SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Sedgwick County are investigating a report of a stolen vehicle and need help locating a stolen El Camino.
The vehicle was taken from a hotel in the 6800 block of west Kellogg in Wichita on Sunday night or early Monday.
If you see this vehicle please call 911 immediately.
If you have any further information on the case please call detectives at 268-4407 or Crime Stoppers at 267-2111.
ALFALFA COUNTY, CO – An earthquake just after 6:30p.m. on Monday was centered in northwest Oklahoma, four miles northeast of Cherokee and just over 100 miles southwest of Wichita.
It measured a magnitude 3.7, according to the U.S. Geological Survey and was felt in much of southern of Kansas.
There are no injuries or damage reported.
In addition, three other quakes measuring 3.2 in Logan County, Oklahoma and quakes measuring 2.7 and 2.8 in Pawnee County were recorded on Monday.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas growers made some progress this past week planting winter wheat and harvesting corn.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday that wheat planting is 20 percent done in Kansas, the same as last year at this time. About 3 percent has emerged.
Farmers in the state have also harvested about 29 percent of their corn and 10 percent of their sorghum crops. Just 2 percent of the soybeans have been cut.
LOUISVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Polo Custom Products is expending its Winston County factory, investing $150,000 with plans to hire 30 people.
The Topeka, Kansas-based company makes things like harnesses and bags for medical, firefighting, military and industrial uses.
Mississippi Development Authority spokesman Jeff Rent said Monday the state will give Polo $68,000 to help pay for a new heating and air conditioning system. Louisville and Winston County own the building. The city of Louisville is also providing assistance, but Rent couldn’t immediately say what that is.
Polo Custom Products is pleased to help the local job market in Louisville. https://t.co/0CxuXRh1P3
MERIDEN, Kan. (AP) — Authorities investigating the year-old disappearance of a 70-year-old northeast Kansas woman are seeking the public’s help.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Joan Rebar was last on Sept. 26, 2015, at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Meriden. About 3.5 hours after Rebar was last seen, her phone transmitted its last ping, indicating it was south of Meriden. Her banking activity also ceased.
Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse describes the case as “disturbing” and “eerie.” He says that because Rebar’s disappearance was under “very questionable circumstances,” it is being investigated as a homicide.
A multi-jurisdictional task force has been involved in the search. The task force interviewed more than 100 people and searches were carried out on foot, horseback and ATV. Sonar and drone technology also was used.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A state agency says Larned State Hospital officials weren’t aware the man hired as the hospital’s chief financial officer in 2015 was the focus of an internal federal investigation.
David Fender joined the hospital in 2015, shortly after serving a year as chief financial officer for the Government National Mortgage Association.
Kansas announced Fender’s departure in August when it launched a hospital audit.
A federal inspector general’s report provided to The Wichita Eagle shows an investigation found Fender potentially committed criminal violations by using his public office for private gain and making false statements to the government. He wasn’t charged.
A state agency spokeswoman says Larned didn’t know about the federal investigation when Fender was hired. Fender didn’t return calls from the Eagle or The Associated Press.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Army says it has fired the commander of Fort Riley and is continuing an investigation opened last week at the Kansas base. No details have been provided.
Army spokesman Col. Patrick R. Seiber says that Maj. Gen. Wayne Grigsby was relieved of command of the 1st Infantry Division due to loss of confidence in his ability to lead. Grigsby was initially suspended on Friday. Army officials have declined to disclose the nature of the investigation.
Seiber says a replacement will be named in the coming days.
About 17,000 troops are stationed at Fort Riley. Grigsby assumed command of the base in August 2015, after 31 years of military service that included a stint as commander of the Combined Joint Task Force in East Africa.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Stockholders have approved the $12.2 billion sale of Topeka-based electric company Westar Energy to Missouri-based Great Plains Energy.
Both companies reported Monday that participating shareholders overwhelmingly approved the deal. Westar had a special meeting in Topeka and Great Plains had one in Kansas City, Missouri, to finish the voting.
Each firm said the holders of more than 60 percent of their shares participated, and the owners of 95 percent or more of that stock approved the sale.
Federal and state regulators also must sign off. The companies hope to complete the sale next spring.
The companies have said combining the two would create efficiencies and keep consumers’ rates in check. Westar stockholders would receive $51 in cash and $9 in Great Plains stock for each share.
Photo by KHI News Service File Tim DeWeese, executive director of the Johnson County Mental Health Center, says contract impasses between the state and training providers could force community mental health centers to find their own training. And he says that change could lead to lower-quality care
By MEGAN HART
Contract impasses between the state and training providers could force community mental health centers to find their own training — which one mental health center leader said would reduce the quality of care.
The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services contract with the Training and Technology Team, or T3, at Wichita State University expires in October. T3 does online and event training, mostly geared toward providers of children’s mental health services. It also provides technical support for community mental health centers in Kansas.
Some other contracts are pending almost three months into the fiscal year. Those still negotiating with KDADS include Wichita State’s Community Engagement Institute, which offers peer support specialist training, and the community mental health centers themselves, which are operating under an extension through December.
Tim DeWeese, executive director of Johnson County Mental Health Center, said the ongoing uncertainty could create problems for employees like peer support specialists, who require certification. Medicaid will only reimburse community mental health centers for services provided by employees who have completed their training within six months of being hired.
“It’s a pretty big deal, given that peer supporters are supposed to be specifically certified,” he said. “I think, again, it’s just one more example of the state dismantling the mental health system.”
The current contractors had offered the training for a long time, DeWeese said, and it isn’t clear who else could provide the same services. He also wasn’t sure what it might cost for Johnson County Mental Health Center to do its own training.
“It essentially places the burden on us,” he said. “It’s another unfunded mandate.”
It also isn’t clear how the state would ensure that community mental health center employees receive proper training, DeWeese said.
“It really minimizes the importance of evidence-based practices in the state,” he said.
Brad Ridley, KDADS commissioner for finance and information services, said the state already has some training on a website, KS Train, and is in the process of switching its other online training programs to the same site.
“It was being more consistent and efficient from a statewide IT perspective,” he said.
State budgets have been tight for more than a year, following large income tax cuts approved in 2012.
Similar contract concerns
The contract for T3, the Wichita State team that provides training with children’s issues, will end in October after 18 years, said Yasir Muneer, executive director of T3. The system allowed community mental health centers to track how much of the required training their employees had completed and provided information to KDADS and community mental health centers, he said.
Stacy Rucker, state training coordinator for T3, said KDADS officials told her that using Medicaid for training wasn’t allowable under federal rules.
Similar concerns came up in the state’s negotiations with the University of Kansas this year. The KU Center for Mental Health Research lost its contract to ensure the state’s community mental health centers are implementing evidence-based practices for treating mental health problems correctly. Contract talks later restarted.
That disagreement centered on whether KU could use Medicaid funds to pay graduate research assistants’ tuition. The center’s director said KDADS made a last-minute offer for an extension that would have required him to lay off half his staff.
Federal rules do allow Medicaid administrative funds to be used for certain types of training, but the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services didn’t respond to a request to clarify if the Kansas programs were acceptable uses.
Some training delayed
Training sessions for people recovering from mental illnesses who want to help their peers have been pushed back while the state hammers out contract questions with the Community Engagement Institute at Wichita State.
Peer support specialists are people who are recovering from their own mental illnesses and have received certification to help others begin recovery, said Randy Johnson, director of the institute’s Center for Behavioral Health Initiatives. They typically work for community mental health centers or consumer-run organizations and can bill Medicaid for specific services.
The institute and KDADS didn’t finish negotiations before the new fiscal year started in July, so they agreed to an extension through Aug. 31, said Scott Wituk, the institute’s executive director. That extension has ended, but he said they still are working on negotiations.
“We want to be responsive to the needs of KDADS and its partners,” he said.
It isn’t unusual for negotiations to run over, Wituk said, but the Center for Behavioral Health Initiatives has canceled or postponed some training sessions until a new contract is finished.
Peer specialists learn how to use their own experiences to connect with clients with mental illnesses, Johnson said. While they aren’t meant to replace mental health providers, clients can benefit from seeing both, he said.
“Working together is where we see the most forward movement” in people’s conditions, he said. “People respond differently to different things.”
Megan Hart is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team. You can reach her on Twitter @meganhartMC
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to show why he shouldn’t be held in contempt for failing to comply with an injunction requiring him to put on voter rolls people who registered at motor vehicle offices without providing citizenship documents.
U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson on Monday ordered Kobach to appear in her courtroom Friday and to file a written response by Thursday.
Kobach says the state “is in full compliance with the district court’s order.”
The American Civil Liberties Union contends Kobach has not registered these voters in the official poll books as Robinson ordered in May. The ACLU argues Kobach also issued a misleading voter notice.
These voters aren’t given a regular ballot and must use a provisional one, which raises secrecy concerns.
SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a home invasion robbery.
Salina Police are searching for two men accused of robbing another man at his west Salina home Friday evening.
Just before 8:30 p.m. on Friday, a man in his 30’s, answered a knock at the door of his home in the 300 block of South College Street, according to Police Captain Chris Trocheck.
The man allowed the suspects to enter his home, and once inside, they pistol whipped and robbed him.
Trocheck said the suspects took $3,000 in cash and a Samung cellular phone valued at $200 from the residence.
Police are searching for two known suspects in the case.
No arrests had been made.
The victim suffered abrasions to his head and face.
LEAVENWORTH COUNTY – A Kansas woman died in an accident just before 5:30 p.m. on Monday in Leavenworth County.
