PRATT – A spectacle like none other is about to take place on Aug. 21 – the first total solar eclipse to cross the U.S. in almost 100 years. Visitors to the far northeast corner of the state will be in the path of totality, meaning they will get to witness the eclipse in its entirety, while viewers in the remaining parts of the Sunflower State will see a partial solar eclipse.
A number of people have inquired about camping at state fishing lakes and wildlife areas in the path of the eclipse. If you plan to get together with friends and family to view the spectacle from a Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism public lands property, here are a few tips to ensure your solar soiree goes off without a hitch:
-Remember that most state fishing lakes and wildlife areas are not equipped with the same amenities featured at state parks
-Set up camp in designated areas only
-Keep vehicles on maintained roads and parking lots
-Make sure four-legged companions are leashed
-Only light fires in fire rings and grills
-Bring (and use!) a trash bag for waste, as trash containers are not available on all premises
-While alcohol is permitted on some public properties, no alcohol is allowed at Atchison State Fishing Lake (SFL), Brown SFL, and Elwood and Burr Oak wildlife areas
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas prisons face high staff turnover and potential inmate unrest at a time when state officials expect the population behind bars to continue growing steadily well into the future.
The problems could become worse.
The total state inmate population exceeded 9,900 last week, and the state’s official projections have it reaching 11,000 by 2027.
Corrections Secretary Joe Norwood told legislators recently that he’s worried that high turnover is creating an inexperienced workforce. He blames low pay that starts at $13.95 an hour for keeping open one in every five jobs for uniformed officers.
Legislators and the union representing the officers increasingly see a link between inmate unrest and staffing shortages and long hours for remaining employees. The prison in El Dorado has seen multiple disturbances in recent months.
KANSAS CITY (AP) — A suburban Kansas City mail carrier pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing gift cards and checks from postal customers in Independence.
Federal prosecutors say 34-year-old Audrey Odell, of Blue Springs, pleaded guilty Thursday to theft of mail by a postal employee.
Odell admitted she stole about 150 gift cards and 150 checks from routes in Independence, causing an estimated loss of $2,500 from about 75 customers.
After receiving complaints about possible mail theft, postal inspectors placed test pieces with gift cards addressed to fictitious addresses along Odell’s route. The mail should have been returned as undeliverable. In February 2017, Odell was arrested after several pieces of mail, including the test mailings, were found in Odell’s vehicle.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. is in a rare bulls-eye for the total solar eclipse coming up in two weeks.
It will be the first full solar eclipse in nearly a century to stretch coast to coast. It will also be the first in the Lower 48 states in 38 years.
The sun, moon and Earth will line up perfectly that Monday, turning day into night for a few minutes from Oregon to South Carolina. A partial eclipse will extend up through Canada and down to the top of South America.
The total eclipse on Aug. 21 will last just 1 1/2 hours as the lunar shadow sweeps across the country.
Gov. Sam Brownback and staff members visited the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation in February 2015. Seated at left is Mark Dodd, who fills two roles in the governor’s office. CREDIT SUZANNE HECK / COURTESY PRAIRIE BAND POTAWATOMI NATION
Two Democrats in the Kansas Legislature want to know more about why Gov. Sam Brownback appointed the same individual to two high-level positions, allowing him to collect two paychecks since 2014.
In 2011, Brownback appointed Mark Dodd to head the State Gaming Agency, which oversees gaming facilities operated by Native American tribes. Three years later, he made Dodd executive director of the Native American Affairs Office, which is part of the governor’s office.
Asked about the arrangement Wednesday, a spokeswoman for Brownback described it as efficient.
“The two roles share similar areas of expertise,” Melika Willoughby said. “As a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and a lawyer, Mark Dodd is well-equipped to complete both, ultimately serving both constituencies well and stewarding taxpayer dollars through this efficiency.”
Dodd is earning a full salary as executive director of the gaming agency and half the listed salary for the position at the Native American Affairs Office.
According to the Legislature’s auditing arm, Dodd will earn an estimated combined salary of $136,000 in 2017. With benefits — which can include costs to the state such as health insurance and Social Security and retirement contributions — Dodd’s total estimated compensation is $177,000.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley and Sen. Laura Kelly, both Topeka Democrats, raised concerns about the dual appointments Monday during a meeting of the Legislative Post Audit Committee, instructing auditors to collect more information about how many hours Dodd works per week and whether holding the two jobs is appropriate.
“It seems to me that he gets paid pretty generously,” Hensley said Wednesday. “And if it’s $40,000 for a part-time job, I’d have to question just how many hours he’s actually putting in in that job.”
Dodd receives a salary of $40,000 for the part-time Native American Affairs Office position and $96,000 for his full-time job heading the gaming agency.
“This was the first that we knew about it,” Hensley said. “It certainly caught me by surprise.”
When contacted Wednesday by phone, Dodd declined to discuss the issue but said he is working with auditors to ensure lawmakers’ questions are answered.
“Those questions will be addressed with Legislative Post Audit,” Dodd said.
Willoughby didn’t respond to questions about whether the arrangement is in line with state laws and regulations and how many hours Dodd works weekly.
The governor appointed Dodd in March 2011 to head the gaming agency and the Senate approved that appointment in May 2011. Brownback hired Dodd to head the Native American Affairs Office in November 2014.
Dodd is not on the Native American Affairs Office website, which lists an executive director who is no longer in that position. In written testimony to the Legislature as recently as March 2017, the governor’s office letterhead listed Dodd as interim director of the Native American Affairs Office.
The governor’s office created the Native American Affairs Office, which facilitates communication between state officials and tribal governments. According to its website, it opened in the summer of 2011.
A spokeswoman for the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System said Wednesday if a person holds two KPERS-eligible jobs at the same time, he or she only receives credit for one.
The dual directorship caught lawmakers’ attention as they were briefed on the results of a broader audit published Monday, prompting them to request more details. That broader audit was done at the request of Rep. John Alcala, a Topeka Democrat, and Rep. Louis Ruiz, a Kansas City Democrat.
The audit reviewed staffing and spending at three liaison units within the governor’s office: the Native American Affairs Office, the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission, and the Kansas African American Affairs Commission.
The three liaison offices or commissions each spent less than $100,000 in fiscal 2016, including salary expenses. Each has only one staffer, who serves as executive director.
The auditors said they experienced some difficulty contacting the liaison units but did not determine “what impact these problems might have on constituents.”
Among their concerns, the auditors noted the director on the Native American Affairs Office website left more than two years ago. The voicemail box for one of the other liaisons was full and an email error prevented one liaison from sending or receiving messages, the auditors wrote in their report.
Though some information on the Native American Affairs Office website is not up to date, the phone number is correct.
Celia Llopis-Jepsen is a reporter for the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics. You can reach her on Twitter @Celia_LJ.
MANHATTAN — Senator Pat Roberts, chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, will be a special guest at the Kansas Governor’s Summit on Agricultural Growth on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017 in Manhattan. Sen. Roberts has spent more than 30 years serving the needs of Kansas, and is a respected advocate for the agriculture industry. Kansas is fortunate to be represented by a leader of this caliber, and his support of the Ag Growth Summit emphasizes the importance of agricultural growth within the state.
Senator Roberts will join agriculture leaders from across the state at the second-annual event. The 2017 Summit will focus on sector-specific desired growth outcomes for 19 sectors of agriculture, ranging from beef and wheat to specialty livestock and unmanned aerial systems, as well as industry-wide topics that affect all sectors.
The Ag Growth Summit will take place on Thursday, Aug. 24, at the Manhattan Conference Center at the Hilton Garden Inn. Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m. and the program will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. including a complimentary lunch. This year’s Summit will also include an evening social event on Wednesday, Aug. 23, beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Stanley Stout Center on the north side of the K-State campus.
Participation in the Summit and the social is free and open to the public, but registration is requested. Please register by August 10 to guarantee lunch at the Summit and/or dinner at the social event. More information about the Summit, including a link to the registration site, can be found at agriculture.ks.gov/summit. If you have questions about the Summit, call KDA at 785-564-6700 or email [email protected].
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man serving a Kansas prison sentence of 20 years to life for wounding two Topeka police officers with a shotgun in 1985 has been denied parole.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the Kansas Prisoner Review Board rejected 75-year-old Ithiel Lawton’s parole. The inmate at the maximum-security Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility will next be eligible for release in August 2019.
Lawton wounded Topeka police officers Pat Reed and Randy Horn with a shotgun as they responded to a reported dispute between Lawton and his father. The shooting led to a five-hour standoff.
Reed required reconstructive surgery to rebuild his left ear. Horn and Reed both left the department soon afterward.
Lawton claimed he heard voices from his television set telling him to protect himself from the officers.
KINGMAN COUNTY – Two people were injured in an accident just before 6p.m. on Friday in Kingman County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Polaris Ranger 800 driven by Christopher A. Cox, 31, Grove, OK., was eastbound on SE 60 Street just north of Norwich.
The driver lost control of the vehicle and it overturned on the roadway.
A passenger Troy A. Cox, 50, Norwich, was transported to St. Francis.
Christopher A. Cox was injured. The KHP did not report where he was treated.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Catholic priest has been returned from Maryland to face Kansas charges that he had inappropriate sexual contact with children.
The Kansas City Star reported that 35-year-old Scott Kallal was processed Thursday night at the Wyandotte County Detention Center in Kansas City, Kansas, where he is jailed on $250,000 bond.
Kallal was arrested in Maryland last month after being charged in Wyandotte County with two felony counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. Prosecutors allege that misconduct took place in 2015.
Kallal has been suspended from his duties at Overland Park’s Holy Spirit Church and St. Patrick Church in Kansas City, Kansas.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas police officer is out of a job in the wake of a government watchdog’s complaint to regulators about a 1995 conviction in a California misdemeanor domestic violence case.
Marion Police Officer Michael A. Stone’s last day on the job is Saturday. The city says he worked there since September 2012, and it appreciates his many contributions.
Stone declined comment, saying in a Facebook response to The Associated Press that he wants to move on.
A July 5 complaint filed by blogger Lee White with the state Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Trainings alleges the California conviction disqualifies Stone from serving as a police officer or even from legally possessing a gun.
His ex-wife also filed a protection from abuse petition in 2006 in Kansas that was dismissed.
BOURBON COUNTY – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating an officer involved shooting that occurred Thursday night near the Fort Scott National Cemetery, according to a media release.
Just after 11p.m. Thursday, the KBI was asked to assist the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office following an officer involved shooting that occurred at approximately 10:45 p.m. in Fort Scott. KBI agents and a crime scene response team responded to conduct the investigation.
Preliminary information indicates that at 9:30 p.m. a Bourbon County Sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to a report of a suspicious vehicle near Fort Scott Lake. After a search of the area, the deputy located a red Ford Ranger pickup and observed the driver running a stop sign. The deputy initiated a traffic stop, however the driver of the Ranger refused to stop and a vehicle pursuit ensued.
Officers from the Fort Scott Police Department joined the pursuit. At one time the chase was discontinued for safety reasons, and authorities lost contact with the Ford Ranger. They were able to locate the vehicle again and pursued it down a dead end dirt path east of the intersection of 230 St. and Kansas in rural Fort Scott. When the driver of the Ranger was unable to continue, he struck a Fort Scott Police Department vehicle while attempting to turn around. Then, the Ranger drove directly toward a Bourbon County Sheriff’s deputy who had parked and exited his vehicle. The deputy fired toward the Ranger, which then drove into a culvert, disabling the vehicle.
Baldwin-photo MODOC
The occupant of the Ranger was not hit by gunfire. He was identified as 51-year-old David L. Baldwin of Nevada, Missouri.
Baldwin was taken into custody and then transported to Mercy Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries. Upon release, he was booked into the Bourbon County Jail on two counts of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, felony fleeing or attempting to elude, and felony criminal damage to property, as well as well as other misdemeanor traffic violations.
No law enforcement officers were injured during this incident. Baldwin has previous convictions in Missouri for vehicle theft, possession of firearms, receiving stolen property and tamp/attempt-victim during felony prosecution, according to the Missouri Dept. of Corrections
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