TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas congressman Tim Huelskamp says the next U.S. House speaker faces rebuilding the trust of his fellow conservatives.
Huelskamp said Friday in an interview that he hasn’t yet endorsed a candidate to replace outgoing Speaker John Boenher next month.
Huelskamp is a tea party favorite who represents the 1st District of western and central Kansas and has clashed with House GOP leaders.
Boehner late in 2012 stripped Huelskamp of seats on the House Budget and Agriculture committees. Until then, Kansas had a nearly automatic seat on the Agriculture Committee for decades.
Huelskamp remained critical of leading speaker candidate and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Huelskamp said he needs to see proof that a potential speaker will work with conservatives.
The congressman said, “They’ve got to rebuild some trust.”
HUTCHINSON– More motions were presented Friday in the case of 16-year-old Samuel Vonachen.
He is accused of two counts of first-degree murder for setting fire to the family home in September of 2013 that killed his mother and sister.
Despite a $1 million bond and strong opposition by Reno County Youth Service Director Bill Hermes, Judge Trish Rose granted the defense motion to allow Vonachen to be transferred from the Reno County Correctional facility to Youth Detention.
Rose granted the motion with out letting prosecuting attorney Steven Maxwell finish his argument and with out letting Maxwell present evidence arguing that the teen is a danger to other youth.
Rose stated that the defendant has no record of misbehaving at the center, and noted that if something does happen she could send Vonachen back to the correctional facility.
The murder trial for Vonachen has been delayed several times while a third evaluation is done to determine if the teen is competent to stand trial.
This despite the fact that several evaluations were completed and the defense filed the motion well beyond the allowable time limits. All prior evaluations determined that the defendant is competent to stand trial. A hearing on the third motion will be heard later this month.
The trial for Vonachen has been put indefinite hold pending the out come of that hearing.
Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson-photo Kansas Dpt. of Education
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — The state’s new Commissioner of Education says schools need to become more focused on the student, not the system.
While Commissioner Randy Watson says that “sounds simple,” he added that it is “extremely hard.”
Watson spoke to a gathering Thursday of more than 100 school administrators and board members in Salina as part of a regional meeting of the Kansas Association of School Boards.
The Salina Journal reports that Watson’s comment came as he presented the findings of meetings around the state at which people were asked to describe the qualities of a successful 24-year-old.
Of the nearly 2,000 people who weighed in at them, 23 percent said academic skills such as reading and math were important. The same percentage said interpersonal skills were important to success in life.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita attorney has announced plans to challenge Congressman Mike Pompeo next year.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Dan Giroux, a Democrat, made his announcement Thursday. Giroux said in a news release that the people of south-central Kansas need a representative who will stand up for them and “not special interests.”
He’s a partner at Dugan & Giroux law firm. The firm’s website says Giroux was raised in Wichita along with his 10 brothers and sisters. He was an assistant district attorney in Sedgwick County between 1999 and 2003 before joining the law firm.
James Richardson, a volunteer with Pompeo for Congress and the congressman’s former campaign manager, said Pompeo will continue to be a “strong, conservative voice” for Kansas values in Washington.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has ordered a lower court to reconsider the case of a suburban Kansas City official who was kicked out of office for allowing a homeless friend to sleep in City Hall.
In Friday’s decision, the judges found that a Johnson County judge and the Court of Appeals had applied the wrong legal standards in their rulings.
Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe’s office filed an ouster motion after Prairie Village Councilman David Morrison took his longtime friend to the employee lounge in 2012, gave him his City Hall passcode and didn’t tell anyone else what he was doing. Morrison apologized at the time.
A Johnson County judge ordered Morrison’s ouster in 2013. But last year, the appeals court said he should be reinstated, prompting an appeal.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A major financial rating agency describes Kansas’ new school funding law as “negative” for local districts’ credit and creating financial stress for some of them.
Moody’s Investors Service issued a report Friday citing a new annual budget for the state’s largest school district in Wichita that calls for higher local taxes and spending cuts.
The new law enacted in April replaced the state’s former per-student aid formula with grants based on districts’ previous funding. It was designed to provide stable funding.
But Moody’s said the new law “disadvantages” growing districts by not automatically increasing their aid.
Gov. Sam Brownback’s office noted the state is spending more than $4 billion a year on its schools, and spokeswoman Eileen Hawley said the new law is temporary until another formula can be written.
GREAT BEND – A Kansas man died from injuries in an accident on Thursday in Barton County.
Police in Great Bend reported a 2000 Chevy pickup driven by Mark Depperschmidt, 58, Great Bend, struck the railroad crossing arm tower in the west side of the road.
Depperschmidt was transported to Great Bend Regional Medical Center and later transferred to Wesley Medical Center.
Hospital authorities reported to law enforcement on Friday that Depperschmidt died from his injuries.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) issued the following statement after the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing this week to review the Army Corps of Engineers’ participation in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) development of the new regulatory definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS):
“It is disturbing to hear that input from the Army Corps of Engineers was ignored by the Obama Administration in their latest regulation to expand the definition of WOTUS,” Sen. Moran said. “This news comes along with the EPA’s dismissal of the concerns voiced by Americans across the country, and selective enforcement of a U.S. District Court’s order to halt implementation of the rule. Never has the disconnect between Washington and Kansas been more evident than with this attempt by the EPA to run roughshod over whoever and whatever obstacle stands in its way. Unfortunately, this rule will bring millions of privately held acres under EPA’s regulatory control, creating burdens and costs for producers that threaten their very livelihood.”
EPA overlooked qualified opinions that may have slowed down or derailed the implementation of the rule despite internal memos showing that career experts at the Army Corps of Engineers voiced concerns. The concerns include a lack of evidence by science or law and go far beyond the legal jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act.
As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Moran supported the inclusion of a provision in the FY2016 Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill to block funding for the implementation of the WOTUS rule. Sen. Moran is also a sponsor of the Federal Water Quality Protection Act, a bill that would stop the implementation of the WOTUS regulations and force the agency to redraft it in a clear, legal manner that truly protects our nation’s waters without infringing on private property rights.
JACKSON COUNTY- A Kansas woman died in an accident just after 8a.m. on Friday in Jackson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Chevy Astro Van driven by Phyllis S. Martin, 59, Berryton, was northbound on U.S. 75 at 134th Road. The van struck the left rear corner of a semi’s trailer that was westbound on 134th Road.
The Volvo semi had attempted to cross the highway and the trailer was still blocking the inside and half of the outside lane of northbound U.S. 75 at the time of the accident.
Martin was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Frontier Forensics.
The semi driver Gooderl, Roger W. Gooderl, 70, Hoyt, was not injured.
Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP. The accident caused KDOT to close the intersection for a couple of hours on Friday morning.
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JACKSON COUNTY – First responders are on the scene of a fatality, multi-vehicle crash on U.S. 75 at 134th Road in Jackson County, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.
The crash involving a semi and a van closed the intersection. All northbound U.S. 75 traffic is detoured to the southbound lanes.
KDOT hopes to have lanes reopened before noon on Friday.
Check Hays Post for additional details as they become available.
Once upon a time Kansas was a national leader in public health. Credit largely goes to Dr. Samuel Crumbine, who early in the 20th century created and led what is now the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
A debate over the size and role of government was at the center of a recent dispute over funding for the Sedgwick County Health Department. Credit -ABIGAIL WILSON KMUW
He convinced Kansans to stop spitting on sidewalks. And he pushed state lawmakers to pass food purity laws and to ban the public drinking cup.
But times have changed.
While it may be an exaggeration to say that public health is now under attack in Kansas, it’s fair to say there is growing concern among public health advocates about what recent budget cuts in the state’s largest city and county may portend.
Social and fiscal conservatives now control the five-member Sedgwick County Commission in Wichita. And Chairman Richard Ranzau says the new majority is attempting to restore what he calls “core American values” to county government.
“I would argue that the country, state and county have moved so far left we don’t recognize core American values,” Ranzau said in a recent speech to Republicans at the Wichita Pachyderm Club. “I’m talking about things like fiscal responsibility, individual freedom, property rights, individual responsibility and limited government.”
An attempt by the commission’s conservative majority to cut approximately $3 million from the county’s 2016 budget was an indication of their determination to restore those values, Ranzau said.
“I think we’re starting to do that in the county, and some people don’t like it and some do, and we’ll continue to have that debate,” he said.
Holding the line
The proposed budget cuts were aimed mostly at arts, culture and public health programs. The Division of Health and Human Services and the Sedgwick County Health Department were targeted for nearly $1 million in cuts.
Conservatives argued that it was more important to fund infrastructure improvements without incurring additional debt and to hold the line on property taxes than to continue to support nonessential programs.
In response to a coalition that sprung up to oppose the cuts, commissioners agreed to maintain some funding for health programs that in their estimation directly benefited people. They restored $175,000 of the $200,000 requested by Project Access, a program that helps connect low-income residents to health care services. And they provided $91,000 for a health navigator program.
But when the final vote was taken in late August, the commission’s conservative majority held the line on most of the cuts to public health programs, including initiatives aimed at improving the county’s immunization and infant mortality rates. Also cut was $48,634 earmarked for a county health assessment. The assessment and the data collected for it are used by many non-governmental groups to seek grants. It is also used to track progress toward goals in a Community Health Improvement Plan.
A conservative majority on the five-member Sedgwick County Commission attempted to cut about $3 million from the county’s 2016 budget, aimed mostly at arts, culture and public health programs. CREDIT SEAN SANDEFUR / KMUW
Commissioner Tim Norton opposed the cuts, fearing they could jeopardize the health department’s recent accreditation by the national Public Health Accreditation Board. The Sedgwick County department is one of three in Kansas to achieve the quality designation, joining the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment and the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department.
“I’m just hoping that the dominos won’t fall again next year and that we start dismantling our public health system in Sedgwick County,” Norton said.
Jeff Willett, vice president for programs at the Kansas Health Foundation in Wichita, helped lead the opposition to the public health cuts. It was among the first battles taken on by the foundation since obtaining a change in tax status that allows it to lobby on policy issues.
“Communities that have strong public health systems are going to be healthier communities, they’re going to be more vibrant communities,” Willett said. “So, as we look ahead, I think it’s important to know that we have to do a better job of making the case for public health.”
Role of public health grows
Since the days of Crumbine, public health has focused on preventing communicable diseases.
Local public health departments still focus on preventing communicable disease. They’re still where most Kansas children are immunized, for instance. But more and more they’re also working to prevent chronic conditions, such as Type 2 diabetes.
The number of Kansans with the obesity-related disease has exploded in the last decade. Treatment costs now exceed $1.5 billion a year, according to KDHE.
Local health departments are at the forefront of efforts to reduce that cost and the suffering associated with the disease by helping to educate Kansans about how to prevent it through healthier eating and exercise.
But it is precisely those kind of “collective” initiatives that Ranzau objects to. In his address to the Pachyderm Club, Ranzau acknowledged being overweight. But he said it’s up to him alone — not the government — to do something about it.
“There is no collective solution to my health problems, either I do it or nobody will,” he said. “And we need to stop acting like there are. We need to have the courage to stand up and say, ‘It’s about the individual.’”
Government involvement, he said, leads to overreaching initiatives like the one launched by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to limit soda servings, Ranzau said. He also criticized a University of Kansas professor, whom he didn’t name, for remarks she made at a meeting he attended. According to Ranzau, the professor said the problems of obesity and high blood pressure “were all society’s fault.”
“She said we need to think less about the individual, more about the collective,” Ranzau said, adding that the professor in question had a degree in community psychology.
“Think about that. Do communities have psychologies?” he said to laughter. “No. How can you get a degree in community psychology and the taxpayers are funding that stuff. It’s absurd.”
Ranzau and other conservative commissioners also were highly critical of an analysis done by the Kansas Health Institute that said the health cuts — as originally proposed — could contribute to as many as 65 preventable deaths per year. The analysis localized the results of a national, peer-reviewed study published in the journal Health Affairs that linked decreases in public health spending to increases in preventable deaths.
Influences on behavior
Dan Partridge, director of the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, said he understands Ranzau’s concerns about government overreach. But he said the research is clearly on the other side of the argument. Interventions must target both individuals and entire populations if their goal is to reduce the incidence of both communicable and chronic diseases.
“When you look at the research, you cannot deny that the things that public health does impact our health,” Partridge said. “Individual responsibility and individual freedom alone is not going to cut it. People need help.”
The behaviors that affect our health are heavily influenced by powerful cultural and social forces, he said. People often need help to make healthy choices. That is especially true, he said, for people with limited education and those living in poverty.
“We can’t just create this clean intellectual divide and wash our hands of our neighbors’ health outcomes, because the reality is the data says they’re interconnected,” Partridge said.
To emphasize his point that social and environmental factors matter, Partridge cited a 2012 study that focused on people who moved from high-poverty areas to more affluent neighborhoods but did nothing else to improve their health.
Just moving, Partridge said, “added 10 to 15 years onto their lives.”
Partridge and other public health officials fear that without an all-out education effort, more health departments could face cuts as state budget shortfalls and shrinking tax bases conspire to put more pressure on county budgets.
Editor’s note: The Kansas Health Institute is the parent organization of KHI News Service, which is editorially independent.
Jim McLean is executive editor of KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team.
SALINA-Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a case of sexual exploitation of a child.
Austin Cart, 21, Salina, allegedly exchanged sexually explicit pictures and messages with a 17-year-old girl between April 29 and June 18, over a social media site on the Internet, according to Salina Police Captain Chris Trocheck.
Cart was arrested on requested charges of sexual exploitation of a child, and promoting obscenity to a minor.
He was booked into the Saline County Jail Thursday evening.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas congressman Tim Huelskamp says the next U.S. House speaker faces rebuilding the trust of his fellow conservatives.
