DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lottery officials say there was no jackpot winner in Saturday’s Powerball drawing, adding the current estimated jackpot has jumped to $400 million or $227.8 million in cash value.
Powerball said the next drawing will be Wednesday, Feb. 19. It added in a statement that the previous estimated jackpot total was an annuitized $330.8 million, or $188.4 million as a cash option.
Powerball is played in 43 states (including Kansas), Washington and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The odds of matching all six numbers in the game are 1 in about 175 million, according to statistics pf the nonprofit Multi-State Lottery Association whose members offer one or more of the association’s games.
WICHITA (AP) — A 43-year-old woman had to have a knife removed from the back of her head at a Wichita hospital after a late-night altercation.
The Wichita Eagle reports the woman and a 49-year-old man told police that someone pointed a handgun at them late Friday at an unknown location.
They said the man pulled out a pocket knife to defend himself, but the suspect grabbed it and threw it at the woman.
Wichita Police Sgt. Ron Hunt said the knife became imbedded in the back of the woman’s head. She walked into Via Christi Hospital with the knife still stuck in her head, and doctors were able to remove it.
TOPEKA (AP) — The attorney for a former Kansas Bureau of Investigation deputy director charged with sexual exploitation of a child says no child was ever in danger.
Thomas Haney told the Associated Press on Friday that his client, 57-year-old Kyle G. Smith, isn’t accused of approaching, touching or having any communication with a child. Haney says the charge involves claims that Smith looked at an image.
Smith was charged Thursday with one count of looking at a sexually explicit image of a child. He also faces two counts of interference with law enforcement, alleging he tried to destroy evidence on a telephone and on a computer.
Haney says Smith’s first court appearance will likely be scheduled in April when the case appears on a criminal assignment docket. Smith is free on bond.
WICHITA (AP) — A federal judge has scheduled a trial for a man who claims the juvenile detention center in Sedgwick County violated his rights by using a restraining chair as punishment.
U.S. District Judge Monti Belot set the Oct. 14 date in the wake of last year’s appeals court ruling that Brandon Blackmon is entitled to a trial.
Blackmon sued as an adult in 2005 over treatment he received at the facility as an 11-year-old while awaiting trial on criminal charges that were later dismissed.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said jailers had made “liberal use” of the restraining chair, in which a person is immobilized with straps.
The appeals court upheld a lower court’s refusal to dismiss Blackmon’s lawsuit against the Sedgwick County Board of Commissioners and its employees.
SALINA — A SeaPort Airlines PC-12 Pilatus landed with gear up Friday morning at Salina Regional Airport.
A pilot and copilot were on board the otherwise empty aircraft. Airport firefighters, the Salina Fire Department and Salina EMS responded to the scene.
EMS reported no serious injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board has released the aircraft to be removed from the scene and airport crews are inspecting the area in preparation to reopen the runway. An aircraft recovery contractor is en route to remove the aircraft.
One runway was expected to be closed for the remainder of Friday afternoon, and the incident remains under investigation.
TOPEKA — Kansas Department for Children and Families Secretary Phyllis Gilmore on Thursday defended her agency against criticism that it is holding back federal grant dollars that could be used to help needy families.
Kansas Department for Children and Families Secretary Phyllis Gilmore
“I think saving for a rainy day is the prudent thing to do, but to me this looks and feels like a significant amount of money sitting on the sidelines, money that we could be using to address some critical needs,” said Rep. Melissa Rooker, a Fairway Republican, who said she was troubled by the idea of mothers of months-old infants going without quality childcare while one of the state’s lead welfare agencies held $48 million in reserve.
But Gilmore said the unspent money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fund was good to have.
“It would be less than prudent for there not to be some carryover,” Gilmore said, testifying before the House Committee on Children and Seniors.
The fund currently has about $48 million in it.
More poor children, fewer benefits
Gilmore said she knew of no formula for calculating how much should be left unspent at the end of the fiscal year, but records showed that previous administrations typically ended up with between $30 million and $40 million a year in carrier over balances.
She said the agency was open to discussing how much should be left unspent in the coming fiscal year.
Gov. Sam Brownback has proposed – and legislators are considering – using some of the money to pay for after-school reading programs in southeast and southwest Kansas. The governor’s Reading Roadmap initiative is expected to cost about $9 million a year for three years.
But advocates for children and the poor have criticized DCF for holding the TANF money while the number of Kansas children living in poverty is increasing.
“No one is against there being a balance from one year to the next,” said Karen Wulfkuhle, executive director of United Community Services of Johnson County, in a later interview. “It just seems like there’s an opportunity here to invest some of these dollars in evidence-based programs that truly make a positive difference in people’s lives. But we don’t see much of that happening.”
Last year, the advocacy group Kansas Action for Children, released a report showing that the number of Kansas children living in poverty had increased from 21 percent in 2011 to 23 percent in 2012.
The increase, according to the report, coincided with DCF enacting policies that led to thousands of families being dropped from the state’s TANF rolls.
“What this means is that we have more people living in poverty but receiving fewer benefits,” said Christie Appelhanz, vice president for public affairs at KAC.
A bridge, not a garage
Gilmore did not dispute the statistics, but told committee members that DCF is committed to encouraging low-income parents to find jobs so they can work their way out of poverty.
The TANF program, she said, was meant to be a “bridge” out of poverty, not a “garage.”
Gilmore said DCF now expects mothers receiving TANF-funded public assistance to rejoin the workforce two months after giving birth. Previously, the policy allowed mothers to be at home for six months after a delivery.
“We felt that six months was more than any working person receives,” Gilmore said.
The policy change took effect in May 2013.
The agency has not kept track of how families affected by the policy change have fared as a result of it, Gilmore said.
But she said neither she nor Karen Beckerman, DCF’s director of strengthening families services, had received telephone calls from TANF mothers reporting difficulties.
“That’s not a surprise,” said Leadell Ediger, in a later telephone interview. “If you talked to these moms, they’d say, ‘What’s the use? There’s no one at DCF who’s going to help me.’ And that assumes that when they call DCF, they could actually talk to somebody.”
Ediger is executive director of Child Care Aware of Kansas, a nonprofit agency based in Salina that works to improve the quality of child care programs.
TANF money is still available for the mothers to help them pay for child care so they can work, but Ediger said it can be difficult for mothers to find quality care for children younger than six months old, especially if the mothers are working evening or night shifts for low wages. Many child-care providers limit the number of TANF-financed children they will take because what the state pays is half or less the going market rate, she said.
Foster care update
Gilmore also updated the committee on the state’s foster care programs, noting that the number of children in the system “was not declining.”
In December, 5,912 foster children were in out-of-home placements, the most in state history.
Also in December, 1,010 foster children were available for adoption; also a record number.
Gilmore said DCF was having trouble hiring child protection workers in sparsely populated western Kansas.
The hiring effort also has been hampered by low salaries and what she called an image problem.
“It’s a myth that we’re not hiring social workers,” she said. “That’s not true.”
LAWRENCE (AP) — A former Lawrence man will get a new trial in the 2004 death of his wife.The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday overturned the murder conviction of Martin Miller. He was convicted of strangling his 46-year-old wife, Mary Miller, at their home because he was having an affair and wanted to collect $300,000 in life insurance.
The Lawrence Journal-World reported the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled in February 2012 that Miller should get a new trial because of errors in jury instructions at his 2005 trial.
The Kansas Supreme Court agreed on Friday that the jury instructions were incorrect. The court said the jurors were told they could acquit Miller only if they had a reasonable doubt on every element of the charge, rather than on just one element.
SALINA — The driver of a semi hauling a load of cattle who led law enforcement on a chase early Thursday morning is expected to face several charges, including driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Rory M. Cook
Dickinson County Sheriff Gareth Hoffman said Friday morning Rory M. Cook, 29, of King City, Mo., drove past an Abilene police officer at a high rate of speed on the outskirts of Abilene about 5 a.m. Thursday.
Hoffman said Cook nearly ran the officer off the road and would not stop. Deputies from Dickinson County began to pursue the semi on Old U.S. 40 through Solomon and into Saline County, where Saline County Sheriff’s deputies, Salina Police Department officers and Kansas Highway Patrol troopers were involved.
After driving south on Ohio Street through Salina, Cook turned west onto Waterwell Road where a Salina Police officer and Kansas Highway Patrol trooper put out spikes that flattened five tires on the truck. The truck eventually stopped about west of Ninth on Waterwell Road.
Hoffman said Cook was returned to Dickinson County where he likely will be charged with several traffic offenses including reckless driving and flee and eluding in addition to the DUI charge. Hoffman said the investigation into the case continues.
TOPEKA — The Kansas Medicaid Access Coalition has launched a new website showing how much Kansas is losing in federal aid dollars by refusing to expand its Medicaid program in keeping with the Affordable Care Act.
Sean Gatewood
The website, HowMuchHasKSLeftOnTheTable.com, displays a continuous “ticker” showing how many dollars Kansas is “leaving on the table.”
The sum was about $47.8 million by mid-day Friday.
“We launched this website because our state’s leadership has chosen not to accept federal funds to expand the Medicaid program,” said Sean Gatewood, a coalition spokesman. “Instead, our federal tax dollars are going to states like California and New York to provide health insurance coverage to their residents. Meanwhile, as many as 100,000 hardworking Kansans remain uninsured.”
The coalition includes more than 50 social service and consumer groups. The Kansas Hospital Association also is pushing Kansas policymakers to rethink their opposition to Medicaid expansion.
Gov. Sam Brownback and Republican legislative leaders have said they fear the federal aid money would dry up in the future leaving Kansas to pick up much of the added cost.
About 78,000 Kansans currently without health insurance could potentially gain it, should state leaders choose to open up the program, which serves low-income elderly, disabled and children. Kansas currently has some of the most restrictive eligibility standards in the nation.
TOPEKA (AP) — Topeka officials have found nothing to substantiate anonymous allegations of office bullying at city court.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reported city manager Jim Colson said Thursday that the city’s human resources and legal department interviewed 11 municipal court employees while investigating the claims.
The complaint was made in a letter sent to the city and media outlets. It centers on the municipal court, which is overseen by administrative judge Vic Miller. The letter didn’t allege Miller directly bullied anyone, but claimed he didn’t stop two employees from engaging in what the letter writer called hostile behavior.
City spokeswoman Suzie Gilbert says the people mentioned in the letter remain employed in the same capacities.
TOPEKA (AP) — The University of Kansas went one-for-two before state legislative committees considering bonding authority for two major projects.
A House committee Thursday rejected the university’s request for $17.5 million in bonding authority to build 66 high-end apartments, with 32 used by student-athletes. University officials say they need the upscale living to compete for basketball recruits.
Two state representatives on the House Education Budget Committee said the project was extravagant, and the university’s sports boosters could pay for it.
Earlier Thursday, a House-Senate committee approved the university’s request for bonding authority for a $75 million health education building at the KU Medical Center.
The Lawrence Journal-World reported the university wants the state to pay $15 million over several years. The committee recommended approval of the first $1.4 million.
TOPEKA — The Kansas House Committee on Energy and Environment heard testimony Thursday on a non-binding resolution to oppose President Barack Obama’s recent plan to curb the effects of climate change.
Sen. Forrest Knox, R-Altoona
The president’s Climate Action Plan from June 2013 calls for the United States, by 2020, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 17 percent below 2005 levels. It is up to the Environmental Protection Agency to adopt and enforce the plan.
House Resolution 6043 asserts the president’s plan is based on assumptions, incorrect models and a lack of peer-reviewed scientific evidence. It also states the Earth’s climate is not influenced by greenhouse gas emissions from humans, but rather it is following a natural cycle that has been previously observed for thousands of years.
Supporters of the resolution, including Sen. Forrest Knox, R-Altoona, argued the climate change debate is one rooted in politics rather than science.
“The lack of real debate and the lack of real science, together with the refusal by the alarmists to even recognize the existence of any credible debate, cause me to conclude that there is only one logical explanation for what is occurring,” Knox said. “This is all political.”
Sedgwick County Commission Richard Ranzau and Edward Cross, president of the Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association also spoke in support of the resolution.
During his testimony, Cross commended Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s recent submission of an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals case American Farm Bureau Federation v. Environmental Protection Agency. Schmidt’s brief is in support of the plaintiff, the American Farm Bureau.
Cross said the lawsuit shows that states are not in support of increased regulation by the federal government and Obama’s plan would infringe upon state sovereignty.
Rep. Dennis Hedke, R-Wichita, also testified in support of the resolution. Hedke is the chairman of the Committee on Energy and Environment. He argued that the Earth is in “an interglacial period of warming” and that it is not influenced by actions of humans.
Rep. Ed Trimmer, D-Winfield, questioned the scientific accuracy of evidence presented by Hedke and called for Chuck Rice a scientist from Kansas State University to testify. Rice said that peer-reviewed scientific literature says there is uncertainty about climate change, but it is clear that there is a heat build-up happening in the deep ocean and the heat has the potential to transition into the atmosphere.
Opponents of the resolution argued that the Legislature should be discussing solutions to climate change issues, rather than spending time to pass a non-binding resolution.
“It is embarrassing that Kansas is still fighting the climate change battle instead of progressing to solutions,” said Lynn Hunter, a health teacher from Winfield.
Rabbi Moti Rieber, coordinator for Kansas Interfaith Power & Light, and Zach Pistora, a lobbyist for the Kansas Sierra Club, both strongly opposed the resolution. They echoed statements by Hunter that by supporting the resolution, Kansas would be ignoring the climate change issue.
“Putting your fingers in your ears and humming is not an option,” Rieber said.
Rep. Julie Menghini, D-Pittsburg, and Rep. Russ Jennings, R-Lakin, questioned why the committee was considering the resolution at all.
“Do you really think that passing this achieves any practical purpose?” asked Menghini. “I can’t help but feel like we are spinning our wheels here.”
Jennings on the other hand said that while he believes that the EPA regulations at the state level are “virtually impossible” to enact. He also expressed concerns about the committee making a decision without clear facts.
“I do not wish to make a statement that is not based on fact,” Jennings said. “There are clearly parts of this which are based in dispute.”
ELLSWORTH — No one was injured when a plane flipped while attempting to land at Ellsworth Municipal Airport at 4:14 p.m. Thursday.
According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, a 2000 Cessna single-engine, fixed-wing plane was coming in for a landing when it drifted to the left. The left rear tire caught a snow bank, pulling the nose down.
The nose hit the ground and the airplane flipped.
The pilot, Adam R. Martin, 21, Baldwin City, was not injured, the KHP said.
