TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Four district court judges are challenging the constitutionality of a new state law that threatens the budget of the judicial branch.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in Shawnee County District Court on behalf of judges from the counties of Douglas, Kingman Labette and Riley.
Issues first arose in 2014 with the passage of a law that said judges in each of the state’s 31 judicial districts pick their chief judges, taking that power from the Kansas Supreme Court. A Shawnee County judge ruled this month that the law was unconstitutional. But that ruling doesn’t address another law, which is the focus of the new lawsuit.
The new law declares that if the administrative policy is invalidated, the court system’s funding through June 2017 is “null and void.”
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — A 78-year-old Hutchinson woman who planned to sell her beloved 1955 Ford Fairlane to pay back property taxes received a helping hand from a stranger who paid the bill for her.
Dorce Stapleton told The Hutchinson News she was stunned Tuesday when a man showed up in her driveway offering to pay her back property taxes.
Stapleton’s predicament was described in the newspaper earlier. She said she was selling the old car to pay two and a half years of back property taxes.
After telling Stapleton of his plans, the donor went to the courthouse and paid the $2,100 in back taxes and returned with the receipts.
The donor asked to remain anonymous and said he had a good life and just wanted to help.
CUNNINGHAM -A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just before 3 p.m. on Saturday in Kingman County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2000 Yamaha motorcycle driven by Jennifer Annette Vieux, 44, Wichita, was eastbound on U.S. 54 just west of Cunningham.
The driver attempted to pass a semi and lost control in the median.
Vieux was transported to Wesley Medical Center.
She was not wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A judge has found sufficient evidence for a Lawrence teen to stand trial in the stabbing and bludgeoning death of a woman.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports that 19-year-old Rontarus Washington Jr. was bound over for trial Friday in the November killing of 19-year-old Justina Altamirano Mosso. Washington is jailed in Douglas County on a first-degree murder charge. He was arrested in January in Greenville, Mississippi.
Detectives said they found a fingerprint matching Washington’s underneath a toilet tank lid believed to have been used to beat Mosso over the head.
Washington told investigators he found Mosso’s body upon entering an unlocked apartment looking for “change” but that he didn’t tell anyone.
The apartment belonged to Mosso’s estranged husband, Felipe Cantu Ruiz. The defense questioned Ruiz about the couple’s strained relationship.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A 33-year-old man has been charged in a deadly hit-and-run accident in Kansas City, Kansas.
The Kansas City Star reports that Lucious Moore, of Kansas City, Kansas, is jailed in Wyandotte County on one count of leaving the scene of an injury accident. It wasn’t immediately known if Moore had an attorney.
Moore is accused of hitting 34-year-old Darrin M. Smith, of Kansas City, Kansas, with his car as Smith was walking early Tuesday. Smith died at the scene.
CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY -A Kansas man died in an accident just before 10 a.m. on Saturday in Chautauqua County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Ford F150 driven by , Douglas Jay Carie, 69, Wichita, was westbound on U.S. 166 twelve miles west of U.S. 75.
The truck traveled north of the roadway and came back onto the road. The driver over corrected and the truck over turned.
Carie was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Frontier Forensics.
He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
LENEXA- A Kansas man was injured in an accident just after 11:30a.m. on Saturday in Johnson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Harley Davidson driven by Kurtis S. Eckenroed, 46, Ottawa, was westbound on Interstate 435 just west of the ramp to Interstate 35 in Lenexa.
The vehicle rear-ended a 2004 Mercedes that was slowing for congested traffic.
Eckenroed was transported to Overland Park Regional Medical Center.
The driver of the Mercedes Kelli P. Williams, 54, Leawood, was not injured.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Jail booking reports show that a woman accused of abandoning her grandson at a Wichita department store has been arrested.
The Wichita Eagle reports that the 41-year-old woman was arrested Friday on suspicion of child abandonment, theft and a probation violation. She is jailed in Sedgwick County awaiting charges.
Police say she was caught attempting to shoplift on June 16 from a Kohl’s store and fled without her 5-year-old grandson. The boy was placed in foster care after no one showed up to claim him.
On Friday, a Sedgwick County judge said the boy would remain in foster care unless his mother’s home situation improved. The whereabouts of the boy’s father are unknown, and no other relatives have stepped up on the boy’s behalf.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A California company is recalling its cucumbers after a salmonella outbreak that’s sickened 285 people in 27 states and killed a San Diego woman.
Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce of San Diego on Friday voluntarily recalled its “Limited Edition” brand garden cucumbers, which were grown in Mexico.
Health officials say the cukes are the likely cause of hundreds of illnesses since July 3 and the Aug. 17 death of a 99-year-old woman.
Half the people who became ill are under 18 years of age.
The cucumbers were distributed in Alaska; Arizona; Arkansas; California; Colorado; Florida; Idaho; Illinois; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Minnesota; Mississippi; Montana; Nevada; New Jersey; New Mexico; Oklahoma; Oregon; South Carolina; Texas, and Utah.
Previous salmonella outbreaks have been linked to products ranging from to chicken to chia powder.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A new state audit says a handful of Kansas teachers may be earning retirement benefits for the work they do as officers of their state and local unions.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports that auditors said the practice technically should not be allowed.
One Republican legislator called it fraud within the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System. But others said the practice is merely a technical error caused by vague instructions from the state.
The issue involves credits public employees receive for each year on the job, which determine when they can retire. Auditors noted that while teachers are covered by KPERS, employees of teachers’ unions are not.
Auditors said they selected 34 teachers in a “targeted sample,” and found seven incorrectly awarded KPERS service credits while working for unions.
MCPHERSON– The County Attorney in McPherson County Torrence Parkins announced Friday evening that a sheriff deputy’s use of deadly force on March 31, against a suspect, Jeffrey Snow was justified.
The Sheriff’s office reported that two deputies responded to a reported battery in the McPherson County community of Canton.
That led deputies to the suspect’s home where they discovered that Snow was armed with a shotgun.
The deputies pulled their service pistols and according to the investigation gave clear commands for Snow to drop the weapon.
Snow reportedly raised the shotgun and pointed it at one of the deputies.
The other deputy thought his partner was in danger, fired his weapon at Snow and the suspect was hit in the pelvic region of his body and survived. He could face charges.
Deputies were equipped with body cameras that recorded the incident.
Growth in KanCare enrollment by category 2013-14 CLICK to enlarge
By Scott C. Brunner, M.A.
Topeka –Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) serve roughly 425,000 Kansans at a cost of more than $3.2 billion. In 2013, the state of Kansas began operating Medicaid through a program called KanCare.
The Kansas Health Institute has released an issue brief describing the enrollment trends through the second year of this program.
Overall, the KanCare population grew faster in 2014 than it did in 2013—with children and families accounting for 85.9 percent of the total KanCare enrollment increase between the two years. CHIP enrollment accounted for only 4.0 percent of the total KanCare enrollment increase in 2014—a stark change from 2013 when it accounted for nearly all of the growth.
“The increased enrollment numbers for children and families in Medicaid are significant as we analyze the first two years of KanCare,” said Scott Brunner, M.A., Senior Analyst and Strategy Team Leader.
“The surge in enrollment for this eligibility group is likely a result of policy changes occurring before the implementation of the Kansas Eligibility and Enforcement System (KEES), reductions in eligibility for cash assistance, and changes in CHIP and Medicaid eligibility.”
Looking back at growth in Medicaid and CHIP enrollment from before the implementation of KanCare shows that total enrollment has increased 36.8 percent since 2009 (308,821 in 2009 to 422,562 in 2014).
Enrollment over this same time period has increased 51.3 percent for children and families in Medicaid (162,403 in 2009 to 245,702 in 2014), and 41.8 percent for children in CHIP (39,132 in 2009 to 55,496 in 2014).
The Kansas Health Institute will continue to monitor enrollment and expenditure trends through the third year of the KanCare program as additional data become available.
