BUTLER COUNTY – One person died and two people from McPherson were injured in an accident just before 4 p.m. on Sunday in Butler County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1998 Ford Crown Victoria driven by James Edward Birch, 59, Stillwater, OK., was southbound on U.S. 77 fourteen miles north of El Dorado.

The driver lost control of the vehicle. It entered the west gravel shoulder. The driver over corrected. The Ford entered the northbound lane and collided with a 2007 Chevy Impala driven by Cheryl Brandsted, 68, McPherson.

Birch was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Carlson and Kirby Morris Funeral Home

Brandsted and a passenger John Brandsted, 71, McPherson, were transported to St. Francis in Wichita.

All three were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The fight over a Colorado fugitive’s medical bills is headed for a trial in Kansas.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the latest development happened Friday. That’s when the Kansas Court of Appeal found that it was wrong to rule without a trial that Kansas’ Shawnee County, not Topeka, is responsible for $40,000 in medical bills for Jesse Dimmick.

Dimmick was fleeing from police in a stolen minivan in 2009 when Kansas officers used stop sticks to deflate the tires. He then forced his way into a nearby home, where a couple befriended him. They escaped when he fell asleep.

Dimmick was shot and wounded during his arrest.

Dimmick has been convicted in Kansas of kidnapping and in Colorado of a deadly stabbing that led up to the chase.

AUGUSTA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say two people have been wounded at a high school graduation ceremony in southern Kansas after a man with a concealed weapon permit adjusted a sock he had stuffed a pistol into.

Augusta Police Chief Tyler Brewer said Sunday afternoon that the shooting was accidental and described it as a “knucklehead situation.” The bullet went through the man’s foot and traveled about another 50 feet before striking a woman in her calf. The woman has been released from a Wichita hospital, while the man has been admitted with an injury that’s not life-threatening.

Brewer says the Augusta High School commencement continued after the shooting, with most people unaware of what happened. Brewer says he plans to present the case to prosecutors because it’s illegal to carry a firearm on school grounds.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Mental health advocates are raising concerns about a bill passed by Kansas lawmakers that would require doctors to try cheaper drugs before more expensive ones for Medicaid recipients.

The process, called step therapy, is common in many private and public health insurance plans. It was key to resolving budget issues because it would reduce the state’s cost of providing health care for poor residents by nearly $11 million a year. Gov. Sam Brownback is expected to sign the bill Monday.

Mental health advocates asked that drugs used to treat mental illnesses be exempt because prescribing the wrong drug would have severe consequences. Lawmakers who supported the bill say adequate safeguards are in place and that mental health advocates want an unfair exemption from a common practice that many insured patients face.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police say officers have shot and wounded a man in Kansas City, Kansas, after he pointed a shotgun at the officers.

Police said in a news release that the shooting happened early Sunday when a man called about a disturbance and told officers his brother was breaking things inside a home.

The release says officers talked to the man, but when the officers left the house, the man came to the front door with a gun. Police say the suspect, who is white, then went back inside before returning to the front door and pointing the weapon. The release says that’s when the officers fired, striking the man in the leg.

Police say the suspect was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. None of the officers were hurt.

KANSAS CITY – Two people were charged Wednesday with using stolen identities to sign phone service contracts qualifying them to buy iPhones at a deep discount, Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.

Ashley K. Lavallee, 29, Candia, N.H., and Jay Leon, 22, Englewood, N.J., were charged in separate indictments with one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

One indictment alleges Lavallee used a stolen identity to sign up for phone service at an AT&T store in Overland Park, Kan. The other indictment alleges Leon used a stolen identity to sign up for phone service at a Best Buy in Overland Park.

If convicted, each of them faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the wire fraud count, and two years consecutive to other counts and a fine up to $250,000 on the aggravated identity theft charge. The U.S. Secret Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley is prosecuting.

By Jessica Larson

KU Statehouse Wire Service

Kansas teachers aren’t in it for the money.

“I went to the School of Ed and I chose to be a teacher – not for the money. If I wanted to be a teacher for the money, I would have dropped a long time ago,” said Katie Higgins, a recent School of Education graduate from the University of Kansas.

It’s also what Ann Bruemmer has observed during her 38 years in public schools. She was a teacher before becoming a principal at Hugoton Elementary School, south of Dodge City, in 1995.

“Teachers probably have the only profession that requires many degrees, without getting the respect that professions like doctors, nurses and lawyers get,” she said.

Teachers have to be dedicated to teach in Kansas today because the fiscal incentive simply doesn’t exist, Bruemmer said. The National Center for Education Statistics reports the average teacher’s salary in the United States was more than $56,000 in 2013. The average teacher’s salary in Kansas for the same year was nearly $9,000 less at approximately $47,000.

Kelly Thomas, the associate dean of the School of Education at KU, said the state’s budget problems have left new teachers with additional hard dilemmas. Earlier this month, the legislature voted to delay $99 million in payments to the state’s pension fund for public employees, including teachers, until 2018. The reason for the delay is the state’s budget problems, and Gov. Sam Brownback will have to decide whether to approve the legislature’s recommendations.

Thomas said new teachers are likely to question whether they would like to stay in the state. In the past, this might have not been something they would have considered.

“The press surrounding the budget casts a bit of doubt in the minds of our new graduates on whether they would like to remain here in Kansas, particularly when there are opportunities around the country,” she said.

KU’s School of Education has historically seen around 85 percent of graduates remain in the Kansas to teach. In 2015 the percentage noticeably lowered, Thomas said.

William Hammond, Dodge City’s executive director of operations, said his district is suffering from a shortage of teachers wanting to work in Kansas. The district has had to increase class sizes in primary education due to this shortage.

“We have had a hard time just getting teachers. This year we had five elementary positions go unfilled just because we couldn’t find the teachers. They’re just not out there today,” Hammond said.

Thomas and the school attribute this shortage to a few possibilities, including how new KU grads weigh the stability of available retirement plans. KU’s School of Education has seen a large shift in grads accepting positions in Missouri, instead of Kansas.

“Missouri has a really strong retirement system for their teachers, and Kansas has historically, too. But, there has been some talk about different [budget solutions] that might effect the retirement system for educators in Kansas,” Thomas said. “This could make new teachers nervous.”

Bruemmer said if the education crisis isn’t solved soon, staff will have to be cut and class sizes will increase. Teachers’ salaries could also be compromised. These possible outcomes are unfavorable to teachers, especially those new to the field.

“As a first grade teacher, I make $29,000 a year,” Higgins said, pointing out how she felt her salary was very close to the poverty line in America. The U.S. Office of Budget Management has defined the poverty line as annual income of $24,230 for a family of four.

Bruemmer said legislators coming to schools and learning about the issues that are specifically impacting students and teachers would help.

“The reality is, [legislators] are not going to do it. They’re busy, they have other things to do besides dealing with education. Until we figure out how to fund education, we’re going to continue to struggle,” she said.

Thomas said the KU School of Education is watching the budget situation closely, and in the meantime is encouraging its students to not become discouraged with Kansas public education.

“We are encouraging our students to remember why they chose the profession and to focus on becoming new teachers,” Thomas said.

Edited by Leah Sitz

COWLEY COUNTY – A Kansas man died in an accident just before 10p.m. on Saturday in Cowley County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1997 Honda motorcycle driven by Todd C Gritzmaker, 48, Winfield, was north bound on Kansas 15 two miles north of Dexter.

The motorcycle struck a black cow that was standing in the roadway.

The driver lost control of the motorcycle. It entered the west ditch.

The passenger Cassandra J. Gritzmaker, 48, Winfield, was ejected and the driver stayed on the bike until it came to rest in the ditch.

Todd was transported to William Newton Memorial Hospital where he died.

Cassandra was transported to Wesley Medical Center.
They were not wearing helmets, according to the KHP.

By ANDY MARSO

After another legislative session with no action on Medicaid expansion, advocates in Kansas are turning their attention to the upcoming state elections and urging voters to become more vocal on the issue.

A Monday rally in a Statehouse hearing room drew a standing-room-only crowd. It was better-attended than other similar rallies in the four years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states have discretion over whether they expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, commonly called “Obamacare.”

David Jordan, executive director of Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, urged those in attendance to tell legislators they want Kansas to join the 31 states that have expanded access to the public health insurance program.

“Today the hard work starts,” Jordan said. “We need to work collectively in every single legislative district to make sure legislators are hearing the concerns that were brought forth today.”

All of the seats in the Kansas House and Senate are subject to this year’s primary election in August and general election in November.

The Alliance for a Healthy Kansas was formed this year to coordinate an expansion push that so far has been splintered among several interest groups. The state’s hospitals, which have lost millions in federal dollars because of the decision not to expand Medicaid, previously led the lobbying effort.

Jordan said his coalition plans to activate a grassroots push by focusing not only on the economic hit to hospitals but also on the 150,000 Kansans estimated to be eligible for Medicaid coverage under expansion.

As a nonprofit, the alliance cannot endorse candidates. But Jordan said the group is likely to fund letter-writing campaigns and other efforts to draw attention to Medicaid expansion as an issue for voters and candidates.

“I’m sure we will have mailers,” Jordan said.

Medicaid in Kansas is a privatized program called KanCare administered by three private insurance companies. It’s currently available only to pregnant women, children and people with disabilities who meet certain income limits.

Expansion under the ACA would extend access to Kansans who make less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level, which is annual income of $16,242 for an individual and $33,465 for a family of four.

Robert Schremmer, a Catholic priest and vicar general of the Dodge City Diocese, said all major religions make care for the poor one of their main tenets.

He used the parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate his support for expansion at Monday’s rally.

“Expanding KanCare shows compassion to vulnerable people,” Schremmer said.

Marcillene Dover, a Wichita State University student who has told legislators about her struggle to get health care coverage to treat her multiple sclerosis, sat in the front row as Schremmer made his remarks.

Two prominent members of Topeka’s medical community said during the rally that expanding Medicaid would improve health outcomes by encouraging Kansans to seek preventive care before their health problems become crises.

Alice Weingartner, executive director of the Shawnee County Health Center, said 42 percent of the Kansans served by safety net clinics like hers have no insurance.

Eric Voth, vice president of primary care at Stormont Vail Health, said Kansans without health coverage often turn to emergency rooms for routine medical care. That’s costly, he said, and causes long ER waits that compromise the safety of patients with medical emergencies.

Republican leaders who oppose Medicaid expansion have consistently said they’re concerned about the cost. States eventually will shoulder 10 percent of the bill for expansion, with the federal government picking up the rest of the tab.

But Voth noted that Kansas has turned down more than $1 billion for refusing the first three years of expansion, which are fully federally funded.

He questioned whether legislators would consider turning away federal dollars in similar amounts for things like military bases and highways.

Voth said the decision in Kansas has been more about the politics of a law spearheaded by a Democratic president than about fiscal conservatism.

“I think it’s really critical that we cast off this great hysteria of ‘Obamacare,’” he said to loud applause. “There are so many elements of health care that have nothing to do with Obamacare that it’s time that we embrace the things that will move us forward.”

Andy Marso is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team. You can reach him on Twitter @andymarso

GEARY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Geary County are investigating two suspects on drug charges.

On Wednesday, officers with he Junction City -Geary County Drug Operations Group executed a search warrant at 7130 Rockwood Drive in Milford following a two-week long investigation into the alleged distribution of marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine and prescription pills, according to a media release.

Authorities reported that Christopher Alton Obregon, 28, and Katelin M. Silovsky, 20, both of Milford were arrested on multiple drug related allegations.

Obregon he was arrested on 15 allegations ranging from two counts Sale of Marijuana to one each of Sale of Cocaine, Sale of Methamphetamine, and Sale of Controlled Substances.
Silovsky was arrested on nine counts ranging from one count each of Sale of Marijuana to Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana.

Bond for Obregon was set at $500,000 and for Silovsky at $50,000.

The Drug Operations Group seized approximately 2.5 pounds of marijuana, 10 grams of cocaine, 57 ecstasy pills, 1.8 grams of

psilocybin mushrooms, 148 pills and 16 ( 2ml. ) bottles of anabolic steroids, 2 grams of methamphetamine, 3 dosage units of LSD, hundreds of various prescription narcotic pills, U.S. currency, 3 handguns, and a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado.

The Drug Operations Group is a joint task force composed of members of the Junction City Police Department, Geary County Sheriff’s Department, and Grandview Plaza Police Department.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A 39-year-old Kansas City, Kansas, detective fatally shot this week has been remembered by friends and colleagues as a hero.

Detective Brad Lancaster died Monday after he was shot when he responded to a call.

Hundreds attended Lancaster’s Saturday funeral service, which included remarks by Mayor Mark Holland and Police Chief Terry Zeigler, who said Lancaster was a hero and loving father who led a life of service. Tributes also included a rendition of “Amazing Grace” sung by an officer who had tears streaming down his face.

Lancaster was a U.S. Air Force veteran and leaves a wife and two daughters.

Curtis Ayers, of Tonganoxie, is charged with capital murder in Lancaster’s death. Ayers was taken into custody after he was shot and wounded by authorities in Kansas City, Missouri.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas Senate is organizing a committee to research and propose a policy to uphold freedom of speech at the school.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports the committee, which was recently approved, will form this summer and work through the next academic year.

The committee was proposed by outgoing University Senate President Mike Williams, an associate professor of journalism. He says those on campus sometimes face challenges in expressing themselves freely, and the free exchange of ideas is the bedrock of academic freedom.

The university is facing several difficult subjects, such as racial discrimination and a new law that will allow guns on campus beginning next year.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Republicans are gathering for a statewide meeting to pick the bulk of the state’s delegates to the GOP National Convention with long-time activists coming to terms with having Donald Trump as the presumptive presidential nominee.

The GOP’s State Committee was meeting Saturday to name 25 of 40 convention delegates. Most delegates are allocated to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who won a decisive victory over Trump in the state’s March caucuses.

Please tune in to @FoxNewsSunday to hear my interview with Chris Wallace about #2016 and @realDonaldTrump. pic.twitter.com/HDwzI2KfA4

— Cong. Tim Huelskamp (@CongHuelskamp) May 13, 2016

 

 

Twelve delegates were chosen in congressional district meetings and three are party leaders who automatically are Cruz delegates.

Cruz will have 24 of the state’s delegates to nine for Trump. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has six delegates and Ohio Gov. John Kasich has one.

State party rules bind the delegates to the candidates until the candidates formally release them.