SEDGWICK COUNTY -Voters in two Kansas school districts approved bond issues on Tuesday.
The $52-million-dollar bond issue for USD 265 Goddard will be used for security improvements, storm shelters and improved parking at 9 schools in the district, according to the district social media page.
Voters in USD 264 Clearwater passed a $15.8 million-dollar bond that will be used to upgrade school facilities and enhance school safety.
DENVER (AP) — Deep snow is melting into Western mountain streams, but some farmers and ranchers on the high plains are struggling amid a lengthy dry spell and the aftermath of destructive wildfires.
A swath of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas has been in a drought or near-drought condition for six months, putting some of the winter wheat crop in doubt.
The wildfires burned nearly 2,100 square miles (5,400 square kilometers) in the four states. Six people died.
Agriculture officials say the fires also killed more than 20,000 cattle and pigs and damaged or destroyed about $55 million worth of fences.
April rains in some areas have helped the grassland recover, but it could be weeks or longer before cattle can be turned out to graze, leaving some ranchers a choice of buying costlier feed or culling their herds.
KIDS AND CARS
OLATHE–In announcing the first National Child Vehicular Heatstroke Awareness and Prevention Day for 2017, on Wednesday, April 26th, KidsAndCars.org points out that heatstroke deaths are not rare, isolated tragedies.
On average, once every nine days an innocent child dies of heatstroke in a vehicle. It is of paramount importance that we work together to continue to raise awareness and prevent these deaths.
Already this year five children have died from heatstroke inside vehicles, and summer is still two months away:
A boy, 1, died Feb. 6 in Pinecrest, Florida
A boy, 2, died Feb. 28 in Brandon, Florida
A girl, 3, died March 28 in Ville Platte, Louisiana
A boy, 1, died April 4 in Vestavia, Alabama
A boy, 23 months, died April 14 in Burleson, Texas
Since 1990, almost 800 children have died in these preventable tragedies. An average of 37 children die needlessly every year from vehicular heatstroke. In 2016 a total of 39 children died. One of the biggest challenges; nobody thinks this could ever happen to them.
“If you’re a parent or caregiver, ask yourself, ‘What steps can I take to make sure our child is never left behind,'” says Janette Fennell, founder and president of KidsAndCars.org. Based in Olathe, it is the leading national nonprofit child safety organization working solely to prevent injuries and deaths of children in and around motor vehicles.
Safety steps include:
The public can also help. KidsAndCars.org encourages individuals to take immediate action if they see a child alone in a vehicle. “Call 911, and try to find the driver. But if the child is in imminent danger, it may be necessary to break the window furthest away from the child to rescue them,” stressed Fennell. The organization offers a small tool called resqme™, an all-in-one window breaker and seatbelt cutter that fits on a keychain. To break the glass, simply tap the spring-loaded device on the corner of a car window. (https://www.kidsandcars.org/resqme-tool/)
“We believe education along with technology solutions, such as systems to warn when a child is left behind, are the most effective way to prevent these tragedies,” Fennell added. To educate new parents, the organization has distributed more than 750,000 safety information cards to birthing hospitals nationwide through its “Look Before You Lock” educational campaign, the first program of its kind.
For additional information, statistics and charts on child vehicular heat stroke visit:
https://www.kidsandcars.org/heatstroke-day.html.
About KidsAndCars.org: Founded in 1996, KidsAndCars.org, Olathe, is the only national nonprofit child safety organization dedicated solely to preventing injuries and deaths of children in and around vehicles. KidAndCars.org promotes awareness among parents, caregivers and the general public about the dangers to children, including backover and frontover incidents, and heat stroke from being unknowingly left in a vehicle. The organization works to prevent tragedies through data collection, education and public awareness, policy change and survivor advocacy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Ron Estes, winner of a closer-than-usual congressional election in Kansas, has been sworn in as the newest member of the House.
Estes’ race attracted national attention because it was the first congressional election since Donald Trump became president and it was seen as a possible bellwether of the conditions Republicans will face in the 2018 midterms.
Breaking news → Just swore in the newest member of the House of Representatives: @RepRonEstes from #Kansas. pic.twitter.com/sjYbNHzIc1
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) April 25, 2017
Estes ended up winning by 7 percentage points after the president recorded a telephone pitch on his behalf and the national campaign arm for House Republicans pumped money into the race in the closing stretch.
Estes has served as the state treasurer in Kansas since January 2011. He represents a congressional district in south-central Kansas formerly held by CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
Republicans now hold a 238-193 majority in the House.
GEARY COUNTY – A Kansas county jail deputy is under investigation for an alleged inappropriate relationship with an inmate.
On April 20, deputies arrested Brian Patrick O’Loughlin on requested charges of unlawful sexual relations with a female inmate while he was a Corrections Officer.
The name of the female inmate was not available.
Due to the incident and subsequent arrest, O’Loughlin’s employment as a Corrections Officer was terminated, according to Geary County Sheriff Tony Wolf.
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A central Kansas man has pleaded no contest to charges in connection with a head-on car collision that killed a Salina woman.
Patrick Driscoll, 33, pleaded Monday to a felony charge of involuntary manslaughter and misdemeanor counts of reckless driving and endangerment.
Driscoll was allegedly driving a pickup truck south in a northbound lane early April 27, 2016, when he crashed into a sport vehicle driven by 55-year-old Song Horton. Horton died the next day at a Wichita hospital.
Prosecutor Brock Abbey says Driscoll’s blood-alcohol content was more than double the legal limit two hours after the crash.
Ryan Gering, Driscoll’s attorney, requested the judge to let Driscoll stay in Saline County Jail instead of an area county facility so he can receive medical care for his wounds from the crash.
WINFIELD, Kan. (AP) — A student in Kansas is pushing back against a private college’s policy to keep her “service dog in training” on campus.
KSNW-TV reports that Southwestern College freshman Casey Cargill is a certified dog trainer with the nonprofit Training to Lead. Cargill began training a poodle named Ike in March, and says she sent the college a courtesy letter explaining why Ike would be living on campus and going to class with her.
The dean of students sent a letter dated April 19 that said Cargill was no longer allowed to have her dog on campus because the school’s policy only allows service animals on campus for people with disabilities, not trainers.
Cargill, who has trained over 20 dogs, says she plans to fight the college’s policy.
SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Sedgwick County are investigating a suspect on theft and drug charges.
In mid-April, a suspect forced their way into a home in the 9000 Block of East Crestwood Court in Wichita, according to police spokesperson Nikki Woodrow during Tuesday’s online media briefing.
The suspect took jewelry, weapons and two vehicles worth over $100,000.
On April 20, police developed a possible suspect and arrested a 36-year-old man identified as Samuel Thomas Haley, according to the Sedgwick County booking records.
During the arrest, police did recover and return most of the stolen property, according to Woodrow.
Haley is being held in the Sedgwick County jail on a $50,000 bond for burglary, theft, possession of stolen property and drug possession.
He has numerous previous burglary, theft and an arson conviction, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Secretary of State Kris Kobach says he’s planning to remain in Kansas rather than take a job in President Donald Trump’s administration.
Kobach made the remark Tuesday morning during an interview on the Fox News program “Fox & Friends” about Trump’s plans to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. Kobach advised Trump’s campaign last year.
Asked why he wasn’t a part of the administration, Kobach said he has decided “the best thing for me to do right now is to stay in my home state of Kansas.”
He didn’t mention plans to run for the Republican nomination for governor in 2018, but he’s long been seen as a potential candidate. GOP Gov. Sam Brownback is term-limited.
Kobach’s spokeswoman did not immediately return a telephone message from The Associated Press.
WICHITA – A Kansas woman was indicted Tuesday on federal charges of providing a gun to a man who is charged with shooting and killing three people near Moundridge, according to U.S. Attorney Tom Beall.
Myrta M. Rangel, 31, Wichita, is charged with:
One count of aiding and abetting possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking (count one).
One count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking (count two).
One count of conspiracy to carry a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking (count three).
One count of transferring a firearm to be used in drug trafficking (count four).
One count of unlawful possession of a firearm following a felony conviction (count five).
One count of giving a firearm to a convicted felon (count six).
It is alleged that on Oct. 29, 2016, Rangel gave a .40 caliber handgun to Jereme Nelson. Nelson is charged in Harvey County District Court with killing three people: Travis Street, Angela May Graevs and Richard Prouty.
If convicted, she faces the following penalties:
Count one: Not less than 10 years and a fine up to $250,000.
Count two: Not less than five years and a fine up to $250,000.
Count three: Up to 20 years and a fine up to $250,000.
Counts four, five and six: Up to 10 years and a fine up to $250,000.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A woman whose baby was due mid-May went into labor early and gave birth at a Nebraska zoo.
Drea Hubbard was born Sunday at the Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium, weighing 5 pounds, 5 ounces.
Her mother, 24-year-old Kymica Hubbard, says the birth took about two minutes from when her water broke.
Hubbard was so taken by surprise that she was still standing when Drea’s head appeared. Her husband, Justin Hubbard, caught the child and wrapped her in a sweater as other zoo visitors gathered around.
The zoo’s nurse, Krystal Hartmann, says Drea is the first human baby she’s seen delivered at the facility.
While Kymica Hubbard says she never thought she would have a baby in public, her husband said he “wouldn’t trade the experience for the world.”
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a woman was killed and a firefighter injured during a blaze at a house in Lawrence, Kansas.
The city’s fire department said in a news release that firefighters managed to pull the woman from the burning, one-story home about 5:45 a.m. Tuesday, but she died at the scene. Her name was not immediately released.
The city said a firefighter sustained a minor injury.
There was no immediate word on what may have sparked the fire.
BY JIM MCLEAN
A third of the way to an end-of-year deadline, Kansas officials still do not have federal approval to extend KanCare.
In January, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services denied the state’s request for a one-year extension of the waiver that allowed it to privatize its Medicaid program. The denial letter said neither the Kansas Department of Health and Environment nor the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services was doing enough to hold the three private companies that run the program responsible for providing services accountable to Medicaid rules.
Mike Randol, director of health care finance at KDHE, recently told Kansas lawmakers that he is confident the state will get the requested extension ahead of the deadline.
“I just think with the process they’ve asked us to go through, it is going to take more time than expected,” Randol told members of the KanCare oversight committee last week.
At the time of the denial, Republican Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer called it “an ugly parting shot” from the outgoing administration of Democratic President Barack Obama.
“We expect this situation to be resolved quickly once the new administration in Washington comes into office,” Colyer said, referring to then President-elect Donald Trump, who was inaugurated days later.
Read the KanCare extension denial letter from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
During the oversight committee meeting, Randol declined to predict when the extension would be granted but noted that his meetings with CMS officials have been “much more friendly” since the change in administrations.
Technically, KanCare is a demonstration project. The federal government gave the state permission to suspend regular Medicaid rules to demonstrate that contracting with three private insurance companies could improve care and slow the growth rate of Medicaid costs.
Since the inception of KanCare in 2013, the state has spent approximately $1.4 billion less than it would have under the old fee-for-service program, Randol said.
State officials plan to seek another waiver for what they are calling KanCare 2.0 but say they need a year to finalize their proposal.
Meanwhile, health care providers — nursing homes in particular — continue to complain about significant payment and administrative problems under KanCare.
“As we have reported every month for the last 14 months, there continues to be a Medicaid eligibility backlog in the thousands,” said Rachel Monger, director of government affairs for LeadingAge Kansas, which represents nonprofit nursing homes.
“Our members continue to report delayed cases, lost paperwork and communications frustrations,” she told members of the oversight committee.
A pilot project appears to have resolved the backlog problems at a dozen test nursing homes, Randol said. He said KDHE is in the process of implementing changes based on that project.
Still, several members of the committee said the assurances they are getting from agency officials do not square with the complaints they continue to hear from constituents.
“We hear things are improving, but when I go back home I’m not hearing the same thing,” said Rep. Susan Concannon, a Republican from Beloit, noting that it took more than a year to process the eligibility of one nursing home resident in her district.
Providers also are urging legislators to reverse a cut in KanCare reimbursement rates ordered last year by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback to help avert a budget deficit. They say the cut is hindering their ability to serve KanCare patients and maintain provider networks.
Restoring the KanCare cut is one of the issues that lawmakers are expected to consider when they return May 1 to finalize the state budget.
Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of kcur.org, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics in Kansas.
