This is the week that the Legislature gets the $200,000-plus consultant review of just what she believes it ought to cost to operate the state’s 286 public school districts.

Former Kansan and now Texas A&M professor Dr. Lori Taylor is apparently conservative on spending and is dissecting school spending based largely on labor costs and costs for students who require extra services such as instruction in proficiency in the English language, disabilities and other health issues.

That report is aimed two ways—first, of course, to determine just what public K-12 education ought to cost and how much the state should spend to provide equal educational opportunities to all its students, the second to determine whether previous cost studies are still responsible standards for the Kansas Supreme Court to use in deciding whether a new school finance plan provides adequate state money to public education.

The court, recall, has held unconstitutional the current school finance formula law, based largely on past studies that another state consultant says are too old and not a good basis for determining state aid to schools.

These consultants were hired by the Legislative Coordinating Council (LCC), which essentially runs the business of the Legislature and is dominated by the Republican leadership of the House and Senate, most of whom aren’t interested in spending much more money on K-12 education or raising taxes this House election year. The two Democrats on the seven-member council voted against hiring the consultants, preferring instead to just adequately fund a previous school finance plan that had been held constitutional by the court.

Nobody has seen that new cost estimate yet—probably won’t until after dark Thursday with a committee explanation in daylight Friday—but betting is that the LCC’s consultant is going to come up with a spending plan far less than the popularly rumored in the Statehouse estimate of at least $600 million or more in new money for schools.

But part of that contracted-out study shoots holes in the two previous K-12 finance studies on which previous constitutional plans were based, and thereby weakens the arguments based on those plans forwarded by supporters of more spending on public schools.

Hmmm…weaken the arguments of the school districts seeking more money and present a new plan based on fresh statistical information that conservatives hope will sway the Supreme Court’s decision on a new finance plan. That’s one strategy if leaders believe that schools are adequately funded by the state, making new taxes unnecessary this election year.

So, what is that Friday report going to do to the Legislature?

Either give lawmakers who don’t want to spend more of your state tax money on K-12 education a new study to indicate to the court that the state is spending enough, or maybe a dab less than enough, but not a budget-busting amount…or, come up with a new plan that changes the formula by which lawmakers tell the State Department of Education to distribute about half of the state’s general fund to schools.

And, of course, there is still that option merely to take a previous formula which the court has held as constitutional and just fund it. Simple, but likely to require either sharp cuts in state spending on everything else or raising your taxes again, with the slim election-year possibility of increasing local school district property taxes.

Meanwhile, everything that costs any money, either little changes for the current fiscal year or for the upcoming fiscal year, are pretty much on hold.

We ought to know by Friday just what happens, and maybe why.

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

Those who play connect the dots find the experience relaxing or agitating, depending on the outcome. Some see relationships between one idea and another despite having too little information to clearly link them. To complicate matters, lack of resources can limit time or money investments even though strong interest in a subject exists. I know this sense of tension well, especially after reading recent articles about Clovis Caches found in America.

I suspect few care much about Clovis culture let alone have a burning interest in stashes of stone tools ancient inhabitants concealed and didn’t retrieve. While made of common, not precious, materials, these relics equal buried treasure for those who love archeology and connecting to ancient humans.

The term Clovis Culture came into existence when a sharp-eyed New Mexican noted artifacts formed using a particular bi-faced fluting between Clovis and Portales. Since that discovery, scientists identifying stonework designed with this pattern characterize them as Clovis points. Scholars attribute the style to bison antiquus and mammoth hunters who lived at the end of the Pleistocene era about 13,000 years ago.

The article that started my exploration mentioned the Busse Cache that contained Clovis bifaces made of Niobrara or Smoky Hill Jasper. Anyone who’s walked country roads or plowed fields in Northwest and North Central Kansas has seen this frequently ochre-hued, silicified stone even if they didn’t know what to call it. Researchers have identified prehistoric quarries containing outcroppings of this desirable knapping material in Trego, Gove, and Graham Counties in Kansas and Fremont County Nebraska. That tidbit has me trying to connect points in history based on limited knowledge.

Interestingly, these western Kansas excavations produced desirable knapping material early hunters used for thousands of years. Oklahoma archeologists have found it in sites from east to west. To entice further, prehistoric mammoth and bison bones found during work on roads, bridges, dams, or other such dirt shifting activities occupy shelves and dark corners in regional museums and personal collections.

This combination makes me wonder how many Pleistocene hunters wandered this way in search of game and resources to make dinner-capturing tools. After all, the Great Plains supported modern bison and native cultures who depended on them for survival. This information increases my curiosity about how often their ancestors roasted a mammoth haunch under prairie skies.

Keep in mind state borders are fairly modern concepts so migratory people would’ve wandered from one watershed to another without worrying about taxes, land ownership, or other recent complications. Nearly a decade ago, Dan Busse in Northeastern Colorado worked a field and noted a fingernail-size bit of Smoky Hill jasper that wasn’t native to his area. Upon further investigation, he dug up a hunter’s pack of fluted Clovis-style stones. Among them are several manufactured from Niobrara or Smoky Hill jasper, commonly found in western Kansas and Nebraska.

Add to this data information about KU professor Rolfe Mandel’s 2014 dig near Tuttle Creek. His team specifically searched for evidence of Clovis and pre-Clovis inhabitants in what is now Kansas. Their efforts are in the hands of lab analysts who work to verify their findings.

Though few Clovis Cache finds are documented in the U.S., such articles offer hope that any day now a Kansan could be turning over soil and make a discovery like a landscaper in Boulder, CO. He recently found a stash of 80 artifacts used to butcher prehistoric camels and horses in his yard.

Though I doubt I’ll find such treasure, the combination of connecting dots leads me to expect I’ll soon read about the person who does.

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.

Unless something changes in the moisture situation, Barb Downey and husband, Joe Carpenter will not burn their grassland in the Flint Hills this season. The ranch couple report no (moisture) run-off event in more than a year on their native grassland in Riley and Wabaunsee counties.

Every spring across the vast, open Flint Hills grasslands, fires blaze for miles. The flames lick at the blue Kansas sky as the brown, dry grass crinkles, crackles and bursts into orange.

Cattlemen like this east-central Kansas couple understand that controlled burning remains a range management tool that helps maintain the economic viability of the Flint Hills. Fire remains an essential element of the ecosystem.

Long before civilization came to the prairie, fires were ignited by lightning storms and the charred prairie restored the health of the native grasses. Native Americans set the first prairie fires. They used the fire to attract bison for easier hunting.

Controlled burning by those who live on the tall-grass prairie of the Flint Hills is an annual event designed to mimic nature’s match. It’s part of a tradition – part of the culture of the communities and the people who inhabit this region of our state.

This annual pasture burning only occurs for a few days each year. It is not a procedure that is drawn out and lasts for weeks. Weather conditions dictate the length of the burning seasons most years.

Not every cattleman burns his pastures every year. Instead, individual ranchers and landowners survey and decide each spring, which pastures will benefit and produce a healthier, lush grass for livestock after burning. Often neighbors plan and burn together, giving them more hands to ensure a safe, controlled burn.

Because of continued dry conditions, Downey and Carpenter fear they would not be able to control the burn this season.

“It’s so dry and the winds blow nearly every day,” Barb says. “At the ground level, there’s no humidity in the thatch in our native grasses.”

Downey believes her Flint Hills region remains in an extended drought. She’s not counting on moisture any time soon unless this weather pattern turns around drastically – and right away.

For weeks the ranchers have watched forecasts the serve up the possibility of rain in the seven to 10-day forecasts. By the time that period passes, there’s nothing. No moisture for the bone-dry Flint Hills.

“The overriding reason we will not burn our grasslands this spring is because we’re going to need every little bit of forage we can get our hands on,” Barb explains.

“We don’t care if it’s last year’s grass. At this point we need forage of any kind for our livestock.”

Downey is the fourth generation in the ranching business. Her daughter represents the fifth. Decades of experience have provided this cattle family with the know-how and knowledge to plan for their cattle enterprise.

The current drought conditions began on their Riley and Wabaunsee county ranch back in 2005. Except for a couple of years of adequate moisture, drought has been a way of life for more than a decade.

“Twenty twelve marked the peak of this extended drought here in the Flint Hills,” Barb says. “Right now, we’re already worse this year than in 2012.”

Continued dry conditions indicate burning this March or April would ensure little, if any, pasture regrowth. Downey and Carpenter are already operating in “drought-crisis mode.” Irrigated land that would ordinarily soon be planted to corn will be planted to forage this spring.

“We’re beyond the idea of burning,” Barb says. “Conditions today remain too dry. We’re not even receiving what I call ‘band-aid’ rains or brief showers, to help us along.”

Some of the older cows will be culled earlier this year on the Downey and Carpenter ranch. They continue to look at options to lighten the feed load for their herd.

“We’re planning for the worst, and hoping for better times ahead,” Barb says. “Without continued moisture and soon – we’re headed for trouble.”

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

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of joining Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita to celebrate the 10,000th 737 fuselage delivery. In attendance for the celebration were Senator Jerry Moran, Representative Roger Marshall and Representative Ron Estes. Also, in attendance were eight employees and one employee watching from Oklahoma who helped build the first 737 in 1966 and were a part of building the 10,000th 737 fuselage. Last year Spirit announced their plan to invest $1 billion in Wichita and 1,000 new Wichita jobs. This is all part of the plan to increase production to keep up with demand.

HB2477: Last week we had a hearing in the Ag and Natural Resource committee on a bill that will increase fees for pet animal inspections. Breeders are all in agreement that fees need to be increased so inspections can be completed in a timely basis. However, Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) was able to get an amendment on the House floor mandating policy changes on notification of breeders prior to an inspection. This amendment allows HSUS to get their foot in the door in Kansas and will direct the Department of Ag to carry out inspections without prior notification. The Department of Ag testified that this will increase their cost of doing inspections because showing up unannounced may cause a return visit when the owner/operator is not present to let the inspector into the facility.

In Financial Institutions, Insurance, Pensions and Benefits we had a confirmation hearing for an open board position on the KPERS board. Governor Jeff Colyer has recommended for appointment James Zakoura. Our committee has accepted the appointment and has recommended to the full Senate, James Zakoura.

On Thursday, the Senate voted 22-16 on Concurrent Resolution 1611 which calls for convention of states for the purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States that impose limits on the federal government. The purpose of calling the convention would be to implement term limits on members of congress. In addition, it would require the federal government to work with a balanced budget. This vote required two-thirds vote and fell short to pass.

On Wednesday, the Senate Committee of Ethics, Elections and Local Government held a hearing on HB 2539 which deals with qualifications for candidates seeking certain statewide office. The bill would list a minimum age requirement to run for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state treasurer and insurance commissioner. Currently, there is not a minimum age requirement therefore any current resident of Kansas is eligible to run. It was noted that a “qualified elector” should be at least 18 years of age.

It is March and with March comes state basketball. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of the state qualifiers from Senate District 40. Congratulations to the State Champions in class 1A division 2 Quinter Lady Bulldogs (first ever state championship), 1A Division 2 Almena-Northern Valley Huskies men’s basketball team State Champions. In 1A division 2 Wallace County Men’s Wildcats (Sharon Springs) fourth place and congratulations to the lady Wildcats for qualifying for state. Congratulations to 1A Division 1 Atwood-Rawlins County Buffalos men’s team for qualifying for state, class 2A Hill City Ringneck’s girls placed 4th, Class 3A Phillipsburg Panther’s men’s 2nd place winners and TMP-Marian Monarchs men’s qualification for state, and TMP-Marian Monarchs ladies 4th place.

Congratulations to Ty Schultz, Wyatt Mong of Grainfield and Adam Klausmeyer from Hays for your hard work and receiving the Scouts highest honor of an Eagle Scout.

It is an honor and a pleasure to serve the 40th Senate District.

By JOHN P. TRETBAR

Total domestic crude production hit a fresh weekly record 0f 10.369 million barrels a day last week, according to report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. A report from the International Energy Agency notes that over the next three years, the U.S. will cover 80 percent of the growth in oil demand worldwide. Canada, Brazil and Norway will cover the remainder, which, according to the report, leaves no room for more OPEC supply. OPEC and other nations led by Russia agreed to production cuts last year in hopes of drawing down inventories and pumping up prices. According to S&P Global Platts, the cartel as a whole is currently well below their self-imposed production ceiling of 32.73 million barrels per day.

Independent Oil & Gas Service reported an increase in the Kansas rig counts for the week, while the national oil rig count went down. There were nine active drilling rigs in eastern Kansas, up two, and 27 in the western part of the state, up five. Drilling will commence soon on two leases in Barton County and one in Stafford County. Operators are moving in completion tools at three sites in Ellis County, one in Russell County and one in Stafford County. Baker Hughes reported 984 active drilling rigs nationwide, a drop of four oil rigs but an increase of seven exploring for natural gas. Canada reported 273 active rigs, a seasonal drop of 29 rigs.

Kansas operators filed 31 permits to drill at new locations last week, 12 in eastern Kansas and 19 west of Wichita, including two in Barton County. There have been 283 drilling permits filed in Kansas so far this year. Independent Oil & Gas Service reports 26 well completions for the week, 13 east of Wichita, 13 west, with one in Barton County and one in Russell County. So far this year, operators have completed 310 wells.

The Nebraska Supreme Court says TransCanada will not have to pay $354,000 in attorney fees for Nebraska landowners who fought eminent domain efforts to make way for the Keystone XL pipeline. The company ultimately dismissed its condemnation petitions in 2015, opting instead to pursue approval of a pipeline route by the Public Service Commission. In the formal opinion, the court held that the landowners did not offer sufficient proof they were entitled to an award of attorney costs and fees.

An Alaska regulator has asked the Legislature to require oil companies clean up old wells, even they’ve been sold to different companies. Cathy Foerster of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission says she’s concerned that if a big oil field is sold to a smaller company that goes bankrupt, cleanups could cost the state billions. Foerster says it’s becoming more common for smaller companies to operate in the state, and she says some of those companies may be more financially unstable.

Saudi Arabia’s energy minister hinted the initial public stock offering of the state oil company Aramco could be delayed until 2019, pushing back a central plank of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to modernize the economy. In an interview with Bloomberg, Khalid Al-Falih also said the IPO, potentially the largest ever, would be “anchored” by a listing on Saudi Arabia’s local exchange and any international listing would be announced in due course, if at all.

The Trump Administration may offer incentives to oil and gas producers to help reduce the practice of flaring natural gas produced at oil wells. During an energy conference in Houston last week, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke raised the possibility of reducing royalties collected for production on public lands to help pay for the missing infrastructure. Zinke also said the government could speed up the permitting times for pipelines to move that gas to the marketplace. The ideas surfaced as the administration also moves to repeal the Obama-era flaring ban on oil and gas leases on federal land.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke postponed a federal oil and gas lease sale planned for March, less than a week after the sale was announced, in response to local opposition to the possibility of drilling near national parks and monuments. Zinke said the Bureau of Land Management will remove 17,300 acres near Livingston, Montana, which is a gateway to the Yellowstone National Park. Zinke said the area deserves more study. The remaining 83 parcels, which cover over 46,000 acres, will be offered for lease via an online auction as planned.

There could another attempt to take oil companies to court over global warming, and this time it’s not just infrastructure they’re worried about. The news comes from Arnold Schwarzenegger, who says he is meeting with law firms to file suit against the industry “…for knowingly killing people all over the world.” The former California governor and global environmental activist claims oil companies have known since 1959 that there would be global warming caused by fossil fuels, and that it would kill people. Schwarzenegger made that pronouncement Sunday during recording of a podcast for Politico Magazine. In January the City of New York joined several municipalities in California in announcing they would sue the major oil companies over the environmental costs associated with climate change.

Friend,

Last week wildfires burned more than 25,000 acres across Kansas. Soldiers from the Kansas National Guard, in cooperation with local firefighters and emergency personnel, worked hard to combat them and preserving life, property, and animals.

I am grateful for all the men and women for their heroic efforts. In difficult times, I am proud to see members of our state work together to overcome disasters.

When discussing the recent fires, we cannot ignore the damage that the drought has caused for many of our farmers across Kansas. It goes without saying, if there is no moisture our producers will continue to lose their crops. I am thankful that the United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue understands the damage this drought has caused. Last week he designated 24 Kansas counties as primary natural disasters due to the intensity of the drought. This designation grants assistance those eligible farmers.

Rural Broadband Access

We’ve been spending a lot of time discussing rural broadband access on the hill. There’s no denying the need for our schools, businesses, and families to be able to communicate quickly and efficiently. Last week the House Small Business Committee examined the financial challenges that small carriers face with rural broadband deployment. Our rural carriers struggle with the high cost building out infrastructure in rural areas. Small carriers play a huge role in connecting the Big First and closing the digital divide, and it’s great to see the Committee highlighting such an important issue to my district. There is no doubt that rural broadband expansion is helpful in our agriculture sector as well. Our products are sought after worldwide and we must have the connectivity to run global businesses.

#NAFTA

I joined the House Ways and Means Committee in Mexico City, Mexico for the seventh round of NAFTA negotiations. On this trip, I met with Ambassadors from Canada and Mexico, as well as US negotiators and economic leaders. The negotiating teams we met with are first class folks and I saw serious engagement from all countries. It was clear from these meetings that all three countries have a sense of loyalty to each other because we have all seen how well this agreement can work for us. While there may be specific issues where we disagree, all three countries share the same goal of a modernized NAFTA in a way where no one is slighted.

And as you probably have seen in the media, it was a tough week for trade. I want to assure you that while I agree with the president on almost all of his policy, I split with him on his approach to trade. In regards to his steel tariffs, I support targeting abusers of our free trade system, but I have grave concerns about overly broad efforts that leave us open to retaliation. As we’ve seen in my district with sorghum, agriculture often bears the brunt of retaliatory actions. Although the president provided a limited exception to Mexico and Canada I still believe there are other countries included in this tariff that should not be and I encourage the president to re-evaluate this target.

I signed a letter to the president with 107 of my Republican colleagues. This note urges the president to tailor his steel and aluminum tariffs to those who abuse the system.

Kansas WIC Team

WIC helps more than 60,000 of our eligible families in Kansas, and I am so grateful for the services they provide. This week I gave a speech at the National WIC leadership conference, and I was thankful that our own Kansas leaders stopped by for a meeting.

I also got the opportunity to meet Kelsi Depew, a Kansas mom who received support from WIC. Kelsi shared her story and how helpful the services that WIC provided were while her and her family were going through a tough time, such an inspiring story, and powerful family.

New International Trade Friendships 

This week I had a great meeting with the UK Secretary of State for the Department of Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs, Michael Grove. Having relationships with Ag leaders across the globe is so important. As we work to expand into new markets, these types of relationships will be important for our farmers and ranchers in both of our countries. I am thankful that I was able to spend some time discussing our nations trade priorities.

Many wildlife studies take place behind the scenes; if you don’t happen to hear or read about them or stumble upon them in progress, you never know they occur. Such is the case with a fairly extensive deer research project underway in northwestern Kansas this year.

The project has two stages; the first stage is to capture and collar 120 deer, the second stage is to monitor those deer and their fawns to collect valuable data about Kansas deer. I spoke with Levi Jaster, Big Game Coordinator with Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism who is supervising the project. He says there has been a noticeable retraction of the KS mule deer population, slowly withdrawing westward, while at the same time the whitetail population is also spreading westward. Jaster told me “We are already on the western edge of the mule deer range and hate to see their population dwindle any more here in Kansas, and Nebraska is not seeing the same problem, so that leaves us Kansas wildlife biologists searching for answers.” Jaster says all studies about deer mortality rates, habitat use and reproduction rates have been done in either the Dakotas or Texas, neither of which have topography or conditions representative of Kansas, so everyone felt it was time for a KS study to be done.

Eight KS counties were chosen; Decatur, Norton, Sheridan and Graham in the extreme northwestern corner, and Logan, Gove, Scott and Lane a little farther south. In February, 120 deer divided evenly between each group of counties, between whitetails and mule deer, and between bucks and does were netted from a helicopter and collared. Bucks were given a quick health check including blood samples, fitted with GPS radio collars that will remain on them for their lifetime and then released. Does were airlifted to an area set up with handling facilities where they were each given an ultrasound to determine pregnancy rates and blood samples were drawn.

They were then ear-tagged and fitted with a GPS radio collar that will drop off after a predetermined number of weeks. Before their release each doe was also given a small vaginal implant transmitter (VIT) that will drop out when she gives birth and help researchers attempt to locate fawns. This entire process was completed in only 4 days. To process the does, KDWPT staff was joined by Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit staff, K State graduate students, veterinarians, volunteers from the Kansas Bowhunters Assn. and landowners who allowed access to their land.

The second part of the project will begin in mid to late May when collared does begin to birth fawns. The transmitters will begin transmitting when they are expelled and are linked to each does collar, giving researchers data on when and where fawns were born. The thinking is that since fawns are hidden for the first few days of their lives, if the signal can be tracked within a few hours after birth, most fawns can be located. Each will be quickly checked, measured and fitted with a special expandable collar so it can be tracked also. The goal is to find and collar 80 – 90 fawns this spring.

Data collected during this first-of-its-kind 3 year study here in KS will help researchers learn more about Kansas deer reproductive and mortality rates and causes of mortality, deer movement, survival of different year classes of deer, and mule deer and whitetail deer interaction. This data will help provide much needed insight into deer densities, deer-human interactions, crop damage and the effects of habitat and crop changes on KS deer populations.

I asked Levi if there was anything else he wanted deer hunters to learn from this story, and he told me “We want deer hunters who see these collars to act as though the collar doesn’t exist. If they were going to harvest a collared deer before they spotted the collar, harvest it anyway. If they were going to pass on a collared deer, pass on it despite the collar. This will give us real-world, real-time data.” Fifteen years ago, my wife and I hunted for several years where she grew up in Meade County, and back then we could expect to see as many muleys’ as whitetails. Today, I know that whitetails are much more prevalent down there, so I’m anxious to see what this study turns up; a wonderful way to continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!

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

Sponsored by Glassman, Bird, Powell LLP — a full-service law firm serving Hays and Northwest Kansas.

You can also watch the weekly reports from Topeka on Eagle TV Channels 14 and 614.

By RON WILSON
Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development

The plane is arriving. Here are the passengers. There are no hugs or handshakes for these passengers, because these air passengers are beef cattle being transported from the U.S. halfway around the globe to Abadan, Iran. The man who helped arrange this project is John M. Jackson, an international agricultural consultant based in Great Bend, Kansas.

John Jackson is the founder of Agricultural Management Group, Inc. (AMG) which specializes in agriculture and agribusiness, private enterprise development and resource management.

John grew up in Illinois and studied agriculture at Western Illinois University. There he met and married Sharon, his future business partner and wife.

One day on campus, John saw a booth for the Peace Corps. Recognizing the opportunity to experience another culture and to put their skills to good use, John and Sharon both decided to join. Six months later, they were on a plane to Iran to help a village that had been destroyed by an earthquake and had no water or electricity. John and Sharon helped the local people to rebuild. He also learned to speak Farsi, the language of Iran.

After two years in the Peace Corps, John and Sharon returned for a second two-year period. When Iran launched a major agricultural project, John was hired to join the team because of his knowledge of agriculture and Farsi. John helped develop a large-scale farm and bring in livestock.

“We brought the first beef cattle to Iran,” John said. “We brought in 450 head of Brahma and Brahma cross heifers and 15 bulls. They came in two stretch DC-8s.”

After that project, they returned to Illinois. In 1982, John joined the American Society of Agricultural Consultants (ASAC) whose members included both domestic and international consultants. Connections with ASAC led John to join a seed company for which he became district sales manager for central Kansas. He and Sharon relocated to the rural community of Great Bend, population 15,535 people. Now, that’s rural. While supporting John’s consulting projects, Sharon provided accounting services to international and local businesses, including agriculture and tribal enterprises in the western U.S.

In 1994, the seed company sent John to do market development in eastern Europe. He had responsibility for sales in Ukraine, Moldova and Romania. In 1995 when the project ended, he began consulting with other international clients and expanded AMG, with offices at the time in Moldova, Ukraine, and Great Bend.

In 1998, John was president of the American Society of Agricultural Consultants. He worked in the U.S. and overseas with such clients as Native American tribes, agribusinesses, U.S. Agency for International Development, World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, UN Development Program, and more.

John has also been involved with numerous projects involving Dr. Robert (Bob) Julian, agricultural administrator of K-State’s Food and Feed Grain Institute. One was the Cochran Fellowship Program under which agricultural specialists and administrators from emerging democracies around the world are brought to the U.S. for training. Through this program, John and his team helped bring several teams of international visitors to K-State.

“I’ve worked with people in 40-some countries and 40-some states, from Hawaii to Florida,” John said. At some periods of his career, he has been overseas for 90 percent of the year, often living in countries experiencing conflict. He remembered visiting Kiev, and reading 60 days later that 105 demonstrators were shot on the very streets where he had been walking, only a 20-minute walk from AMG’s office.

One famous advertisement states that the Peace Corps is looking for volunteers with “a good back, strong stomach, level head, and a big heart.” John fit that bill when he joined, as he does now. John has found that people around the world have much in common, especially as they become interested in technology to benefit their people.

For more information, go to www.amg-logistics.com.

It’s time to leave this plane which brought these cattle halfway around the globe. We commend John and Sharon Jackson, Dr. Bob Julian, and all those who are making a difference by enhancing agricultural technology around the world. I’m glad to see these enterprises take off.

Kansas estimated storm losses from windstorm, tornadoes and hail are beginning to inch up in the yearly totals, according to our department numbers from previous years. While they haven’t approached the staggering figures of a few years ago, the estimated losses from 2017 show that Kansans need to be continually prepared for potential storm-related losses.

I am urging all Kansans, as we approach another Kansas spring and summer storm season, to make sure their property is inventoried properly and insured against natural elements.

It is no fun to think about preparing for the worst — but it is even less desirable to have to think about what to do when a storm loss occurs.  A little forethought about insurance matters is a great way to gain some peace of mind — especially when you have to focus on your family’s immediate needs during an emergency.

Following is a useful checklist our department has compiled for 2018 storm season precautions and preparations.

• Check your homeowner and vehicle policies to make sure you have proper coverage for hail and windstorm damage.  Review your homeowners policy with your insurance agent to check for current coverage and adequate protection for all structures and personal property, including farm outbuildings.
• Take inventory of your personal property, including model and serial numbers when available. The Kansas Insurance Department has a good Personal Home Inventory checklist for download printing at www.ksinsurance.org.  Go to the “Help With….” Box on the homepage and click on “Finding a Publication.”
• If possible, take photos or make a videotape of personal items to give to insurance adjusters in the event of loss. Store this information, along with receipts, in a safe deposit box or somewhere other than in your home.
• Keep your house in good repair all year long.  Make sure roofing shingles are secure, garage doors are reinforced and unnecessary debris is removed from the yard. In high winds, loose debris can cause significant property damage or personal injury, as well as blocking drains and sewers, which can lead to water damage.
• Check your roof for leaks or damage to rain gutters.
• See that trees or branches are not in danger of falling on your home. Closely inspect your trees, and remove weak branches that could fall in high winds.

NOTE:  Removal of large tree debris from your yard is usually not covered by your homeowners insurance. The expense of cleanup is your responsibility.

• Take severe weather alerts and warnings seriously. Many people are injured or die unnecessarily each year because they are watching storms instead of protecting themselves.
• Take part in Severe Weather Awareness Week activities and Storm Spotter meetings, which will be conducted throughout the state this month.
• Have plenty of fresh batteries for radios and flashlights, as well as a supply of bottled water, dried foods and canned goods, in case of a power outage.
• Listen to the latest forecasts from television or radio news.  Severe weather warnings are activated to protect you and your property.
• If you have time to act in a severe storm warning, move automobiles into a garage or shed.
• Know how flood damage is covered. Just an inch of water can cause expensive damage to your property.  Most personal and commercial policies covering property do not include earthquake or flood protection. If you are prone to flooding or rising water in your home, you may not be protected by your homeowners policy.  Check with your insurance agent. For more information, call 888-435-6637 or visit the Web site www.floodsmart.gov.

Be prepared for the Kansas storm season. If you have additional questions, contact our Consumer Assistance Hotline (for Kansas residents) at 800-432-2484, or go to our website,www.ksinsurance.org , for a live chat session with a consumer representative.  You can also view storm loss estimates from previous years by clicking on the “Featured Pages” box on our homepage.  The link is http://www.ksinsurance.org/autohome/ks-estimated-storm-losses.php .

I also urge you to attend a local Severe Weather Awareness seminar in your area to learn about notification and preparation techniques for the public.

Ken Selzer is the Kansas Commissioner of Insurance.

Troy L. Waymaster, State Representative, 109^th Kansas House

March 9, 2018

Cybersecurity

Last session, the Government, Technology, and Security Committee was created to evaluate Cybersecurity making sure a system is in place to protect citizens and state government from dangerous attacks and breaches on personal and critical data.    Kansas has not been immune from cyberattacks and release of personal information.  This Committee advanced two measures to the House for debate.

Last Thursday, the House debated these two bills.  The first one, House Bill 2332, amends stipulations of required meetings for the Information Technology Executive Council (ITEC).  This was necessary to increase the effectiveness and attendance of the ITEC meetings.

House Bill 2359 creates the Kansas Cybersecurity Act.  This bill creates the Kansas Information Security Office (KISO).  The bill also spells out the Information Technology and Cybersecurity duties of Executive Branch agency heads.

The bill also creates the Cybersecurity State Fund, which is financed with an annual basic rate per employee for all government and non-government entities connecting to state network services.

Both bills passed on Monday, March 5 each with a 115-0 vote.

State Revenues

On Friday, March 1, the Kansas Legislative Research Department released the revenue numbers for monthly receipts in Fiscal Year 2018.  With the February revenues included, the total State General Fund receipts are up $275 million from the November estimate.  Individual income tax receipts are $269 million above the estimate.  The Kansas Legislative Research Department cautions that, as with the previous two months, a large portion of the growth in individual income tax receipts above the forecast appears to have been driven by the recently enacted change in federal tax law.  However, these numbers are enlightening, especially since we will be addressing the issue on K-12 Education finance, and other budgetary matters, later this month when we begin work on the budget bill.

More Bills In the House

On Wednesday, the House debate two bills regarding K-12 education.  The first bill, House Bill 2757, reinstates due process rights for teachers in statute as it is currently for community and technical college employees.  I voted “no” on this bill as I contend that the local school boards should be allowed to negotiate due process as has been the case since 2014.  The bill did pass out of the House, 73-48, however the future of the bill is uncertain in the Senate.

House Bill 2758 would require that school districts adopt anti-bullying policies and procedures that would cover incidents of bullying, harassment, and/or cyber-bullying.  I voted “yes” on House Bill 2758 and it passed with a vote of 120-1.

On Friday, the House debated Senate Bill 405 which would amend the current law regarding the number of animals permitted in a confined animal feeding facility.  The bill also establishes the animal unit measurement calculation for chicken facilities that use a dry manure waste system and, if they do have this type of waste system, then they would need to obtain a federal permit if there are 125,000 or more broilers or 82,000 or more laying hens.  This bill derived from the concerns and discussions of Tyson building a poultry facility in the state of Kansas.  The bill advances on to final action on Monday, March 12.

Appropriations Committee

This week in the Appropriations Committee, we were busy in continuing the budget reports from the respective budget committees.  Monday, we started the week with continuing discussion on the budget for the Kansas Department of Transportation.  We then delved into the budgets for the Kansas Highway Patrol, Correctional Institutions, and Sentencing Commission.

We continued budget discussions on Tuesday, with the budgets of the state hospitals, namely Osawatomie and Larned State Hospitals, as there has been much needed attention regarding these two state institutions.  Then on Wednesday and Thursday, we concluded the week’s discussion by deliberating the budgets of the Kansas Lottery, Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, Department of Health and Environment, Kansas Corporate Commission, and the Department of Commerce.

We also had two bill hearings this week.  The first bill was on monetary transfers, which is Senate Bill 276.  The second bill, House Bill 2582, is in regards to claims against the state of Kansas.

Contact Information

As always, if you have any concerns, feel free to contact me (785) 296-7672, visit www.troywaymaster.com or email me at [email protected].  Also, if you happen to visit the statehouse, please let my office know.

It is a distinct honor to serve as your representative for the 109th Kansas House District and the state of Kansas. Please do not hesitate to contact me with your thoughts, concerns, and questions.  I always appreciate hearing from the residents of the 109th House District and others from the state of Kansas, as well.

If you have kids, you are probably aware that it is the end of another 9 weeks and time for report cards. I remember many years ago, one of my favorite magazines, Working Mother, had an article titled, “The Parent Report Card.”

It seemed a bit awkward to ask my adolescent children at the time to grade me and their dad, on 25 different things. Part of the value of the parent report card is that is brings out issues parents may not realize are important.

Things like “Understands my moods”, “Listens to my problems”, “Doesn’t scream at me when angry,” and “Treats all the kids in the family fairly” are graded A to F by each child in the family. I remember being surprised that my 10 year-old son gave me a C when it came to “Letting him make his own decisions.” I’m thinking to myself, “Adam, you’re only 10, so you don’t have the skills to make all of you own decisions.” Still, it reminded me of the important job we have as parents, to gradually let our children gain skills to make more of their own decisions.

It is a good idea to make several copies of the “Parent Report Card” and allow time for each child in the family to grade both mom and dad and also let the parents grade themselves. As parents take the quiz and grade themselves, they may see how the perceptions of one generation can differ from those of the other.
If you would like a copy of the “Parent Report Card” give me a call or send me an e-mail and I will be happy to share.

Donna Krug is the Family & Consumer Science Agent and District Director for the Cottonwood Extension District – Great Bend Office. You may reach her at: (620)793-1910 or [email protected]