Figures from the Kansas Department of Transportation:

 

KDOT WINTER STORMS Q & ROCKY: BY THE NUMBERS

575 – Approximate number of KDOT trucks used to clear roads

504,000 – Miles pre-treated and plowed during Winter Storm Q

50,000 – Hours logged by about 1,200 KDOT employees; includes hours spent preparing/plowing & indirect support of snow/ice operations

10,000 – Tons of salt used

250 – Tons of sand used

22,000 – Tons of salt/sand mix

850,000 – Gallons of brine used for pre-treatment

2,000 – Gallons of magnesium chloride solution used for pre-treatment

$2.25 – Cost of both storms per registered Kansas vehicle

$6 million – Estimated cost of Winter Storms Q and Rocky

73,993 – Calls to 511 in the past week

8,716 – Subscribers to the “My Kansas 511” a personalized information service

17,376 – Road conditions were viewed 17,346 times by mobile devices at 511.ksdot.org

More than 3,500 people visited the Nicodemus National Historic Site in Graham County last year.  That’s up considerably from the 2,681 visitors in 2011 reported by the National Park Service (NPS).

A new NPS report for 2011 shows visitors to Nicodemus NHS spent $133,000 in area communities.  The spending supported two local jobs.

“Nicodemus NHS is a wonderful place to learn about America’s story,” says park superintendent Angela Wetz.  “We attract visitors from across the U.S. and around the world who come here to experience the park and getting to know this amazing part of the country.”

Nicodemus is the only remaining black settlement west of the Mississippi River.

The historic site is part of  a National Park Service analysis showing visitor spending in 2011 had a $30 billion impact on the entire U.S. economy and supported 252,000 jobs nationwide.

“What an opportunity I have to start them on their career paths,” says longtime Ellis kindergarten teacher Stacy Befort.  She’s the USD 388 District Teacher of the Year and a Region I semi-finalist for state Teacher of the year.

Thursday, Befort was host to the Kansas Teacher of the Year visiting team, which toured Washington Grade School and Ellis High School.

The six members of the KTOY Teacher Team are from Great Bend, Pratt, Dodge City and Liberal.

Laurie Harwood has been teaching Great Bend fourth-graders for 26 years.  Although she’s now teaching the sons and daughters of her first students, Harwood says she still has a lot to learn.  And that’s the purpose of the KTOY visiting team–to see what works, and what doesn’t, in other Kansas classrooms.

Harwood is impressed with the Ellis grade school atmosphere.  “I really liked the third grade Daily Five, and character education,” she says.  Technology is changing many teaching methods.  “We saw the kindergarten students using smartboards,” adds Harwood.

USD 388 Superintendent Bob Young accompanied the KTOY visitors.  “We have a good mix of veteran teachers and young teachers in Ellis,” he says, “and Mrs. Befort is a good representation of  what we’re doing for our community.”

 

Plainville doctor Jennifer Brull is one of 20 family physicians listed by the website Medical Economics as the best in the nation to follow on Twitter.

“Twitter is full of physicians who use the social media site to stay up on the latest medical trends, interact with colleagues and patients, and further their own personal brands,” writes Brandon Glenn.

“Likewise, the web is full of lists of the best doctors to follow on Twitter.  But for those looking for a list of the top family physicianson Twitter, things have been a little more difficult.

“One recent study even claimed that primary care physicians have lagged their specialist peers in Twitter adoption, a sentiment the following physicians aren’t likely to share.

“Below is Medical Economics’ completely subjective list of 20 insightful, interesting and active family doctors on Twitter, in no particular order.

“Jen Brull: @MrsBrull Practicing in Kansas, Brull sometimes provides a rural perspective on the practice of family medicine.”

Dr. Brull is a nationwide leader in the move to adopt electronic health records.

Dale Weimaster has been appointed police chief for the city of Russell effective Friday.

Weimaster started as a Russell Police patrolman in 1994, working through the ranks to become  police captain in 2009.

He’s attended the Kansas Police Administrator’s School, FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association’s Leadership and Management training, and Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center’s Advanced Supervision and Management course.

He replaces and was appointed by Russell City Manager Jon Quinday, the former police chief.

Weimaster will be sworn into office at 2p.m. Friday, March 1, in the City Building.  The public is invited to attend.

A majority of Kansans support expanding Medicaid to help low-income people gain health coverage, according to a poll done in December for the Kansas Hospital Association and released this week.

According to the survey results, 60 percent of the state’s residents would support expanding Medicaid to include persons earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level – $15,420. Expansion was opposed by 24 percent of those surveyed and 16 percent said they weren’t sure.

Kansas currently has one of the most restrictive Medicaid programs in the nation. Generally, it covers pregnant women, children, the elderly and the disabled who are poor. Adults without children are not eligible regardless how little they make.

The survey, which sampled views of 610 Kansans, was conducted for the hospital association by the ETC Institute of Olathe. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

As originally passed, the federal Affordable Care Act would have required all states to expand their Medicaid programs. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld the law made the expansion optional for states.

Several Republican governors who opposed the federal health reform have nevertheless announced recently that their states will implement the Medicaid expansion.

Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas, who also opposed the law, has not made a decision about opening up the program, but has questioned whether the federal government can be trusted to keep its funding promises. The law requires the federal government to shoulder expansion costs for three years. After that, the federal share would gradually drop to 90 percent, where it would remain.

The Brownback administration has estimated that the state’s share of those expansion costs would total approximately $600 million from 2014 to 2023. However, the same estimate predicts that state Medicaid costs would go up by approximately $513 million over the same period even if it doesn’t expand eligibility. That would happen, the report says, because more Kansans who already are eligible for Medicaid but not enrolled would become aware of the program and sign up.

 

A Garden City man was charged Monday with the murder of a Colby woman earlier this month.

William Andrew Shank, 24, Garden City, was formally charged in Thomas County District Court, in connection with the Feb. 10 death of 27-year-old Teri L. Morris of Colby.

Charges of first-degree murder, aggravated arson and aggravated burglary were filed by Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

Shank was arrested by the KBI Feb. 10 in Logan, the same day authorities were called to a fire at a Colby residence where they found Morris near the front door.  She later died at the hospital.

Shank is being held in the Thomas County Jail on a $1 million bond.  His first court appearance was scheduled for today.

A Kansas City man was killed and his passenger injured Monday morning following a one-vehicle rollover caused by icy road conditions in Sherman County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reports an SUV driven by 21-yeare-old Carlos Esqueda was eastbound on I-70 near Goodland just before 9a.m.  The vehicle struck a icy patch on the roadway, lost control and entered the median  area where it rolled once, coming to rest on its wheels.

Esqueda, who was not wearing a safety belt, was ejected.

The passenger, 22-year-old  Pablo Flores of Kansas City, was injured and transported to Goodland Regional Medical Center.

Flores was wearing a seat belt.

Kansas arts advocates plan to converge at the Statehouse Thursday to protest a proposal from conservative Republican Gov. Sam Brownback to cut state arts funding.

The advocates are making Thursday their Arts Day at the Capitol. They’re planning to lobby legislators.

They’ve been upset with Brownback since shortly after he took office in January 2011 and proposed replacing the Kansas Arts Commission with a private, non-profit group.

Lawmakers blocked the move, but the governor vetoed the commission’s entire budget.

Last year, at his urging, legislators merged the commission with the Film Services Commission to form the Creative Arts Industries Commission.

The new commission’s budget is $700,000, but Brownback has proposed reducing it to $200,000 for the fiscal year that begins in July.

 

Law enforcement officials are still looking for three suspects in connection with Monday’s home invasion and stabbing of a Hutchinson man. Police have issued a state-wide attempt to locate for Troy Lavon Bell, Desmond Cantu and his brother, John Cantu.

One suspect in the case has been arrested and another turned himself in to authorities early Thursday. They have been booked into jail on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated burglary.

The 19 year old victim in the attack remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Longtime Russell County K-State Research and Extension Agent John Stannard retired this week.

Stannard has served in the position for 17 years.  His last day on the job was Monday, although Stannard says he’ll continue doing volunteer work.

Right now he’s fundraising for the Russell High School FFA team to compete in the international livestock judging competition  in Scotland this summer.