Beginning as early as January 6, a project to replace the bridge over Middle Ladder Creek along K-27 Highway in Wallace County will begin.

The bridge is located approximately one mile north of the Wallace/Greeley County line.

Workers will start placing signs and traffic control devices on or around January 6 – weather permitting.

The bridge is 50 years old, according to a news release from the Kansas Department of Transportation.  The scope of the project includes replacing the existing bridge which was constructed in 1963.

The construction work will be completed in phases. The first phase includes earthwork and installing a temporary shoo-fly detour which will be located east of the existing bridge.

“Traffic will not be affected during the first phase of construction,” reports KDOT Area Engineer Mathew Withington. “The second phase of the project includes construction of the new bridge structure during the first part of April. At that time, drivers will then utilize the temporary shoo fly detours to navigate around the construction.”

KDOT awarded the construction contract – totaling $2.4 million – to L & M Contractors, Inc., of Great Bend.

Weather permitting this project will be completed by fall of 2014.

The bridge replacement project is funded by T-WORKS, the transportation program passed by the Kansas Legislature in May of 2010.

FROM THE KANSAS HEALTH INSTITUTE

Topeka, KS — A two-year study has just concluded that examined the process of health assessment and improvement planning in Kansas communities. Community health assessment (known as CHA) is a process of systematically collecting and analyzing data about health, health care status, issues and needs within a defined population. Community health improvement planning (CHIP) is the step that follows, which utilizes results from the CHA to identify and implement strategies to improve health within that community.

In 2010, the Public Health Accreditation Board issued the first set of criteria for use in the accreditation process of state and local health departments. Those criteria included requirements for health departments to complete community health assessments and community health improvement plans at least once every five years. Furthermore, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) also set new requirements for tax-exempt, nonprofit hospitals to conduct community health assessments at least once every three years.

An issue brief has been released that summarizes the results of this study conducted by the Kansas Health Institute and the University of Kansas School of Medicine – Wichita, in a collaborative effort with statewide public health practitioners (i.e., health departments and hospitals). The information for this study was gathered through various focus groups and surveys about CHA/CHIP experiences and outcomes in Kansas between 2012 and 2013.

Key findings of the study showed that many CHA/CHIP activities have already been initiated in Kansas communities and have reported progress. In addition, public health practitioners (i.e., health departments and hospitals) have reported an increase of confidence to complete a CHA/CHIP.

(AP) Dodge City –Fire erupted inside the Cargill meatpacking plant near Dodge City Monday night, and kept firefighters busy for more than five hours.

Capt. Mark Elder with the Dodge City Fire Department told KAKE News the fire began around 9:00 p.m. in the kill floor area. Because the complex is so large, crews spent several hours trying to put out all the hot spots.

The plant was evacuated, according to fire department officials. The cause of the fire is still not known, and there were no injuries, according to the company.

Cargill’s beef plant, which had been scheduled to be shuttered on Tuesday and Wednesday for the Christmas holidays, is expected to remain closed for the rest of the week as damage is assessed and fire inspectors investigate what started the blaze.

The Cargill plant is located about two miles west of the Dodge City limits. A spokesman for Ford County Fire/EMS told KAKE News the fire may started from a heater.

Cargill has yet to release a statement about how the fire will affect production. The company’s website says the Dodge City plant employs more than 2,700 people, making it the city’s second-largest employer. It is the largest Cargill beef plant.

Cargill announced plans in late August to spend $48 million on a new automated system at the Dodge City plant. The goal was to increase capacity sixfold.

More than 40 people have become ill after eating at a Garden City sandwich shop.

The Finney County Health Department issued a news release Saturday saying it’s working in conjunction with Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas Department of Agriculture and Jimmy John’s to find the cause of the numerous cases of gastrointestinal illnesses that have been associated with eating at Jimmy John’s in Garden City.

Those who’ve become sick have eaten at Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches, 503 East Kansas Avenue, on December 11, 2013 or after, according to Finney County Health Department Administrator Ashley Goss.

Currently the Health Department has been notified of more than 40 cases of the gastrointestinal illness. The symptoms are much like the stomach flu, including vomiting, diarrhea, and fever in some cases, muscle and joint aches as well as fatigue.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture has conducted their inspection of the facility as required.

Any findings have been corrected and require no further action.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts, both Kansas Republicans, and 25 other senators introduced the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act on Thursday, bipartisan legislation proposing sanctions on Iran if the nation breaches the interim Joint Plan of Action agreed to in Geneva or fails to reach a final agreement.

“The development of an Iranian nuclear arsenal remains the greatest threat to stability in the Middle East,” Moran said. “While I hope that the ongoing negations will bear increased cooperation and a chance at peace, the sanctions proposed in this legislation would provide the world a critical insurance policy if diplomatic efforts ultimately fall short.”

The prospective sanctions legislation requires further reductions in purchases of Iranian petroleum and applies additional penalties to strategic elements of the Iranian economy, including the engineering, mining and construction sectors. It also gives the Obama administration up to one year from the conclusion of an implementing agreement to pursue a diplomatic track resulting in the complete and verifiable termination of Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons program.

MATFIELD GREEN AP) — A search is underway along the Kansas Turnpike for a woman who was spotted walking away from her car earlier this week.

KAKE-TV reported a state trooper saw the woman Wednesday evening in Chase County, walking away from her parked car and carrying a red duffel bag.

The trooper turned around to see if the woman needed help, but she was gone.

On Friday, officers from several agencies were searching the rugged terrain in the rural area of east-central Kansas.

The woman is described as white, about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighing about 150 pounds. Relatives said she has a history of medical issues.

TOPEKA (AP) — A conservative social agenda that rewrote the state’s abortion, gun rights and voter ID rules dominated Kansas’ top stories of 2013, underscoring the state’s persistent move to the right under Gov. Sam Brownback.

Reporters and editors for The Associated Press picked the state’s changes to abortion laws as Kansas’ top story, as legislators enacted a sweeping law that bans sex-selection abortions, blocks tax breaks for providers and prohibits them from furnishing instructors or materials for public schools’ sexuality courses. The new restrictions also affect providers’ websites and spell out what information patients must receive before their pregnancies are terminated. Most of the law took effect in July, with lawsuits pending in state and federal court, as the state’s legal costs mounted.

Government leaders were also busy on other social issues. With a push from the National Rifle Association, Kansas became the first state to attempt to restrict the use of state funds for lobbying or advocacy on gun issues, and it also enacted a law declaring that the federal government has no power to regulate firearms, ammunition or accessories manufactured, sold and kept in Kansas. Lawmakers also passed a measure to ensure that people with valid concealed carry permits can bring their weapons into more public buildings.

The year also saw Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach champion a law that requires new voters to provide proof of their U.S. citizenship when they register, as an anti-fraud measure. The law took effect in January, and the list of voters whose registrations were on hold — preventing them from legally casting ballots — grew to more than 18,000. Kobach initiated a federal lawsuit, working with Arizona, in hopes of forcing federal officials to modify their registration form to aid in the law’s enforcement, and the American Civil Liberties Union launched its own litigation.

The year’s no. 2 story came Dec. 13 when the FBI foiled an alleged plot by a Wichita avionics technician to detonate a car bomb inside the city’s Mid-Continent Regional Airport. Terry Lee Loewen was charged with plotting with undercover FBI agents to collect explosives, put them in a vehicle and drive them into the airport terminal in an act of “violent jihad.”

Prosecutors claimed Loewen became radicalized toward violence against the U.S. after searching for and downloading documents about jihad. Loewen, who had loaded his vehicle with explosives that he didn’t know were inert, was arrested on the morning he planned the attack as he tried to enter the airport gate.

The no. 3 story was drought, and for a change the news was mostly good. Drought conditions eased significantly across Kansas, bolstering predictions for better crops of corn, sorghum and soybeans. But by the end of summer, dry conditions remained a problem for some growers, especially in the state’s northwest corner where heat was again wilting crops.

The rest of the top 10:

No. 4 — HEALTH CARE: Kansas opted out of having its own, state-run online health insurance marketplace, leaving uninsured Kansas to navigate the troubled federal website after its startup in October. Also, legislators blocked any expansion of the state’s Medicaid program as contemplated by the federal health care law, complaining about the potential cost. The state turned over the administration of its Medicaid program to three private companies, and Gov. Sam Brownback proclaimed that the state was delivering better care at less costs, though by the end of the year, hospitals were complaining that they were seeing long delays in reimbursements.

No. 5 — BRADLEY MANNING: Chelsea Manning, the Army private formerly known as Bradley Manning, was convicted and sentenced in August to serve a 35-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth for sending more than 700,000 secret military and State Department documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq. Manning has threatened to go to court over her desire to live as a woman and receive hormone replacement therapy.

No. 6 — SEACAT TRIAL: Former Sedgwick County sheriff’s deputy Brett Seacat was convicted in June in the death of his wife after a trial in which prosecutors contend he set fire to the family’s home in Kingman to destroy evidence as their two young sons slept down the hall.

No. 7 — KANSAS FARM BODIES: An Ottawa man was charged with killing four people on an eastern Kansas farm in May. Kyle T. Flack, who was 28 at the time, was charged with capital murder, first-degree murder, rape and criminal possession of a firearm. Prosecutors say he killed three adults and an 18-month-old girl in late April and early May. No motive has been publicly alleged.

No. 8 — SCHOOL FUNDING: The Kansas Supreme Court heard arguments in October in the state’s appeal of a ruling requiring legislators to increase annual spending on public schools by at least $440 million, after negotiations with lawyers for aggrieved parents and school districts didn’t go anywhere.

No. 9 — SOUTHEAST KANSAS FAMILY KILLED: A 22-year-old southeast Kansas man remained jailed on $5 million bond and facing capital murder charges after being arrested for the November killings of a Parsons woman and her three young children.

No. 10 — ‘HARD 50’ FIX: In June, a U.S. Supreme Court decision in a Virginia case raised questions about the constitutionality of the Kansas law that allows people convicted of first-degree murder to be sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 50 years. Brownback called a special session for September, and lawmakers passed a fix in two days. But the special session also raised questions about whether the law should be even tougher.

Other stories drawing attention:

— JUDICIAL SELECTION: Brownback and conservative Republicans who want to change how Kansas Court of Appeals and Supreme Court members are selected succeeded in changing the process for the Court of Appeals but not the higher court, so that the Court of Appeals judges are chosen by the governor, with Senate confirmation. Brownback appointed his chief counsel, Caleb Stegall, to a new Court of Appeals position, then touched off protests by refusing to release the names of all applicants. Stegall was confirmed by the Senate during the special session.

— TOPEKA KILLINGS: A 45-year-old woman with a history of past drug offenses was found shot and seriously wounded behind a central Topeka restaurant on Dec. 1. As they were investigating, police went to her home and found the bodies of her 43-year-old brother, 56-year-old ex-husband and a 34-year-old woman, all shot to death. The first woman died, giving Topeka its first quadruple homicide.

— BORDER WAR. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon called for a moratorium on efforts by his state and Kansas to use incentives to lure businesses across their shared line in the Kansas City area. But Nixon, a Democrat, got flak from Republicans in both states. In Missouri, he was accused of trying to grab more power over economic development programs, while in Kansas, GOP lawmakers said their state shouldn’t abandon a winning strategy.

— SPORTING KC: The professional soccer team, with its home in Kansas City, Kan., won Major League Soccer’s championship in December, making it the first Kansas team to win a professional title.

— KU PROFESSOR’S TWEET: University of Kansas journalism professor David Guth sparked outrage with a tweet after September shootings that killed 13 people in Washington, D.C. It said, “The blood is on the hands of the #NRA. Next time, let it be YOUR sons and daughters. Shame on you. May God damn you.”

— ABORTION CLINIC: In April, an abortion clinic opened up in Wichita in the same building where slain abortion provider George Tiller worked before his 2009 murder.

— ESCAPED INMATES STANDOFF: Two inmates who fled a Kansas prison in May were charged in Missouri where they were accused of trying to ambush the officers pursuing them and of attempting to kidnap the mayor of the small town where they were eventually captured after less than a day on the run.

— HEPATITIS C INFECTIONS: A traveling medical technician who stole painkillers and infected dozens of patients with hepatitis C in multiple states, including Kansas, was sentenced to nearly 40 years in prison in December. Six patients in Hays were among the more than 40 people affected by the infections.

TOPEKA (AP) — Topeka fire crews are evacuating several shops at a mall after a car hit a building, severing a gas line.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported the accident occurred Friday morning at the Barrington Village complex. The fire department did not have details on how many shops and how many people were involved in the evacuation.

The accident was reported around 11:15 a.m.

There were no immediate reports of fire or injuries.

WICHITA (AP) — A federal magistrate judge says an avionics technician charged with plotting to bomb a commercial aircraft terminal in Kansas poses a public danger and should not be released pending trial.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Humphreys also ruled at Friday’s hearing that Terry Lee Loewen is a flight risk. She entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.

The 58-year-old man is charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted use of an explosive device to damage property and attempted material support to al-Qaida.

Loewen was arrested Dec. 13 after a months-long undercover sting. Prosecutors say he tried to bring what he believed was explosives onto the tarmac at Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport where he worked. They say the attack could have killed or maimed hundreds of people.

TOPEKA (AP) — A proposed $142 million bond issue in the Topeka school district would include closing three elementary schools and moving students in another school to two other schools.

The Topeka School Board is considering a proposal to put the bond issue on the April ballot. The board will vote next month on whether to proceed with the plan.

The board heard details of the proposal Thursday night. The three elementary schools that would be closed are Bishop, Avondale West and Shaner. Students would move to a new elementary school. Students at Capital City would be sent to other schools.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported the bond issue would include $40.7 million for security, $23.5 million in technology spending, $18 million for a new career center, and other programs and projects.

TOPEKA (AP) — A man chosen to administer a new drug testing program for state lawmakers say those who fail the tests won’t be penalized, and their names might not be made public.

The law allowing the drug testing for lawmakers also requires testing of some people who receive government benefits. If those people fail drug tests, they will have their welfare benefits frozen unless they complete a treatment program.

Jeff Russell, director of the Legislative Administrative Services, will run the testing program. He told the Topeka Capital-Journal on Thursday the bill does not give anyone authority to penalize lawmakers. And he said he doesn’t think he can disclose names of lawmakers who fail the tests because of privacy laws concerning medical records.