KANSAS CITY – A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court this week for possessing a stolen firearm, according to Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
Timothy R. Day, 49, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner to seven years and two months in federal prison without parole.
On Dec. 21, 2016, Day pleaded guilty to possessing a stolen firearm.
On July 30, 2014, Kansas City police officers received information that Day had been driving around and waiving a gun on a daily basis, stating he was going to kill a woman named Sheila.
Day was located in a local motel room with a woman who had registered the room in her name. Officers established a perimeter around the room and contacted Day and the woman. After some negotiation, the woman exited the room.
Day told officers that he had a gun on the bed. After several more minutes of negotiation, Day came out of the room and was arrested. Inside the room, officers found a loaded Hafdasa .45-caliber pistol, which Day admitted he stole from his father a few weeks earlier.
While in federal custody awaiting sentencing, Day mailed a threatening letter to his ex-wife, in which he threatened to sexually assault her upon his release from prison. As a result, the court found Day in breach of his plea agreement because he continued to engage in criminal conduct after his guilty plea. The court today granted the government’s request for a sentence above the advisory sentencing guidelines range.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is entering its final week of work before a long summer hiatus. Action is expected on the Trump administration’s travel ban and a decision is due in a separation of church and state case that arises from a Missouri church playground.
The biggest news of all, though, would be if Justice Anthony Kennedy were to use the court’s last public session on Monday to announce his retirement.
Kennedy has given no public sign that he will retire now and give President Donald Trump his second high court pick. Kennedy’s departure would allow conservatives to take firm control of the court.
But Kennedy turns 81 next month and several former law clerks have said they think he’s contemplating stepping down in the next year or so.
“This is not the best possible bill, it’s the best bill possible under very difficult circumstances. So, you don’t have any other alternative, I don’t think,” Roberts told reporters minutes after leaving a Thursday morning meeting where the bill, which was drafted in relative secrecy, was explained to Republican senators.
From Senator Roberts’ web site- click to EXPAND
Roberts said even though he has concerns about the bill, “we have to move the process forward.”
“What’s the other alternative? I don’t see anything from the other side except single-payer, and that’s socialized medicine,” he said.
A bipartisan plan to fix the problems that are destabilizing the Affordable Care Act marketplace would be a better option, said David Jordan, director of the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, a health care advocacy group formed by several Kansas health foundations.
“This bill is bad for Kansas,” Jordan said.
Fewer Kansans will qualify for help purchasing private insurance, he said, and those still able to purchase coverage in the subsidized marketplace will see higher out-of-pocket costs.
That’s because the bill would change how the federal tax credits are set. Under the Affordable Care Act, the credits are based on the cost of the second-lowest cost “silver” marketplace plan, which is supposed to cover about 70 percent of a household’s medical costs. The benchmark plan under the Senate bill would cover about 58 percent of a typical household’s medical costs.
The proposed change would leave people with two basic options: buy the lower-value plan to avoid paying a larger share of their premiums, or pay more in premiums to keep a higher-value plan and avoid higher deductibles.
Bob St. Peter, president and CEO of the Kansas Health Institute, said healthy individuals might benefit from pegging the subsidies to an insurance plan with lower premiums. Pushing customers toward plans with richer benefits may have priced some out of the market, he said.
“For the few people that need a high level of care, they’re going to have problems,” he said. “It sort of is, do you want fewer people with a very high level of coverage, or do you want more people with low-level coverage?”
KanCare concerns
Jordan said the approximately 440,000 Kansans enrolled in KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program, should be the most concerned. He noted that the Senate bill calls for cuts deeper than the $880 billion over 10 years proposed in the House version.
“The people who are going to bear the brunt of the cuts in services are children, people with disabilities and seniors in nursing homes and rural health care providers,” Jordan said.
Jordan questioned how Roberts could support a bill that so closely resembles a measure passed in May by the U.S. House that both he and Kansas’ other senator, Republican Jerry Moran, criticized.
“The Senate didn’t even try to put lipstick on the pig, they made the House bill worse,” Jordan said. “It’s going to be tough for Senator Roberts and Senator Moran to square how they can support a bill that makes deeper cuts to Medicaid than the House bill and puts rural hospitals at even greater risk.”
The Senate bill would end federal funding for Medicaid expansion but more slowly than proposed in the House measure. It would prohibit Kansas and other states still considering expansion from moving forward.
Kansas disability advocates joined counterparts from across the country in denouncing the Senate bill, charging that cuts in Medicaid would force states to reduce support services that help people with physical and developmental disabilities remain in their communities.
“To say that people will die under this law is not an exaggeration,” said Mike Oxford, a Kansas disability rights advocate. “Home and community-based services are what allow us to do our jobs, live our lives and raise our families.”
At a rowdy Lenexa town hall meeting earlier this month, Moran said he wasn’t happy with the secretive process used to craft the health care bill but said he wanted to study it before taking a position.
“I want to see what the health care bill is. I wish it was being addressed in a different way than it is, but let’s see what the outcome is,” Moran said.
He issued a statement Thursday afternoon that said he was “awaiting the Congressional Budget Office score to gain a complete understanding of the impacts and consequences this bill would have on hardworking Kansans. If this bill isn’t good for Kansas, it isn’t good for me.”
Medicaid spending changes
The Senate bill gives states the option of receiving a per-person amount for Medicaid participants or a block grant, St. Peter said. Either option would limit the federal government’s contribution, pushing the states to either cut their Medicaid spending or pay a larger portion themselves, he said.
“It clearly puts the states at a greater risk of cost overruns,” St. Peter said.
Political watchers can expect a battle in the Senate about how to structure a proposed block grant, St. Peter said. Certain structures could penalize states like Kansas that have kept their Medicaid costs lower, he said.
Currently, the federal government pays a set percentage of Medicaid costs that increases as spending grows. If the bill passes, it would increase spending based not on states’ actual costs but on a measure of inflation — the consumer price index.
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics, the medical portion of the consumer price index includes prescription drugs, medical supplies, physicians’ services, eye care and hospital services. That measure showed the cost of medical care growingbetween 2.4 percent and 4.4 percent annually since 2007.
In Kansas, spending on Medicaid grew by an average of 4.5 percent per year from 2007 to 2010, and 3.2 percent per year from 2010 to 2014. If the federal Medicaid spending growth rate had been tied to the consumer price index during that time, Kansas would have had to reduce its spending or increase its contribution in multiple years.
Jim McLean and Meg Wingerter are reporters for the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of kcur.org, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics.
PRATT – Bullfrogs: big, green, bellowing creatures of the pond. They’re a common sight in Kansas, and more so a common sound at night. A bullfrog’s call seems to say “summer is here,”
and what better way to celebrate the season than to catch these water-loving acrobats with friends and family. The Kansas bullfrog season will be open from July 1-October 31. The daily limit of bullfrogs is eight and the possession limit is 24.
Frogging is a great way to cool off after a hot summer day, but first you need to locate a good waterhole. You can do this by listening for bullfrog croaks during the evenings. The more you hear, the better it will be. Next, you’ll need some simple gear. A burlap sack or fish basket to hold your frogs, old tennis shoes for wading, a quick pair of hands, and a flashlight or headlamp. Lastly, you’ll need a fishing license, unless exempt by law. That’s it, you’re ready to catch frogs. You can stick to using your hands (it’s the most fun), or you can opt for other legal methods such as hook and line, dip net, gig, or bow and crossbow (a line must attach the bow to the arrow and the arrow must have a barbed head).
While frogs can be caught during the day, most frogging is done at night. Stealth is required because whichever method you select, you must get close. Frogs’ eyes shine in a flashlight beam and the light seems to freeze them in place. However, your approach still needs to be slow and careful. Heavy footfalls on shore or ripples in the water will send the frog hopping, light or no light.
The ultimate challenge is to catch the frog by hand, which requires a low, quiet approach from behind, then a lightning snatch. Aim to grab the frog mid-body, just in front of the rear legs. It’s good fun, especially for kids; staying up past bedtime, wading in the shallows and getting really muddy on a warm summer night – it’s a 12-year-old’s dream!
Apart from providing some summertime fun, frog legs are wonderful table fare. Try yours dipped in batter and fried. After all, eating them is the next best thing to catching them.
PATTAWATOMIE COUNTY – A Kansas man died in an accident just before 7pm Saturday in Pattawatomie County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1995 Polaris ATV driven by Alex D. Blow, 49, Havensville, was westbound on Havensville Road just west of Angus Road.
The ATV entered the south ditch and hit a power pole.
Blow was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Chapel Oaks.
FINNEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating two former employees from USD 457 in Garden City on misdemeanor criminal charges.
On Friday, the Garden City Police Department reported a possible theft involving USD 457 employees, according to a media release.
Further investigation revealed that from October 1, 2014, to June 1, 2015, Martin Segovia Jr., 45, El Paso Texas, formerly the UDS 457 Athletic Director-Assistant Principal and Juan Neri, 34, a former teacher in Garden City allegedly used USD 457 equipment and supplies to create products for sale.
These products were sold to individuals and companies while leading the customers to believe that profits from the sales would benefit the school district.
Segovia and Neri allegedly completed the transactions and retained over $10,000 in sales for personal use without providing the money to the school district.
Neri-photo Finney Co.
In April, Neri turned himself in to authorities and on June 15, 2017, Segovia turned himself into authorities.
The Finney County Attorney’s Office has charged them with Criminal Deprivation of Property.
Segovia is a former state champion wrestler in Kansas. He also was a champion wrestler for University of Nebraska-Kearney. He currently works for the schools district in El Paso, TX.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. military chiefs plan to seek a six-month delay before allowing transgender people to enlist in the services.
Officials tell The Associated Press that service leaders hammered out an agreement that rejects Army and Air Force requests for a two-year wait.
The request for a delay is expected to go to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis for a final decision.
Transgender service members have been able to serve openly in the military since last year when the defense secretary at the time, Ash Carter, ended the ban.
Carter gave the services until July 1 to develop policies to allow people already identifying as transgender to newly join the military. The military chiefs have said they need time to study the issue and its impact.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The northeast Kansas town of Holton will be torn again next week as the second in a series of trials starts for a well-known local man accused of sexually assaulting several women.
The polarizing accusations against 22-year-old Jacob Ewing in this community of some 3,300 people have prompted his supporters to put up signs in their yards and to pack court proceedings wearing T-shirts emblazoned with messages of support and start a social media campaign.
An advocacy group for the women called “I Support the Victims of Jacob Ewing” is organizing volunteers to sit in the courtroom.
Ewing was acquitted in May of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, but faces trials on rape
Image from the group’s Facebook page
accusations levied by five adult women.
The trial that begins Monday is on charges of rape and aggravated criminal sodomy involving two women.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A southern Kansas man has pleaded not guilty to charges that he sexually attacked a mother of four before fatally setting her on fire.
KWCH-TV reports that an attorney for 28-year-old Cornell McNeal of Wichita entered the pleas Friday on McNeal’s behalf during a Sedgwick County arraignment.
He’s charged with capital murder in the November 2014 death of 36-year-old Letitia “Tish” Davis. She was found at Fairmount Park near Wichita State University by a neighbor who heard her screaming and discovered her on fire. Davis sustained burns on more than half of her body and died eight days later.
A judge on Wednesday found McNeal mentally competent to stand trial.
RENO COUNTY – Officials are working to determine the cause of a Friday evening house fire.
Just after 6 p.m. the Hutchinson Fire Department responded to 3118 North Hendricks Street for a report of a home on fire, according to a media release.
On arrival, first in units reported heavy fire and heavy smoke conditions on a single-story ranch home.
Crews battled heavy fire conditions that spread into the basement, first floor, and attic space from a rear wood patio deck on the house.
It took crews approximately 45 minutes to contain the fire, but not before it caused extensive damage to the home.
During the fire operations, one firefighter sustained non-life threating injuries from an interior ceiling collapse.
The firefighter was able to exit the structure under his own power after the collapse happened. A section of drywall fell from an interior ceiling of the home and landed on the firefighter knocking him down to the floor.
Reno County EMS evaluated the firefighter and was released at the scene.
“This is a reminder of how dangerous our profession can be. The fire had a head start prior to our arrival, and this made it difficult to contain to the area of origin,” according to Battalion Chief Jeremy Unruh.
No one was home at the time of the fire and the home is deemed uninhabitable.
RENO COUNTY –Law enforcement authorities in are investigating a fatal shooting and asking the public for help to locate a person-of-interest.
Just before 3:30 Saturday, officers of the Hutchinson Police Department were dispatched to the 100 block South Elm Street in reference to a shooting, according to a media release.
Officers located the victim Kenneth Thompson, 24, lying in the street with a gunshot wound.
Emergency crews transported him to the Hutchinson Regional Medical Center where he died.
Police say 19-year-old Leo Lamont Wells is a person of interest in the case.
Anyone with information is asked to Reno County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS, the Hutchinson Police Department at 620-694-2816, or Detective Loepp at 620-694-2829. This case is still under investigation. Any further inquiries need to be made to the District Attorney’s Office.
Alexandria Ware with U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, Washington, D.C.
DCF
TOPEKA –A young women, formerly in Kansas foster care, was recently selected for an internship with the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI). Alexandria Ware, 24, was one of 12 young professionals selected to participate in the CCAI’s Foster Youth Internship Program. Through the program, Ware gained a summer internship with the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means.
Prior to acquiring this congressional internship, Ware was a successful participant in the Kansas Department for Children and Families’ (DCF) Independent Living program in the Wichita Region. During that time, she was also an active member in the Kansas Youth Advisory Council (KYAC) and the Regional Youth Advisory Council (RYAC).
Ware graduated in May 2016, with a bachelor’s degree in Family Studies and Human Services, with a minor in Conflict Analysis and Trauma Studies from Kansas State University, while utilizing DCF’s Independent Living services. She also received a certificate in Conflict Analysis and Trauma Studies, as well as a certificate in Non-violent studies. Ware is currently a graduate student at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, pursuing a master’s degree in Human Development and Family Science.
“Alexandria is setting a wonderful example for Kansas youth from foster care,” DCF Secretary Phyllis Gilmore said. “She is demonstrating how perseverance, hard work and dedication are the keys to success, no matter the trauma one experiences early in life.”
She co-founded Fostering Success, a program that seeks to provide college students in or exiting from the foster care system with resources and skills, along with connections to mentors.
Her goal is to advocate for those in foster care with the hope of establishing a center where youth in foster care will have access to tutoring, mentoring and assistance for future college admissions.
CCAI is a non-profit organization that “works to raise awareness about the needs of children without families and to remove policy barriers that hinder children from knowing the love and support a family provides.”
Currently, there are nearly 7,000 children in foster care in Kansas. DCF serves as the State social service agency, providing oversight for the well-being of children and their families. In May, DCF released a new Foster Care Recruitment Campaign designed to recruit foster families, provide support to current foster families and increase the public’s awareness about the need for temporary, stable homes for children coming into care in Kansas. If you would like to learn more about this campaign, visit fosterkskids.org.
PAWNEE COUNTY – A Kansas man accused in the death of his wife made a court appearance Friday.
Jacob Ohnmacht, 27, of Larned, appeared in custody Friday afternoon before Pawnee Magistrate Judge Julie Cowell on a five (5) count Criminal Complaint filed earlier in the day by Pawnee County Attorney Douglas McNett, according to a media release.
Cowell advised the defendant of the charges, the possible penalties if convicted and his constitutional rights, including his right to counsel. If convicted, under the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines the Ohnmacht faces between 147 months and 653 months in the custody of the Department of Corrections depending on his criminal history.
He is charged with one count of Intentional Murder in the Second Degree, three counts of felony Interference of Law Enforcement and one count of misdemeanor Interference of Law Enforcement.
The charges stem from an ongoing investigation by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Pawnee County Sheriff’s Department and Coroner Dr. Lyle Noordhoek related to the death of Ohnmacht’s wife on the evening of December 12, 2016, at their residence in rural Pawnee County.
The arrest warrant and a copy of the criminal complaint were served by the Pawnee County Sheriff’s Department without incident just prior to the First Appearance. The defendant was already in the Sheriff’s custody on unrelated charges.
Following the First Appearance, the defendant was transferred to the Ford County Detention Center with bond set at $100,000 cash or surety. In the event the defendant posts bond, Judge Cowell advised he is not to have any contact, directly or indirectly, with the victim’s family.
A Preliminary Hearing was scheduled for July 6, 2017 at 3 p.m.
