Everything living thing has an internal clock of some sort that helps regulate its life. My internal clock is very reliable as it relates to getting me up in the morning. I have an alarm clock by my bed like most everyone does, but I rarely have to use it. It seems I can just decide in my mind when I want to awaken and when that time rolls around, I awaken. We put our two little dogs to bed about ten PM every night and they also get a treat then. Their internal clock often tells them when it’s time for a snack, as they begin to stir and whine about that time every night, and you can nearly set your watch by it.

Wildlife has different worries in life which are all about survival, like when to begin growing their heavy winter coats or when to begin breeding to sustain their species. All studies and research say that those things are dictated by the amount of daylight in a day, technically known as photo-period. So as the days get shorter and thus the amount of daylight becomes less, it triggers changes in wildlife.

In deer, shortening days and reduced amount of daylight triggers the breeding season known to us as “the rut.” I spoke with the Big Game Coordinator for the state of Kansas, Lloyd Fox who explained to me how increased amount of darkness each day causes increased production of certain hormones in a deer’s body and thus the bodies of both male and female deer prepare for the breeding season. He also pointed out that moon signs and other factors may bring about increased deer activity and changes of behavior, but it is all ultimately controlled by the length of days (photo-period.) As a side note here, have you ever wondered why deer and all wildlife for that matter have their young in the spring and not fall, early winter or even year-round like some domestic livestock? God has programmed their bodies to react the way they do so all wildlife young are born in spring when everything in nature gives them the absolute best chance of survival.

Furbearers are also affected by decreased amount of daylight. Matt Peek, Furbearer Biologist for the state of Kansas explained to me how the photo period dictates when a fur bearer’s pelt becomes “prime.” Fur bearing animals grow an extra-thick, heavy coat to protect them from winter blasts, and when that coat is at its absolute fullest and best for fur harvesting it is called “prime.” Decreasing amounts of daylight initiates that growth. It could be sixty-five degrees clear into December, but the animals’ fur still grows and becomes prime in anticipation of the cold, no matter when it comes, so that the critters are prepared. Fur from different parts of the country varies vastly in quality, as fur from Idaho for example will always be thicker and more luxurious than fur from Florida. But no matter where a fur bearing animal lives, their fur still becomes prime and the timing of that is dictated by the amount of daylight.

I hate the bi-annual time changes; I wish we would just choose one or the other (I really don’t care which one) and then just leave it alone! But this year as I was scurrying around resetting the clocks on the microwave, etc. and knowing full well I’ll have to do it again come spring, I stopped for a moment and considered how the wild critters clocks just kinda’ reset themselves thanks to the wisdom of our Creator. Continue to Explore Kansas Outdoors!

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

When news stories are filled with the evil that people do, it’s easy to get depressed. Add normal life struggles, and a person can get so downhearted to never want to crawl out of bed in the morning. When bad weighs heavy, I recollect family stories that remind me I come from sturdy stock, where wimping out wasn’t an ancestral option.

This particular line started as religious dissenters in England who survived rolling Atlantic waves in the hull of a dark ship that landed them near Plymouth, Massachusetts. After several generations as Americans, this group left New England to start a brick factory in Ontario, Canada. Along with changing nationalities, they switched religious preferences to Methodism.

As followers of Wesley, they migrated to Northwest Kansas in 1873. My 3x great grandfather finally answered the call to preach and found himself riding or walking waterways that drain this region. He knew the Sappa, Prairie Dog, Bow Creek, North and South Solomon, Republican and others like the back of his hand.

After his retirement, the Methodist Conference asked him to record the story he titled Forty Years on the Firing Line. The original copy was handwritten on Big Chief tablets. About 60 years after he recorded it, my mom transcribed and typed it into a legible document. Between his handwriting as well as inconsistent spelling and punctuation, she labored for months. Fortunately, she recalled she too descended from sturdy stock and persisted until she had a document that gave family members and historians a sense of early Kansas settlers’ lives.

When I read this, I wish he’d included more details. However, a much longer document might’ve deterred the editing and typing required to make it readable. He opens with, “So I have hurriedly written largely from memory, making many mistakes, leaving out much that might have proved interesting. . . . I plead for pardon for all that I have failed in. I pray that our young men in the ministry of Jesus Christ—will not—complain nor murmur, but go where they are sent in Jesus name.”

That statement reminds me that around 150 years ago, Grandpa came to preach on the American frontier. Yes, the place I call home and consider modern and comfortable was a mysterious, unsettled land. Ill health had driven him from frigid Canada to Kansas. His father and 13 other family members joined this trek to homestead in Norton Co. He mentions they arrived on November 3, 1873 and were 128 miles from Lowell, Nebraska, their nearest trading center.

Thinking about Kansas Novembers I’ve weathered, his comment that “We were delighted with the country and especially with the climate,” surprised me. He continued with, “I believe it added years to the life of my parents and my wife who the doctor said would not live to get to Kansas and our boy 2 years and 3 months old, that weighed only 17 pounds whom the doctor said could not live is still alive and the largest man of the family.”

Over the next few months, I’ll share more of his experiences. His stories remind us western Kansans come from determined, capable gene pools. As descendants, we continue to make our communities fine places to live and raise families.

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.

Can mental health status screen out potential mass shooters? The National Institute of Mental Health
keeps nationwide statistics that are the basis for the data provided by the National Alliance on Mental Health website that summarizes the state of our nation’s mental health.

Approximately one in six adults in the U.S. “…43.8 million, or 18.5%—experiences mental illness in a given year.

“Approximately 1 in 25 adults in the U.S.—9.8 million, or 4.0%—experiences a serious mental
illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.

“Approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 (21.4%) experiences a severe mental disorder at some point
during their life. For children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13%.”

“1.1% of adults in the U.S. live with schizophrenia.
2.6% of adults in the U.S. live with bipolar disorder.
6.9% of adults in the U.S.—16 million—had at least one major depressive episode in the past year.
18.1% of adults in the U.S. experienced an anxiety disorder such as posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and specific phobias.

Among the 20.2 million adults in the U.S. who experienced a substance use disorder, 50.5%—10.2
million adults—had a co-occurring mental illness.”

NAMH analyzed the data for social factors and found: “An estimated 26% of homeless adults staying
in shelters live with serious mental illness and an estimated 46% live with severe mental illness and/or substance use disorders.

Approximately 20% of state prisoners and 21% of local jail prisoners have “a recent history” of a mental health condition.

70% of youth in juvenile justice systems have at least one mental health condition and at least 20% live with a serious mental illness.

Only 41% of adults in the U.S. with a mental health condition received mental health services in the past year. Among adults with a serious mental illness, 62.9% received mental health services in the past year.
Just over half (50.6%) of children aged 8-15 received mental health services in the previous year….
Half of all chronic mental illness begins by age 14; three-quarters by age 24. Despite effective
treatment, there are long delays—sometimes decades—between the first appearance of symptoms and when people get help.”

These numbers are huge. And yet there is good reason to believe that men are under-represented because they are less likely to seek assistance for mental health concerns for many reasons including lack of insurance, and the perceived stigma of weakness, especially among men over 40.

And in most states, a professional mental diagnosis is not in itself grounds for preventing gun ownership. It usually takes a court action to deprive a person of their second amendment rights. Hindsight in the case of many school shootings may reveal prior mental concerns, but rarely would these have resulted in a ruling preventing gun ownership.

But the above conditions do not begin to address the possibility of a mentally healthy person killing in the heat of passion or with calculated foreplanning.

The claim that anyone who commits mass murder must necessarily be insane is simply wrong.

In Norway, Anders Behring Breivik, a right-wing extremist, was responsible for the deaths of 77 people, some as young as 14, who were attending a Youth League camp in July 2011. This mass shooter was found to be mentally sane and articulate, entering the courtroom with his arm stretched out in the Nazi salute.
If outrage alone is sufficient, then who is safe with a gun?

John Richard Schrock is a professor at Emporia State University.

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 Gene Policinski and Lata Nott The national walkouts that students are currently organizing to call for new gun control legislation are commendable examples of “Generation Z” exercising its First Amendment freedoms. Unfortunately, students, teachers and other staff are likely to run up against legal limits around free speech and protest on school grounds. On March 14, exactly one month after the Feb. 14 shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., students, teachers and administrators across the nation plan to walk out of their classrooms, at 10 a.m. in each time zone, for 17 minutes — one minute for each student and teacher killed in the attack. Another such event is scheduled for April 20, the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado. More than 22,000 people have signed a petition pledging to walk out of their classrooms at 10 a.m. for the rest of the day. While some school districts may support or sign on to these protests, others have already announced that they will not. Needville Independent School District, about 60 miles southwest of Houston, has threatened to suspend any students who participate in walkouts or other protests that happen during school hours. Marches, walkouts and sit-ins are the embodiment of our core freedoms: the right to speak out, to assemble peaceably and petition our government for change. Such protests recall powerful moments in the civil rights movement, when energized groups of young people caught the nation’s attention and successfully pushed for social and political change. The student voices in the Parkland movement also call to mind the circumstances around the landmark 1969 Supreme Court decision Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District, which also involved teens, schools and the freedom to protest. In that case, the court considered a 1965 protest in which five students wore black armbands — one of which is on display at the Newseum, in Washington, D.C. — to protest the Vietnam War. Three older students were suspended by school authorities for defying instructions not to wear the armbands. Their parents filed a lawsuit and the Supreme Court found that this was a violation of the students’ First Amendment rights. Justice Abe Fortas wrote that neither students nor teachers “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” But here’s an early caution to those planning school walkouts and protests on school grounds: The Tinker decision and later court cases also ruled that while students have First Amendment rights, they are not as extensive as those enjoyed by adults. Their free expression rights can be curtailed by school officials if they can prove that the student action would “materially and substantially interfere” with education in the school, or interfere with the rights of others. In Tinker, the Supreme Court found that the three armband-wearing students could not be punished by school authorities, because their silent protest did not significantly disrupt education in the school. Would the same be true for students who participate in classroom walkouts? The answer is “it depends” — on district and state truancy policies, for example — because the courts have carved out exceptions to Tinker, citing the education mission of schools in comparison to society at large. Heading into these protests, students, parents and teachers should all understand the lengths to which their actions are protected by the First Amendment. For students: If your school district does not allow for participation in the walkouts, you could face penalties and punishment for disrupting the school day, violating school rules and potentially (although less likely) for intruding on the rights of students who do not walk out of class that day. You may decide that you are willing to incur those penalties, but remember to consider alternative methods of advocacy and protest as well. Sometimes civil disobedience — challenging the rules on matters of conscience and policy — is justifiable. But sometimes there are other ways to achieve the same goal. For parents: Take this opportunity to work collectively with other parents and your school leaders on the larger civic lessons around this growing youth movement. For school officials: You first face the decision of whether to forbid a walkout or to simply deal with the disruption caused by a walkout. (This decision might depend on whether students are planning a 17-minute walkout or an all-day walkout.) You then face the decision of whether or not to punish participants. Like the students, you should also consider that there may be another approach altogether. It is possible — perhaps in cooperation with students and parents — to turn the event into a teaching moment, in which all sides around the contentious, long-standing gun control debate are heard. Given that we live in an age where there is much concern that young people don’t understand the Constitution or support free speech, punishing them for exercising it seems counterproductive, even if the Tinker decision does give school administrators that ability. Holding discussions in advance of the protests, and utilizing resources on student speech, petition and advocacy, can help students understand how democracy and representative government work, and guide them to become active and effective participants in civil society. Perhaps Needville ISD Superintendent Curtis Rhodes will consider such a “teaching moment.” A few days ago, Rhodes sent a letter to parents, saying the district “will not allow a student demonstration during school hours for any type of protest or awareness” and threatening suspensions and other “consequences.” “A school is a place to learn and grow educationally, emotionally and morally,” Rhodes said in a Facebook post that has since been removed. “A disruption of the school will not be tolerated…We are here for an education and not a political protest.” Note to Rhodes: Political protest is a part of the history and governing process of the United States, from the Boston Tea Party protests to modern-day Tea Party marches and much more. It’s a part of Texas history too. Consider the Conventions of 1832 and 1833, where future Texans gathered to seek a rollback of laws and taxes imposed by the then-ruling Mexican government. In other words, how about a little less “sit down” in response to the planned student walkout, and a little more “let’s talk” about the importance of citizen engagement in a democracy. Gene Policinski is president and chief operating officer of the Newseum Institute. He can be reached at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter at @genefac. Lata Nott is executive director of the First Amendment Center of the Newseum Institute. Contact her via email at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @LataNott.

Friend,

This week we lost a very inspirational man who devoted his life to spreading the message of Christ. Reverend Billy Graham was a man of conviction, hope, and faith. Growing up, I listened to Graham’s sermons, his message remained a positive influence throughout my life and journey to Congress. In these times of uncertainty and trial, the message of the Gospel couldn’t be more important. I joined our nation and millions around the world this week in mourning his death. I rejoice in knowing the Lord has his hand on one of his greatest foot soldiers.

For two days next week Reverend Graham’s body will ‘Lie in Honor’ in the U.S. Capitol.This is one of the nation’s highest honors for our nation’s leading voice in ministry. Only three others in U.S. history have received this type of commemoration.

Introduced Bi-Partisan Legislation For Hunters And Our Rural Communities:

As an avid outdoorsman and conservationist, I’m proud to have introduced the Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act, a program that expands hunting and fishing access in Kansas and across the country. VPA-HIP is a competitive grants program that helps increase public access to private lands for wildlife-dependent recreation, such as hunting, fishing, nature watching or hiking.These funds are particularly important in a state like Kansas, where more than 97 percent of lands are privately held. By enhancing access to outdoor recreation, we also support local producers and tourism, all while providing an additional revenue stream to agricultural producers.

Tax Reform Success in the Big First

Families in the First District, and all over the country, are seeing the benefits from the #TaxCutsandJobsAct.

United Bank & Trust in Marysville, KS is rewarding every employee with a bonus AND increase in salary.

Each employee has received an increase of $100 per month. That’s an extra $1,200 a year IN ADDITION to the bonus. I am happy to see businesses like United Bank & Trust investing in their employees, and hard-working Kansans taking more money home to their families.

President of United Bank & Trust, Leonard R. Wolfe, described the #TaxCutsandJobsAct as ‘very positive.’ Immediately upon passing, Wolfe said he wanted to share with ALL of his employees.

“Our board of directors considered a one-time bonus, but felt we should go BEYOND that, and awarded ALL employees with an immediate increase in their base salary,” Wolfe said. “This will provide a longer-term benefit since future merit increases are based on a percentage of their salary/wages. The amount of the increase, effective Jan. 1, 2018 for all employees was $100.00 per month. This $1,200.00 increase was given to all hourly wage and salaried employees. With a current employee count of 100, our cost to do this amounts to $120,000.00 annually.”

Wolfe also said that he is now considering expanding into other communities and improving the bank’s infrastructure.

This is what this new tax code was always about, businesses investing in their employees and communities. Please give my office a call with your tax reform stories. What will you do with the extra cash in your pocket?

Second Amendment News

Following the tragic shooting in Florida, we continue to mourn the loss of those 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. We must make sure that guns are in the hands of mentally stable, law-abiding individuals that have no intent to harm others.

We must put politics aside when it comes to the safety of our schools and our children. To achieve a safer America, we must come together and take common-sense action. After reflecting on the tragedy last week, I can’t help but think what if? What if teachers, coaches, or authorized personnel had the opportunity to carry their concealed weapon on school grounds, how would that have changed the outcome in Parkland, Florida? I stand with the president on this and his call to strengthen our background check process.

This approach is far from an attack our second amendment rights, but reforms tailored towards strengthening background checks by acknowledging warning signs and mental stability is just common sense.

Calling all Artists!

Would you like your art displayed in the U.S. Capitol? Submit your masterpieces to the Congressional Art Competition! Your work will be judged by panels of district artists alongside pieces from other students across the country. See below for more details.

In a recent op-ed submitted by Dr. Schrock, a biology professor at Emporia State, he explained how one’s gender and sexual orientation are the result of a complex interaction between genes and hormones during early development, or completely under the control of God for those of you who believe God gives us our unique genomes.

So many of us were sickened by the religiously-based and convoluted argument recently articulated in the HDN by the current president of the Family Policy Alliance, Mr. Eric Teetsel. His resolution states, “the biological sex of humans was determined by God’s hand and not by an individual’s ‘self-perception’ or medical attempts to alter the body.” This suggests that anyone who has obtained cosmetic surgery, gotten a tattoo, or even cut their hair or shaved, has attempted to alter their bodies from what “God’s hand” has created. He also convolutes the multiple and independent dimensions of sexuality; physiology, gender and sexual orientation.

It seems puzzling to me that, as Mr. Teetsel asserts, God would have a hand in our physiology, but not our gender or sexual orientation. The unstated conclusion is that alternative genders and sexual orientations are voluntarily self-imposed by individuals, often as a symbolic means to reject God. But why would anyone self-impose a highly stigmatizing characteristic? And under Teetsel’s theology, who rejected who first?

Teetsel says that his resolution “affirms the fundamental right of religious freedom and the truth of God’s good design for human sexual identity,” suggesting that God intends and wants everyone to be heterosexual, all males to be masculine and all females to be feminine. But not all people are born with God’s “good design,” such as when a baby is born with mixed sexual physiology. Mr. Teetsel would leave these children as God created them, with the stigma of ambiguous physiology, when cosmetic surgery is the common preference of parents.

It all strongly suggests that LGBT folks, for reasons completely beyond their control, must live unsatisfying lives, forsake sexual pleasure and try to be something or someone they are not. Why? So that certain Christians fortunate enough to be born with their body, gender and sexual orientation aligned with “Christian” theology can live in a sexually homogenous world, bask in their own self-righteousness and pat themselves on the back for saving the souls of those heathens. If this is what Christianity is all about, and it is not, then I want no part of it.

Although the Apostle Paul and some writings in the Old Testament condemn homosexuality, unlike adultery, it is not mentioned in the Ten Commandments. Jesus had virtually nothing to say about LGBT, but he did condemn adultery. Even so, when confronted by a group of religious elders with accusations against a woman convicted of committing adultery, Jesus cleverly spoiled their attempt to trick him into condemning the woman by pointing out that everyone has committed sexual sin, and he invited any among them who was pure to cast the first stone.

Just like Jesus’ revelation shamed the adulterous woman’s accusers into abandoning their persecution of her, Mr. Teetsel, his organization, and step-daddy Brownback, who is our nation’s new Ambassador of Religious Liberty, should be shamed into abandoning their persecution of LGBT folks and worry about their own sexual sins. Just as Senator Mary Pilcher Cook (R) described the denial of rights to LGBTs as “tyranny, pure and simple,” persecuting people for being how God made them is not only morally wrong, doing so constitutes pure hate.

Gary Brinker
Hays

Sam Brownback has resigned his Kansas governorship. Jeff Colyer has moved up to take his place. Colyer is running for a full term of his own with a campaign website that proclaims “A New Day for Kansas,” in a clear attempt to indicate distance between himself and the departing Brownback.

Does Gov. Colyer really represent a new day, or is he just using an updated version of Brownback’s old slogan “The sun is shining in Kansas”?

Colyer has a mountain of work to do to make his “new day” claim truly meaningful. After all, as lieutenant governor he was present every step of the way during the Brownback administration. With Brownback he engineered the Kansas tax experiment that inflicted a multiyear budget crisis on Kansas and set back public education funding to the point that the Supreme Court declared the system unconstitutional. Just changing the nameplate on the governor’s office and shuffling staff can not erase that.

Colyer needs something big if he is to truly move in a new direction. He has an easy option, ripe for picking. Sign a Medicaid expansion bill.

Expanding eligibility for Medicaid would allow 150,000 Kansans to gain health insurance. Many of those are working Kansans who earn too much to be eligible for the current Medicaid program, but cannot access federal health insurance subsidies. Hospitals in every corner of the state would have a better chance of staying solvent if Kansas would expand Medicaid. And the federal government would pay almost the whole cost.

Surveys show that a large majority of Kansans favor expansion. In the last legislative session, most of our current legislators voted to expand, and they’re ready to vote for expansion again. Until now, Sam Brownback single-handedly thwarted Medicaid expansion which has cost Kansas more than $2.4 billion in federal dollars. This was a huge financial policy failure as well as a moral one.

Colyer could put that failure behind us and show that his governorship actually is something different. The Legislature is ready. Kansas citizens are ready. Colyer only needs to say “I’ll sign expansion” to enact the policy. The decision sits squarely on his shoulders.

He can call it “KanCare expansion.” KanCare is the semi-privatized Kansas version of Medicaid, and Colyer is the program’s father. As lieutenant governor, he led KanCare’s launch with the twin goals of saving money and delivering better care. It’s logical he’d want that expanded to more people.

Last week, expansion proponents packed the Senate Health and Welfare Committee hearings and submitted an enormous stack of testimony. But expansion was opposed by a tired set of conservative think tanks who went so far as to baldly claim that Kansans who would become eligible for Medicaid under expansion would be hurt by having health insurance. Unfortunately, Gov. Colyer sent a cabinet secretary to stand with the opposition group. That’s same old, same old. That’s a Brownback play.

By the time he resigned, Sam Brownback was a deeply unpopular governor. Colyer must cut himself loose from that legacy. With less than six months to go before the primary election, Kansans are about to find out if Colyer is serious about a “new day.”

Duane Goossen formerly served 12 years as Kansas Budget Director.

A child’s wedding– it’s an event many parents dream about and look forward to with great anticipation.  The dress, the music, the flowers, the vows, being surrounded by family and friends to celebrate the big day.

I’m enjoying that situation right now.  My daughter and her fiancé are planning an August wedding in Wichita.  She got engaged last year on Valentine’s Day, so we’ve had lots of time to dream those big wedding dreams and begin to make important wedding decisions.  For example, it was exciting to be with her when she said “yes to the dress” a few weeks ago.

Planning a wedding is a thrill.  It can also be stressful with all the expenses and decisions to be made.  If someone in your family got a ring for Valentines Day, now is a great time to gather as much information as possible to make the wedding– and the years of marriage to follow– a success.

K-State Research and Extension can help. Four new Extension publications, released last fall, can help engaged couples and their families consider the financial aspects of planning a wedding.  The Extension fact sheet “With This Ring….We Plan!” discusses tips for developing a wedding budget, managing wedding costs and how couples can start their marriage on a solid financial footing.

The “Planning Your Wedding” worksheet provides a checklist for planning wedding expenses along with a list of last-minute details to consider.

In addition to these consumer publications, the set also includes a leader’s guide for sharing wedding planning information with others, along with a “Wedding Spending Game” simulation activity for groups.

Why all this emphasis on wedding planning?  Anyone who has recently planned a wedding knows that weddings are expensive!  According to The Knot’s annual survey of couples, the average cost of a wedding in 2016 was $35,329. That marks an all-time high for the survey, which last year polled 13,000 couples married in the U.S.  In addition, about 45% of couples reported they exceeded their wedding budget.

Going into debt for an expensive wedding may not be the best way to start married life.  The Extension publications include suggestions for setting a target spending limit along with a list of typical wedding expenses and a rough estimate of the percentage of the wedding budget couples generally spend on each category.  A couple’s priorities may be slightly different from the average, so it is important to identify the elements of a wedding that are most important to each individual and work to accomplish (and pay for) those elements first.

Planning a wedding- and life together as a married couple- involves many choices and trade-offs.  And while you want your wedding day to be special, it is just one day in the rest of your married life.  Planning ahead can help you stay within your financial means and put you on the path to happily ever after.

For more information, contact the Hays (785-628-9430) or Great Bend (620-793-1910) offices of the Cottonwood Extension District.  You can also find the wedding planning publications online at the K-State Research and Extension Bookstore at www.bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu. Search for publications MF3378, MF3379, MF3380 and MF3381.

Some of you may remember me sharing this story, but it bears repeating.  I have often kidded that when I took over my grandmother’s care, she had three to six months to live, and then she went on to live ten more years.  Part of the story is that along the way, she and I had significant discussions about what her end of life decisions were.

It is difficult to talk about the end of life.  Years ago, I read an article explaining that it is twice as difficult for a couple to talk with their parents about end of life as it was for that same couple to talk with their children about sex education.

I am writing this article now because I had a client come in to see me with her daughters.  They are a lovely family.  The daughters care very deeply about their mom.  She has dementia, and it is heartbreaking to her children.  Actually, Mom is pretty happy; it is just her daughters that are sad.

There is going to come a point when Mom can no longer express her wishes.  It is time to have a discussion with her about end of life.  There are no right or wrong answers, but there needs to be a discussion.

Let me share with you my discussion with my wife and my three sons.  I have told them that if I develop dementia, and if I get to the point where I generally do not recognize them or others, or if I get to a point where I can no longer communicate, not even with the blinking of my eye, or if I am in some type of persistent vegetative state, or if I have a terminal illness, then there are certain things I do not want to happen.  I do not want surgeries.  I do not want CPR.  I do not want blood transfusions.  I do not want artificial feeding (through a tube or otherwise).

I have gone further.  My family knows how important it is for me to be active.  If I can no longer be active, and if any of those conditions above exist, and if I get sick from something, I want nature to take its course without the interruption of any medical procedure.  If I have a chance to die, then I want to seize that opportunity.

I have even gone on to state that I want complete pain relief.  Even if the medication could lead to hastening my death, that is what I want.  I do not want to suffer.  I do not want to be locked in my body.

More especially, when that time comes, I do not want my family to feel guilty.  In fact, I want my family to feel like they are fulfilling my wishes.

This is not the right thing for everyone, but it is the right thing for me.

When my grandmother was about 96, she had transitioned from assisted living to a nursing home.  She was in the nursing home for less than 60 days.  Along the way, we had already scaled back almost all services.  One day she said to me (just a few days before she passed), “Honey, I know I’m going to die, and I am okay with that.  I just need for you to be okay with that.”

I have used that phrase multiple times in other settings, but I want you to know it is one of the best gifts that my grandmother ever gave to me.

As difficult as it is, I really urge our families to talk about end of life and know what their loved ones wishes are.

Randy Clinkscales of Clinkscales Elder Law Practice, PA, Hays, Kansas, is an elder care attorney, practicing in western Kansas. To contact him, please send an email to [email protected]. Disclaimer: The information in the column is for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Each case is different and outcomes depend on the fact of each case and the then applicable law. For specific questions, you should contact a qualified attorney.

Pottawatomie County farmer/stockman Glenn Brunkow entered the Capital Plaza Hotel in Topeka with his hair askew and his demeanor a bit dampened. In less than 10 minutes Brunkow was slated to speak on international trade and its impact on Kansas.

He quickly walked into the Sunflower Ballroom, shrugged off his hectic morning on the farm and shifted into the advocacy-for-agriculture role. His eyes twinkled, he flashed his trademark Brunkow grin and headed for the stage to greet the other members of the Kansas Farm Bureau-sponsored panel on trade.

In his opening statement to the more than 80 Kansas Press Association (KPA) members gathered for their annual meeting, Brunkow told them, “Trade is the lifeblood of Kansas farmers and ranchers. Without trade, we’re unable to market nearly half of the crops and livestock we produce.”

Speaking of ag production, Brunkow farms with his father north of Wamego. The family operation consists of soybeans, corn, wheat, hay, a cow herd and a small flock of sheep.

The fifth-generation farmer/stockman crawled out of bed early that Friday morning, Feb. 9, before heading to the KPA meeting in Topeka. Brunkow had livestock to feed and his sheep were lambing. One of the ewes struggled to give birth and the stockman called his veterinarian to help.

As soon as the vet arrived, Brunkow laid out the situation facing the momma ewe. Committed to speaking on the trade panel, Brunkow left the vet with his father and daughter to help and headed east.

Talk about commitment…

Brunkow firmly believes his farm organization is the most powerful voice for Kansas agriculture whether farmers and ranchers are lobbying elected officials in Topeka or Washington D.C., educating fourth graders on his family farm or addressing newspaper editors across Kansas about the importance of trade.

And while Brunkow headed to the KPA meeting, the situation back west on his farm had deteriorated. He learned the news in a phone call from his daughter a few minutes before he arrived in Topeka.

Fortunately, the first lamb out of the ewe lived. However, the second was lodged sideways and died during the birthing process. A third lamb died as well.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Brunkow says. “I knew we were in trouble, but I never imagined there’d be three lambs. So, I never even thought about the prospect of losing two babies.”

Loosing livestock of any kind represents one of the worst experiences that can occur on a farm or ranch. Like other stockmen, Brunkow looks at his stock every day he’s on his family farm.

He checks on their health, food and water. The stockman also looks to see how they’re progressing. Their condition.

“It’s an emotional attachment you have when you raise cattle, hogs, sheep, whatever you have in your operation,” Brunkow says. “These livestock live with you day in and day out. You’ve raised them from the first day they hit the ground until they’re producing calves or lambs in your herd. It’s a passion.”

And it’s constantly changing. Every day is a new day filled with challenges and successes. Still, Brunkow looks forward to these opportunities.

Like the rising sun, the Pottawatomie County stockman wakes up and looks forward to these opportunities. He’s excited about his livestock. He knows they rely on him to care for them.

They’re part of his life just like speaking on behalf of his vocation. Brunkow speaks to people about his crop and livestock operation because he’s committed to doing so.

As a spokesperson, he’s willing to do more, because it’s who he is.

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

Hello from Topeka!  This is the final week of the first “half” of the 2018 session, the two-minute warning if you will.   This is the week when bills need to be passed out of their original house of origin and then they will go to the other for further consideration.

One of the most asked questions around the dome has been who will be the new Lieutenant Governor?  Well, we learned on Tuesday evening that Tracey Mann was announced as Kansas’ 50th Lieutenant Governor at the Kansas Livestock Association Legislative Social & Dinner event at the Capitol Plaza Hotel.  Lt. Governor Mann is a fifth-generation Kansan from Quinter, Kansas, and earned a degree in Agricultural Economics from Kansas State University in 2000.  He currently serves as the managing director and principal of Newmark Grubb Zimmer, a full service real estate company headquartered in Kansas City and is a board member of the City Teen Center in Salina.  Previously he served on the boards of directors for the Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership program and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce.  Mann, his wife, Audrey and their four children live in Salina.

Over the weekend, the Kansas Republican Party Convention took place in Wichita. The highlight was the Inaugural Gubernatorial Debate late Saturday evening.  The debate panel included: Wink Hartman, Mark Hutton, Secretary of State Kris Kobach, and Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer.  Unfortunately, Governor Jeff Colyer became ill on Saturday and was unable to participate. Overall, I thought they all did well, and I am looking forward to the remaining debates before the August primary.

Some of the highlights as committees wrapped up their work for now included: The Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee heard a several bills, most notably HB 2581, which would institute harsher penalties for those who engage in “swatting.”  Swatting takes place when an individual makes a call to law enforcement, SWAT, or other authorities requesting emergency assistance, when there is no assistance needed whatsoever.  Specifically, those who make these false calls typically request assistance at an address other than their own (could be completely random as well).  Recently in Wichita, Kansas, a prank call led to the deployment of law enforcement at a residence, which ultimately led to the fatality of the home owner, who had nothing to do with the call or the individual who made that prank call.  Another instance occurred in Overland Park, Kansas, in January; however, no one was injured at that time.  The bill outlines various sentencing levels, should an injury or fatality occur, as a result of the emergency response of such false alarms and prank calls.

The House Taxation and Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee met jointly to hear about the impact of the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was signed on December 22, 2017.  The Committee heard from Kathleen Smith and Michael Austin from the Department of Revenue and Jay Langley, on behalf of the Kansas Society of CPAs.  The Department of Revenue estimates that there will be a positive fiscal impact to the State, with additional taxes paid by taxpayers: $137.8 million for FY ’19; $179.9 million for FY ’20; and $187.7 million for FY ’21.  The Department and Langley summarized the changes affecting individual and business tax provisions and the effect on taxpayer liability.  They noted that the information provided is preliminary and for informational purposes.  According to Chairman Steven Johnson, “This (briefing) identifies the magnitude of issues we have to review regarding the tax changes. There is no free money.  We need to confirm if we wish to have these changes (which is effectively a tax increase) continue into effect on our taxpayers.”

There will be a series or townhall meetings coming on Friday, check out kenforkansas.com for full details. Please feel free to reach out with concerns and questions, I will do my best to respond it a timely manner. My phone number is (785) 296-7463 and email is: [email protected], my cell number is (785) 302-8416.   You can also check out kenforkansas.com.

It is my honor to be your representative.