WASHINGTON — Following the recent announcement that U.S. Special Forces captured an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) leader while carrying out Operation Inherent Resolve, U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) joined Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) and 13 other senators today in introducing a resolution to detain ISIL fighters at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Cosponsors of the resolution include Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS), Cory Gardner (R-CO),Tom Cotton (R-AR), Marco Rubio (R-FL),Mark Kirk (R-IL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), John Boozman (R-AR), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Tim Scott (R-SC) and David Vitter (R-LA).

As the United States continues to conduct combat operations against ISIL, U.S. forces are likely to continue capturing terrorists. Guantanamo Bay was established to house individuals who engaged in, aided, abetted or conspired to commit, acts of international terrorism and should be utilized as such as our nation faces a continued threat of terrorism.

Roberts also introduced a resolution earlier this week to put senators on the record opposing President Obama’s plan to close Guantanamo and transfer the detainees to a facility on the U.S. mainland.

“America faces unknown threats as we confront the spread of ISIS or ISIL, the growing number of terrorist attacks and as we deal with the president’s failed foreign policy decisions,” Senator Roberts stated. “Guantanamo Bay is the safest and most suitable facility to house future detainees. The security and consequences of moving these and future terrorists and combatants to the mainland is unknown and is simply not worth the risk to American communities.”

“Last week when I was at Guantanamo Bay I saw plenty of vacant cells,” Senator Daines stated. “Terrorists captured by U.S. forces belong in Guantanamo, a location that has played a pivotal role for collecting intelligence from detainees and keeping terrorists off the battlefield in the global war on terror. These dangerous individuals do not belong on U.S. soil, or in the custody of a nation that may allow them to return to the battlefield as we have seen before. We must ensure they don’t continue to spread radical Islam throughout the world, and Guantanamo Bay serves an integral purpose for just that.”

“My recent visit to Guantanamo Bay reaffirmed my belief that it is the best place to detain individuals who wish to do our nation harm,” Senator Moran stated. “The detention facility is a place to counter the serious national security threats we face across the globe. Captured militants affiliated with ISIL and other terrorist groups are dangerous and should be held at Guantanamo Bay, not in Kansas or anywhere else in the United States.”

“My recent trip to Guantanamo Bay not only confirmed that the detainees should remain there, but also that this facility is tailor-made for enemy combatants,” Senator Gardner stated. “At a time when the Obama Administration lacks a coherent strategy to defeat ISIL, it’s more important now than ever that we use all the tools at our disposal to fight terrorism. Instead of closing Guantanamo Bay, the Administration should transfer detained ISIL fighters to the facility. This resolution paves the way to do just that, while preventing grants of new rights to terrorists.”

“Guantanamo Bay is a first-rate detention facility that’s kept terrorists off the battlefield, provided valuable intelligence, and made America safer,” Senator Cotton stated. “President Obama needs to recognize this and begin sending dangerous Islamic State terrorists to Gitmo. Just yesterday, the New York Times reported that an Islamic State terrorist with expertise in chemical weapons was in the custody of U.S. Special Forces. That terrorist should be sent immediately to Guantanamo Bay for detention and interrogation, and not read his Miranda rights or turned over to another nation. Our priority should be stopping terrorists, not providing them with constitutional rights that rightfully belong to the American people they are trying to kill.”

“There should be no confusion in the minds of our enemies that, if captured, they will be sent to the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay to be interrogated,” Senator Rubio stated.“More than seven years in, the Obama administration still does not have a coherent detention policy that will give our military and intelligence community the best opportunity to extract valuable intelligence to help defeat ISIS, Al Qaeda and other terrorist networks.  This White House would rather release terrorists from Guantanamo Bay and hope for the best.  We know recidivism rates are rising as released terrorists return to the fight. This resolution makes it clear what our policy should be.”

“With tens of thousands of fighters and the capability to make false passports for infiltrating refugee flows into Europe and the United States, ISIS poses a clear danger to American citizens,” Senator Kirk stated. “No other facility can house terrorists as securely as Guantanamo, which is where we should be sending ISIS terrorists when they are captured by our brave servicemen and servicewomen in the field.”

“Jihadists who seek to kill Americans should not be brought to American soil. The security of our people, not political expediency, should guide decisions regarding prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay,” Senator Cruz stated. “Ensuring that our national security interests are being protected is only prudent, and Congress should step up and exercise its constitutional authority and detain ISIS fighters at Guantanamo Bay.”

“For years, the Obama administration’s single-minded focus on fulfilling a campaign promise to close Guantanamo has hindered the fight against our terrorist enemies,” Senator Hatch stated. “Our facilities at Guantanamo offer a secure, lawful, and humane option for detaining terrorists, and the administration’s misguided ideological agenda should not foreclose its continued use. As we continue combat operations against the Islamic State, the Senate should again make it clear that Guantanamo and other facilities abroad offer the best alternatives for holding terrorists and collecting vital intelligence from them.”

“Guantanamo Bay, and the servicemembers at the detention facility, serve an important mission to protect our nation from some of the world’s most dangerous terrorists,” Senator Ernst stated. “We should detain ISIS terrorists at Guantanamo as we cannot afford to release them into Iraqi custody and risk that these terrorists will end up right back on the battlefield. At this time of growing threats, we must work to preserve our operations at this detention facility which is central to our national security interests.”

“Our number one priority should be keeping our homeland safe and secure from the threat of radical terrorists, including those from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant,” Senator Isakson stated.“Unfortunately, the president appears more focused on releasing terrorists to fulfill his political promise to close Guantanamo Bay prison than on going after the very terrorists he should be sending there. We must continue to utilize this critical detention facility in the fight against global terrorism. We must keep those who wish to do us harm off the battlefield and, especially off of American soil.”

“Closing Gitmo and transferring detainees to American soil creates needless national security risks and poses unnecessary threats to American citizens,” Senator Boozman stated. “The state-of-the-art facility is more than serving its purpose for detaining the worst of the worst, obtaining valuable intelligence from them and keeping these terrorists who are bent on destroying America from returning to the battlefield. As the threat posed by ISIL grows, Gitmo remains the only option to house these terrorists. Any facility on U.S. soil is not an option. It never was with al-Qaeda terrorists, nor can it be with ISIL terrorists. We are committed to ensuring that President Obama understands this and is prevented from closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.”

“President Obama’s default foreign policy strategy has been to kill off high-ranking ISIL fighters with drones instead of attempting to detain them to glean valuable intelligence information,” Senator Inhofe stated. “This has weakened our nation’s ability to more quickly make advancements in the Middle East. Guantanamo Bay has served a purpose in the fight against extreme terrorism, and we should be sending ISIL fighters there so that we can garner better knowledge on their tactics and plans that would impact our national security as well as our allies.”

“Instead of trying to empty out Guantanamo and transfer dangerous terrorists to domestic soil in order to fulfill a campaign promise, the President should instead be focused on detaining captured ISIS fighters and other terrorists there,” Senator Scott stated. “I visited Guantanamo late last year and met the dedicated Marines who are guarding the terrorists currently held there, and can say unequivocally this is the best place on the planet for us to hold those captured overseas who wish to do us harm. The President’s refusal to do so puts our national security at risk, plain and simple.”

“Under no circumstance should the United States allow dangerous terrorists on our homeland, leaving the military prison at Guantanamo Bay as our very best – and frankly, our only – option to detain terrorists,” Senator Vitter stated. “During the course of its existence, Guantanamo has played a major role in securing the safety of American families,” Senator Vitter said. “Closing Guantanamo Bay endangers our security, and President Obama is kidding himself if he thinks otherwise.”

Read the full text of the resolution below or download it here.

By MEGAN HART

No one speaking Tuesday to the Senate Ways and Means Committee argued the Legislature could be trusted to direct funds to their intended purpose.

The only question was what arrangement would make it least likely that lawmakers would use funds for children’s programs, highways and other designated purpose instead to plug holes in the state general fund budget. The focus of Tuesday’s hearing was Senate Bill 463, which would abolish the Kansas Endowment for Youth and the Children’s Initiatives Fund and transfer the money to the state general fund.

All future revenue from the state’s master settlement agreement with the nation’s tobacco companies would go to the general fund rather than the Kansas Endowment for Youth and the Children’s Initiatives Fund.

The two funds allocate money to programs focusing on child health and well-being.

Sen. Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican and chair of the committee, said the state general fund receives more public scrutiny than pots of state money, and that the increased attention would reduce the likelihood the Legislature would divert funds from their original purpose.

“Transparency is the intention,” he said.

But Erick Vaughn, executive director of the Kansas Head Start Association, said recent fund sweeps from children’s programs have shown that legislators are willing to divert that money to balance the budget.

“The tendency of the Legislature is to take care of today’s demands rather than planning for the future with early investment,” he said. Masterson referred to the separate funds as a “safety blanket” for advocates and charged they were trying to avoid public scrutiny.

“You’re trying to protect things from the representatives of the people,” he said. Sen. Laura Kelly, a Topeka Democrat, agreed with Vaughn that moving all of the programs into the general fund would make it easier for the Legislature to avoid scrutiny if it diverted money from children’s programs.

“We won’t sweep it anymore, we just won’t appropriate it,” she said. “There’s no doubt that’s why we’re doing this.”

‘End up with nothing’ 

If the bill passed, the Kansas Children’s Cabinet could advise Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration on how to spend up to $50 million on children’s programs.

The Legislature would have to approve any recommended spending. Shannon Cotsoradis, executive director of Kansas Action for Children, said the bill established a maximum amount to spend on children’s programs but didn’t include a minimum.

She also referenced unconfirmed reports that the state could sell its interest in the tobacco master settlement for an upfront payment of $400 million. “At the end of the day, children could end up with nothing,” she said.

The Children’s Cabinet estimated the change would reduce the amount it manages by $26.1 million. After the hearing,

Eileen Hawley, spokeswoman for Gov. Sam Brownback, said state officials saw a presentation about “securitization” of future tobacco settlement money a few months ago, but “there is no deal or pending legislation to sell tobacco settlement money.”

To maintain current children’s programs, the Legislature would need to replace the state matching funds for the federal Early Childhood Block Grant and for programs focusing on child abuse prevention, child care and early childhood education.

The bill also would:

• Transfer all liabilities from the various funds to the state general fund. The Legislature could, however, decide to reduce payments in the future.
• Remove language that all money credited to the Children’s Initiatives Fund “shall be used for the purposes of providing additional funding programs, projects, improvements, services and other purposes directly or indirectly beneficial” to Kansas children.
• Delete a provision that Children’s Initiatives Fund money not be used as a replacement for state general funds designated for a program in the previous year.

Closing the ‘Bank of KDOT’

SB 463 also would eliminate sales tax transfers to the state highway fund in fiscal year 2018. If the Legislature doesn’t replace that money, “it is likely that the scope of the T-WORKS Program would need to be re-examined,” the fiscal note attached to the bill said.

Budget Director Shawn Sullivan said the change would end the “shell game” of moving sales tax money from one fund to another purpose, which he blamed for recent credit downgrades. “It allows for greater prioritization if it all goes in the state general fund,” he said. “The huge benefit for us is ending this ‘Bank of KDOT’ shell game we play.”

Opponents of budget transfers have used the term “Bank of KDOT” when referencing the Brownback administration’s shifting of transportation funds for unrelated expenses due to inadequate revenues.

If the Legislature chose not to continue appropriating funds for children’s programs, it would lose some matching federal funds, according to the Kansas Department for Children and Families.

For example, if the state stopped putting $5 million into its child care program, it would lose $6.6 million in federal funds, and if it didn’t spend $2.2 million on the family preservation program, it would lose $1.5 million in federal matching money.

The bill also would abolish the Economic Development Initiatives Fund and the Expanded Lottery Act Revenues Fund in July 2017 and transfer their balances to the general fund. The bill remains in committee.

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

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — University of Kansas students have approved a request to establish a multicultural student government at the university.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the university’s student senate overwhelmingly voted in favor of a recommended student fee to create the multicultural student government after a prolonged debate Wednesday night.

A $2 fee will be added to a list of required student fees for the upcoming school year. The fee will be disseminated through the university multicultural affairs office.

Student senate finance committee chairman Tyler Childress says that the current student government’s bylaws will need to be edited to allow for the new body to have representation.

Although many senators agreed with the concept, others said they were concerned that more detailed logistics weren’t shared or established.

MANHATTAN –A crowd gathered outside of the Riley County Courthouse on Thursday afternoon to protest the Kansas Department of Children and Families and support the case of Raymond Schawb.

Literature passed out by the protesters said, “April 2015 the Schwab Family had their children kidnapped by the State of Kansas while Raymond and Amelia Schwab were packing to move to Denver.

Mr. Schwab, an honorably discharged, disabled Navy Veteran who uses medical Cannabis for PTSD and chronic pain, had his job at the Dept. of Veteran Affairs transferred to Denver where both he and his wife could have access to care and receive that care legally.

Kansas is using their children as political pawns and continues to assert unless they cease Cannabis Therapy they will lose their children forever.”

The case is currently in the Kansas Appeals Court.

Officers with the Riley County Police Department were called to the scene to make sure the crowd did not impact any ongoing court hearings.

JORDAN -The Fifth Squadron, Fourth Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division, headquartered at Fort Riley received a visit from Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday.

This unit is currently deployed in the Middle East.

The unit also has a partnership with Chapman USD 473, who received photos of the Vice President signing a USD 473 flag.

JIM SUHR, Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s attorney general says a Mexican national accused of killing one man in that state and four others in Kansas will be prosecuted first in Missouri.

Attorney General Chris Koster said Thursday that his office has been asked by Montgomery County’s district attorney to assist in Pablo Antonio Serrano-Vitorino’s prosecution on a first-degree murder count related to the killing Tuesday of 49-year-old Randy Nordman.

Serrano-Vitorino is also charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the Monday killing of his neighbor and three other men at his neighbor’s home in Kansas City, Kansas. A spokesman for that county’s prosecutor says he’s unaware of any arrangement between the two states involving Serrano-Vitorino’s prosecution.

But a Koster spokeswoman, Nanci Goder, tells The Associated Press that “we intend to keep him in the state of Missouri through the trial.”

NEWTON  —  It’s been two weeks since the shootings at the Excel plant in Hesston. The Harvey County Sheriff’s Office released some of the 911 calls Thursday.

The two calls coming from callers at the plant as it was happening. The first is from man in the front office.

(audio) Excel 911 call A.

 

Then another call came in to a different dispatcher, this time the caller was upstairs in the plant.

(audio) Excel 911 call B.

 

These are just two of many that released and some were also of the initial reports of shots fired in the city of Newton.

Because these may be traumatic for some to hear, we are providing some numbers if you need assistance.

The EMPAC number for Excel employees is – 800-234-0630.

Prairie View regular hours for citizens line is the 800-992-6292.

Prairie View’s Crisis Line for immediate mental health crisis is the
800-362-0180.

the shooter as we now know was Cedric Ford. Four people, including Ford, were killed and 14 others were injured.

Take note of how calm and professional the dispatchers were during these calls. That’s true of dispatchers everywhere who are trained to keep the emotions in check.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A scheduled hearing on a measure that would give the governor more control over school finance has been cancelled after educators across the state flooded lawmakers with emails opposing the bill.

The Wichita Eagle  reports Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, on Thursday blamed education interest groups for stirring controversy about the measure.

Senate Bill 311 would take control of school finance away from the Kansas Department of Education and give it to the Department of Education. Masterson says the bill would increase transparency of the school finance process.

Opponents such as Sen. Laura Kelly, a Topeka Democrat, call the bill an unconstitutional power grab.

Masterson said he doesn’t plan to revisit the issue this year.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas House has approved a measure that would prohibit minors from using tanning devices such as sun lamps and tanning beds.

Representatives voted 77-44 Thursday in favor of the bill, sending it to the Senate for further consideration. Salon owners could be fined up to $250 and incur disciplinary action for allowing people under 18 to use tanning devices.

Supporters of the measure say it would protect young people from ultraviolet lights that can cause the deadliest form of skin cancer, melanoma. The American Academy of Dermatology says people under 35 who use tanning devices are nearly 60 percent more likely to develop melanoma.

Critics argue the bill prevents parents from deciding what is best for their children.

BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a plea agreement that called for a five- to seven-year prison sentence for an 80-year-old man who ran a multistate marijuana-dealing operation.

Marshall Dion was scheduled to be sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court.

The hearing was canceled after Judge Denise Casper rejected the plea agreement and the joint sentencing recommendation by Dion’s lawyers and prosecutors.

Casper had postponed the hearing last month after she questioned both sides about why the proposed sentence was so much lower than the 30-yer sentence called for under federal sentencing guidelines.

Casper gave Dion’s lawyers until March 18 to inform the court whether he will withdraw his guilty plea and go to trial, or agree to be sentenced without a plea agreement. She scheduled a status conference for March 22.

———–

BOSTON (AP) — An 80-year-old man who ran a multistate marijuana-dealing operation faces sentencing in a plea agreement that calls for up to seven years in prison.

Marshall Dion has a sentencing hearing scheduled for Thursday in U.S. District Court. Judge Denise Casper postponed the hearing last month after she questioned prosecutors and Dion’s lawyers about why the proposed sentence in the plea agreement is only five to seven years when federal sentencing guidelines call for 30 years.

When police stopped Dion for speeding in Junction City in 2013, they found about $828,000 in cash in his beat-up pickup truck. A federal investigation led authorities to Massachusetts and Arizona, where they found about $15 million in cash, nearly 400 pounds of marijuana and ledgers detailing drug deals going back to 1992.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Prosecutors are seeking to try a 17-year-old boy as an adult in the stabbing death of his grandmother.

When the teen appeared in court Wednesday, a judge scheduled a hearing for March 22 to consider the issue. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the teen was 16 in December when police found his 67-year-old grandmother, Deborah Bretthauer, dead in the apartment they shared.

The teen has been charged with first-degree murder in juvenile court. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge and is in juvenile custody in Douglas County.

If Long is convicted of the juvenile first-degree murder charge, he could face up to 60 months in prison, or to the age of 22. In adult court, he could face more than 40 years in prison.

TOPEKA – Law enforcement authorities in Shawnee County are investigating a series of mail thefts in Topeka.

Police and U.S. Postal inspectors working on a tip from the Safe Streets organization recently used a search warrant in the 1100 Block of Southwest 16th Street in Topeka, according to a media release.

Officers recovered a U.S. Postal Service plastic bin with over 150 pieces of stolen mail and packages.

The mail included checks worth over $90K dollars and lifesaving medical supplies.

Marijuana, meth and a stolen license plate were also recovered.

Police arrested Nina Ortiz, 35, Topeka, on various drug and possession of stolen property charges.

An unattended child in the home was taken into protective custody.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Kansas lawmakers have hired a Kansas City-area attorney to represent the Legislature in a school funding lawsuit.

The Republican-dominated Legislature’s top seven leaders voted Thursday to hire Toby Crouse of Overland Park to help lawmakers collect evidence and build a record for the state Supreme Court.

The court ruled last month that a 2015 school funding law shorts poor school districts on their state aid. The justices threatened to shut down public schools unless lawmakers fix the problems before July.

Legislators approved spending $50,000 for an attorney, and Republicans began looking for a lawyer.

Senate President Susan Wagle of Wichita said legislative leaders needed to act quickly because lawmakers are already considering school funding proposals.

But the Legislature’s two Democratic leaders were wary of moving so quickly.