dog, you must be smarter than the dog.

* Never be too quick to criticize yourself. It ain’t fair to your friends and relatives who are itchin’ to do it for you.

* If all your friends climbed up the elevator and jumped off, would you have to also?

* If you haven’t been bucked off a horse, then you’ve probably never ridden one.

* You can’t listen too much when a friend needs someone to talk to.

* Some things aren’t funny, even to your best friend.

* If we must love our enemies, we must treat our friends even better.

* A friend is someone who dislikes the same people that you do.

* The only way to have a friend is to be one.

* The best three friends a man can have are his wife, an old dog and ready money.

* A real pal will at least pretend to believe your lies.

* At the end of your life if you have two or three true friends, you’ve lived a good life.

* A true friend is someone who knows that when you’ve made a fool of yourself it generally isn’t permanent.

*When a friend drops by about dinnertime and you ask, “What brings you by here now?” You still must ask him or her to stay for a bite to eat.

* Good friends are hard to find and harder to lose.

Most of us have a few good friends. Be thankful for them. Don’t forget them during this magical time of the year. If you can’t stop by to see them, call them or drop them a text or e-mail message.

Remember during this holiday season that joy springs from the heart of those dedicated to caring and helping others. The Christmas spirit dwells inside each of us.

Merry Christmas.

John Schlageck is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.