OTTAWA COUNTY — One person died in an accident just after 12:30p.m. Friday in Ottawa County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 International 450 pickup driven by Jamie L. Smith 32, Delphos, was westbound crossing U.S. 81 from Volunteer Road onto Kansas 41 Highway ten miles north of Minneapolis.

The driver failed to yield at the yield sign. A southbound semi struck the pickup on the front right corner.

EMS transported Smith to Ottawa County Health Center where he died. The semi driver Andy L. Cranfield, 43, and a passenger Olivia D. Cranfield, 17, both of Heavner, OK., were transported to the hospital in Salina.

None of the occupants were wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas woman has been dismissed from an ongoing lawsuit alleging a member of a high school dance team was dismissed because of racial discrimination.

Katie Porter was named in a lawsuit filed in January by Camille Sturdivant, a former member of the Blue Valley Northwest Dazzler dance team. Porter’s daughter was on the team.

Sturdivant alleged she was ostracized from team events after she reported racial discrimination by dance coach Carley Fine and choreographer Kevin Murakimi.

The district fired Fine after the allegations were raised.

The lawsuit alleged Porter participated in excluding Sturdivant because of her race.

The Kansas City Star reports court documents show a federal judge dismissed the claims against Porter Thursday.

The judge on Thursday denied a similar motion for dismissal filed by Fine.

RILEY COUNTY — One person died in an accident just after 1p.m. Friday in Riley County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2013 Ford Focus driven by Daniel Joseph Gray, 29, Lawrence, was northbound on U.S.24 four miles east of Riley.

The driver attempted to navigate a left turn and collided with 2004 GMC Yukon driven by Larmar E. Whitson III, 48, Blue Rapids, that was southbound on U.S. 77.

Whitson was pronounced dead the scene. Jill Whitson, a passenger in the Yukon, was transported to the hospital in Topeka. The KHP did not report her age or hometown.

Gray, one passenger in the Ford and two additional passengers in the SUV Haylee Whitson, 18 and Emma Whitson, 12; both of Blue Rapids were not injured.

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

BARTON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a robbery and looking for a suspect.

Just after 11p.m. Thursday, police responded to 2501 Railroad Avenue on the south side of Stone Lake after report of a robbery, according to a media release.

A 24-year-old victim at the scene told police his vehicle was stuck and he was waiting for friends to help pull it out. Four suspects approached him on foot including 19-year-old Tucker Trevino, a white female juvenile and two other men. Trevino and one of the suspects hit him, demanded his wallet and threatened to use a gun if he didn’t cooperate, according to the release.

Police had not located Trevino late Friday afternoon. Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to contact Great Bend Police.

High Plains Journal

DODGE CITY — High Plains Journal is hosting a two-day learning opportunity, Cattle U, July 31 and Aug. 1 at the United Wireless Arena.

The event will feature keynote sessions and breakouts aimed at cow-calf, stocker and feeder producers. Topics are set to include animal health, genetics, marketing, nutrition, reproduction, forage and range management, and finance.

Speakers will help cattlemen and women learn practical ways to improve cattle health on their operations while sustainably maximizing profits on every head. They will also help producers unleash the power of marketing.

One of the first confirmed speakers is vice president of beef genetics for Select Sires of Plain City, Ohio, Lorna Marshall. Marshall’s breakout session will detail how commercial cattlemen can better use expected progeny differences in their breeding programs to improve profitability. For Select Sires, Marshall aids domestic and international cattlemen to improve their herds and shows how AI can fit in to their practices.

“The benefit of AI to commercial producers is just as much about the benefit to the reproduction management of the cow herd as it is about us changing or improving the genetics of the animals,” Marshall said in a recent interview. “The value of reproductive management can add money to your bottom line.”

Marshall will be joined by other experts during the two-day program. Events will kick off July 31 at 10 a.m., and the last speaker will take the stage Aug. 1 for the closing general session at 3:30 p.m. There is a special social event planned for Cattle U attendees July 31 at the Dodge City Roundup Arena from 6 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Roundup Rodeo starts at 7:45 p.m. Rodeo tickets are available as an add-on to registration for $17 for adults 13 and older and $8 for children 12 and under.

Registration is now open at $125. High Plains Journal subscribers look in your issue for a $30 discount code. The discount code is applicable until July 20. Registration includes two days of Cattle U keynote speakers, sessions and panels; access to the Cattle U trade show; a one-year subscription to HPJ (for non-subscribers); online access to all presentations; access to the Cattle U Roundup Rodeo Tent Social; post-event coverage and video access; complimentary lunch on Aug. 1, snacks and beverages provided both days.

For general event and registration contact Tammy Cork at 620-227-1823 or [email protected]; for exhibitor sales contact Zac Stuckey, 316-516-3670 or [email protected]; for exhibitor services and trade show information contact Will Trowbridge, 314-488-1918.

For more event information, visit www.cattleu.net.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A judge issued an order Friday ensuring Missouri’s only abortion clinic can continue providing abortions, acting just hours before the St. Louis Planned Parenthood facility’s license was set to expire.

“The fact is that this year, the state has somehow reinterpreted the rules to believe that we are noncompliant with rules that haven’t changed,”@GovParsonMO must STOP weaponizing the health dept to block access to safe, legal abortioni https://t.co/0gestvOU0F #EmergencyResponse pic.twitter.com/12ItkU6rUv

— Planned Parenthood Advocates in Missouri (@PPMO_Advocates) May 31, 2019

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services had said it would not renew the clinic’s license, citing concerns with “failed abortions,” compromised patient safety and legal violations at the clinic. Agency officials also insisted upon interviewing additional physicians at the clinic as part of an investigation.

With the license set to expire at midnight Friday, Planned Parenthood pre-emptively sued this week and argued that the state was “weaponizing” the licensing process.

Planned Parenthood had said that absent court intervention, Missouri would become the first state without an abortion clinic since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized the procedure nationwide. St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer issued a temporary restraining order preventing Missouri from taking away the clinic’s license.

He said Planned Parenthood “has demonstrated that immediate and irreparable injury will result” if its abortion license is allowed to expire.

The clinic’s license “shall not expire and shall remain in effect” until a ruling is issued on Planned Parenthood’s request for a permanent injunction, according to Stelzer’s ruling. A hearing is set for Tuesday morning. The nearest clinic performing abortions is just across the Mississippi River in Granite City, Illinois, less than 10 miles  from the Planned Parenthood facility in St. Louis.

Planned Parenthood’s abortion clinic in the Kansas City area is in Overland Park, Kansas, just 2 miles  from the state line.

State figures show a handful of Missouri hospitals also perform abortions, but those are relatively rare. The fight over the clinic’s license comes as lawmakers in conservative states across the nation are passing new restrictions that take aim at Roe.

Abortion opponents, emboldened by new conservative justices on the Supreme Court, are hoping federal courts will uphold laws that prohibit abortions before a fetus is viable outside the womb, the dividing line the high court set in Roe. Louisiana, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and Ohio have enacted bills barring abortion once there’s a detectable fetal heartbeat, as early as the sixth week of pregnancy.

Missouri lawmakers recently approved an eight-week ban on abortion. Alabama’s gone even further, outlawing virtually all abortions, even in cases of rape or incest. None of the bans has taken effect, and all are expected to face legal challenges. “Today is a victory for women across Missouri, but this fight is far from over,”

Planned Parenthood Federation of America CEO Dr. Leana Wen said in a statement. “We have seen just how vulnerable access to abortion care is here — and in the rest of the country.” The number of abortions performed in Missouri has declined every year for the past decade, reaching a low of 2,910 last year. Of those, an estimated 1,210 occurred at eight weeks or less of pregnancy, according to preliminary statistics from the state health department.

Missouri women also seek abortions in other states. In Kansas, about 3,300 of the 7,000 abortions performed in 2018 were for Missouri residents, according to the state’s health department. Illinois does not track the home states of women seeking abortions.

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. – U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister announced Friday that Coffey Health System has agreed to pay the U.S. government $250,000 to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act.

Coffey Health System (“CHS”) operates a twenty-five bed critical access hospital located in Burlington, Kan. The United States alleged that Coffey Health System falsely attested that it conducted and/or reviewed security risk analyses in accordance with requirements under a federal incentive program for the reporting periods of 2012 and 2013.

The government contended that the hospital submitted false claims to the Medicare and Medicaid Programs pursuant the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 established the program to encourage healthcare providers to adopt and demonstrate their “meaningful use” of EHR technology. Under the program, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) offers incentive payments to healthcare providers that adopt certified EHR technology and meet certain requirements relating to their use of the technology. To obtain the payments, providers must attest that they satisfy applicable HHS-adopted criteria, including measures for analyzing and addressing security risks to electronic health records.

“Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries expect that providers ensure the accuracy and security of their electronic health records,” said United States Attorney Stephen McAllister. “This office remains committed to protecting the federal health programs and to hold accountable those whose conduct results in improper payments.”

Steve Hanson, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Kansas City Region, stated, “Providers who fail to properly ensure the security of electronic health records must be held accountable.”

The settlement announced today resolves allegations in a lawsuit filed by Bashar Awad and Cynthia McKerrigan, in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. The Act also allows the government to intervene and take over the action; Awad and McKerrigan will receive approximately $50,000.

This matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Fleenor.

SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect after an altercation with police.

On Thursday afternoon, police were dispatched to Dollar General, 654 S. Broadway in Salina for a trespassing complaint, according to a media release.

Officers were informed that Thadd Marshall, 33, had been on Dollar General property after previously being instructed to not return.

Officers located Marshall across the street from Dollar General in the 600 block of South Broadway. Marshall verbally threatened and displayed a knife to the first officer to arrive on scene. This officer called for backup and ordered Marshall to drop the knife.

Although Marshall was given numerous commands to drop the knife, he moved towards an officer with the knife still in his hand. Another officer on scene fired three less-lethal projectiles at Marshall. Following the third round, Marshall dropped the knife and was taken into custody.

Marshall was transported to Salina Regional Health Center and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

After being medically cleared, Marshall was transported to the Saline County Jail and booked on requested charges of Aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer,Criminal threat, Criminal use of a weapon,Felony obstruction, Criminal trespass, according to the release.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly says she felt “incredibly overwhelmed” after seeing the devastation left by an EF-4 tornado from a flight tour of the Tuesday storm’s path in eastern Kansas.

Governor Laura Kelly visited Douglas County today touring tornado-damaged areas and meeting with homeowners in those areas. She then met with members of the media before touring the Emergency Operations Center. pic.twitter.com/heqsOeFDMq

— Douglas Co. EM (@dgcoem) May 30, 2019

Kelly also viewed tornado damage from the ground Thursday. Kelly said the fact that there were no fatalities was amazing.

The tornado touched down south of Lawrence about 6:15 Tuesday and continued northeast for more than 31 miles before lifting in Leavenworth County. Douglas County officials said the storm injured 17 people, three of them seriously, and damaged more than 60 homes.

The tornado at its peak had wind speeds of 170 mph and was a mile wide.

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism’s (KDWPT) has announced that anglers can fish without a Kansas fishing license at public waters on June 1 and 2, thanks to “Free Fishing Days.”

Each year, KDWPT designates one weekend when everyone can fish without a Kansas fishing license. All you need is a pole and a place to go! Free Fishing Days celebrates National Fishing and Boating Week – a week dedicated to recognizing the importance of recreational boating and fishing.

Don’t let stories of flooding at some lakes and state parks derail your fishing plans. There are still many great opportunities to fish at lakes large and small. Many more Kansas state parks are open for business than are closed. Fisheries biologists report that high water gives fish more habitat to exploit, so fishing may be better when the water is higher. As always, exercise caution around high water and respect barricades.

If your favorite fishing hole is inaccessible, look to state fishing lakes and city and county lakes. KDWPT stocks many community lakes through its Community Fisheries Assistance Program (CFAP). More than 90 percent of the community lakes in Kansas are enrolled in the program and do not require any additional fishing licenses. A few community lakes not in the CFAP program require local fees to fish from the shore or a boat. A list of CFAP lakes is available in the 2019 Kansas Fishing Regulations Summary and the 2019 Kansas Fishing Atlas.

If you’ll be taking part in Free Fishing Days, here are some tips to help you plan your weekend outing:

• Visit ksoutdoors.com and click “Fishing,” then “Where to Fish” to find a public fishing spot near you, including CFAP lakes.
• You can consult the 2019 Fishing Forecast at ksoutdoors.com/Fishing/Fishing-Forecast to locate waters ranked highest for a given species.
• For a list of state park conditions, check out ksoutdoors.com and click “State Parks,” then “State Park Alerts” or call the park office.
• While license requirements are waived for the weekend, anglers must still abide by all other regulations such as length and creel limits, equipment requirements, and more. To find regulation information, grab a copy of the 2019 Kansas Fishing Regulations Summary at a license vendor near you. The summary also lists every state fishing lake, community lake and reservoir, and designates those considered “family friendly,” which means they have easy access to the water, flush restrooms, security patrols and lighting, and no alcohol is allowed.

Go fishing on June 1 and 2; the only thing it will cost you is your free time.

— KDWPT

By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Floodwaters have seriously eroded the back side of a watershed dam south of Sabetha, leaving it vulnerable to failure.

Kansas state officials are closely watching the dam.

Water Structures Program Manager Terry Medley with the state Division of Water Resources says his team began monitoring the dam Tuesday. He visited the dam site last night. His dam safety team leader is on site today.

“There has been a little bit more erosion on the dam,” Medley tells St. Joseph Post. “The water level in the reservoir has dropped about a foot-and-a-half.”

Medley disputes an earlier report that claimed failure of the dam was imminent. He describes the damage to the dam as serious, but adds its failure is not imminent.

County officials closed two nearby roads, County Road 220 and County Road 250, as a precautionary measure.

“We’re just continuing to monitor the situation,” Medley says. “We don’t believe that anybody is in danger at this point and we don’t believe any serious infrastructure damage would occur if the dam failed.”

The Kansas Division of Water Resources is in communication with the Kansas Division of Emergency Management.

Medley says it is unlikely that if the dam failed, flash flooding would reach Highway 36 in northeast Kansas, also as reported earlier.

Medley says the dam is under close observation.

“It has not breached,” Medley says. “We are still continuing to monitor the situation. There was a little bit more erosion overnight, but nothing that wasn’t expected from our division and our dam safety team. And, the damage that would occur if it did fail would be limited to agricultural farm ground.”

Still, the National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for south of Sabetha down the Delaware River which could affect east-central Nemaha County, southwestern Brown County, and northeastern Jackson County.

 

 

 

 

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By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

A dam south of Sabetha, Kansas is expected to fail this afternoon, sending floodwaters downstream on the Delaware River.

The National Weather Service in Topeka has issued a flash flood warning for southwestern Brown County, east-central Nemaha County, and northeastern Jackson County.

At 2:30 this afternoon, emergency management officials reported the failure of the dam a mile south of Sabehta was imminent.

If the dam indeed fails, flash flooding is expected to overrun U.S. Highway 36 in northeastern Kansas. The Kickapoo Indian Reservation and Golden Eagle Casino are also threatened. The National Weather Service says water could rise to near 13.8 feet at U.S. Highway 36 about an hour after the dam fails. Water could rise to just over 11 feet at U.S. Highway 75 three-and-a-half hours after the failure.

Recent rainy weather has forced the temporary closure of Coronado Heights Park. From the Smoky Valley Historical Association – Kansas Facebook page: