Kansas revenue forecasters predict the state will collect nearly $705 million less in the next fiscal year than it will this year as income tax cuts take effect and a sales tax increase expires.

The prediction issued Tuesday is the first glimpse at how the experts believe the cuts adopted in May will affect state revenue. The cuts take effect in January.

The forecasters shaved $5.2 million from their earlier prediction of revenues in the fiscal year that ends next June 30, bringing it down to $6.17 billion. They also say they expect the state to collect $5.46 billion in the 2014 fiscal year, which begins next July.

The forecasting team includes legislative researchers, members of the governor’s budget stuff, Department of Revenue officials and economists from three state universities.

A California man who was stopped by the Kansas Highway Patrol has been indicted on charges of smuggling heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Marcus C. Hicks, 29, Rialto, Calif., is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, one count of possession with intent to distribute approximately five pounds of marijuana and one count of interstate drug trafficking. The crimes are alleged to have occurred Oct. 30, 2012, in Seward County, Kan.

Hicks initially was charged in a criminal complaint filed Nov. 1 in U.S. District Court in Wichita. The complaint alleged Hicks was driving a rented car eastbound on US 54 near Liberal, Kan., when he was stopped by the Kansas Highway Patrol. A search turned up two gift wrapped packages in the rear cargo area. In the packages were two plastic containers containing approximately 907 grams (approximately 2 pounds) of methamphetamine, approximately 793 grams of heroin (approximately 1.7 pounds) and approximately five pounds of marijuana.

If convicted, Hicks faces a penalty of not less than five years and not more than 40 years in federal prison and a fine up to $5 million on both the methamphetamine count and the heroin count; and a maximum penalty of five years and a fine up to $250,000 on both the marijuana count and the interstate drug trafficking count. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Kansas Highway Patrol investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch is prosecuting.

The Kansas Health and Environmental Laboratories (KHEL) confirmed influenza in a specimen from an adult in south central Kansas on Oct. 31. This is the first laboratory-confirmed influenza case in Kansas for the 2012-2013 flu season.

Health officials are reminding Kansans that it’s not too late to get vaccinated against influenza. Influenza vaccine is recommended for nearly everyone six months of age and older to reduce the risk of becoming ill with the flu and reduce the risk of spreading the flu to others. This is especially important for anyone at high risk of complications, and for anyone who is caring for, or in regular contact with, an infant less than six months of age. Babies this age are too young to be vaccinated and are more vulnerable to the complications from influenza.

Symptoms of influenza include fever, dry cough, extreme tiredness and muscle aches. Complications can include pneumonia, ear and sinus infections, and dehydration; influenza may also worsen other chronic conditions.

“Flu has arrived once again in the state. While there is little flu activity right now, flu normally rises during the holidays before peaking around February. Influenza can continue to circulate through spring, and the flu can be unpredictable,” said Robert Moser, M.D., KDHE Secretary and State Health Officer. “There is still time for everyone to get a flu vaccination to protect themselves, their loved ones and the community.”

One of several ways KDHE tracks influenza is by monitoring the percentage of patients seeking healthcare in outpatient “sentinel” clinics who exhibit influenza-like illness (ILI), in a system known as ILINet. During the 2011-2012 influenza season, this rate peaked at 3.4 percent the week ending March 10; this is the latest peak of an influenza season in Kansas since surveillance began in 1995. The typical peak is January to February. KDHE also closely monitors influenza-related deaths. During the 2011-2012 influenza season, influenza and pneumonia, a common complication of influenza, contributed to or directly caused more than 1,300 deaths among Kansas residents, and was the eighth leading underlying cause of death in 2011.

Additional ways to avoid spreading influenza include covering coughs and sneezes, washing your hands and staying home when sick.

One man has been hospitalized after a fire broke out at a grain elevator in Wichita.

The fire at the DeBruce grain elevator was reported Monday evening. Sedgwick County Deputy Fire Marshal Clint Reed said crews had to use aerial devices to reach the fire, which was about 120 feet off the ground on top of the elevator. Reed said the cause hasn’t been determined but the fire appears to have started in the motor for one of the belt systems.

A Sedgwick County dispatch supervisor said the victim, a man in his 30s, was taken to the burn unit of Via Christi Hospital.

DeBruce was the scene of an explosion that killed 7 people and injured 10 others on June 8, 1998.

A small plane registered to Fed Ex has crashed south of Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport, killing the pilot.

The accident happened early Tuesday. The pilot, who was not identified, was the only person on board.

Tony Molinaro, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, says the pilot of the Cessna reported engine trouble shortly after taking off from Mid-Continent Airport. Molinaro says the pilot was trying to return to the airport when the crash occurred about two miles from the airport. He says the plane was headed to Garden City.

FAA records show the plane was registered to Fed Ex Corp. The company did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

A school bus carrying 11 children was knocked on its side in a crash 6 miles north of Herington around 12:05 pm Monday.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, 32-year-old William Lee Givian of Topeka was northbound on U-77 when he attempted to pass a school bus that was signaling for a left turn. The school bus began to turn into a private driveway and Givian ran into the left side of the bus causing it to roll over onto its side.

No one was seriously injured in the crash.

A big dig in downtown Lawrence has failed to unearth any unmarked graves from the Civil War.

The excavation took place Monday on the future site of a multistory hotel and parking garage. The state archaeologist for Kansas, Bob Hoard, was on hand.

Hoard says the dig revealed some bones from cows and pigs, along with two cisterns and the outline of an old building.

In a 1903 master’s thesis, a University of Kansas student wrote that victims of Quantrill’s Raid were dumped in a trench on the property. But Hoard says he found no evidence an open trench ever existed.

Quantrill’s Raid took place in August 1863 when Confederate guerrillas invaded eastern Kansas and sacked Lawrence, killing most of the male population.

The owner of a Missouri construction company has been sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for defrauding a federal program that set aside contracts for businesses owned by service-disabled veterans, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Warren K. Parker, 70, Blue Springs, Mo., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud against the United States, one count of major program fraud, one count of wire fraud, one count of money laundering and one count of making a false statement.

In his plea, Parker admitted he falsely claimed to be a service-disabled veteran and a war hero in order to obtain more than $6.7 million in contracts from the Veterans Administration and more than $748,000 in contracts from the Department of Defense. The contracts were awarded under the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program.

After an extensive investigation, federal agents determined that Parker and his company, Silver Star Construction LLC of Blue Springs, Mo., and Stilwell, Kan., fraudulently claimed Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business status in order to obtain federal government contracts. In fact, Parker never was classified as a service-disabled veteran by the Veterans Administration or the Department of Defense.

In March 2011, Parker submitted a fraudulent resume in which he manufactured a history as a war hero, including a record of service in Vietnam, claiming he was awarded three Silver Stars, three Purple Heart Medals and other citations. State and federal records show that Parker served in the Missouri National Guard from 1963 to 1968, he spent six months on active duty. In 1968 he was honorably discharged as a Senior Engineer Equipment Mechanic with the rank of Specialist E-5. His only decoration was an expert rifle badge. He never left the state of Missouri while on active duty or while assigned to the Missouri National Guard.

Parker pleaded guilty to the forfeiture counts of the indictment which will result in a $6.8 million judgment being entered against him in favor of the United States. He also agreed the immediate forfeiture of personal property, including a notebook Parker labeled “Book of Death” which contained list of fictitious Vietnam war “sniper kills.”

Co-defendants who are awaiting trial include:
Mary Parker, 67, Blue Springs, Mo.
Michael J. Parker, 37, Blue Springs, Mo.
Thomas Whitehead, 59, Leawood, Kan.
Silver Star Construction, LLC

Grissom commended the Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General; the Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Criminal Investigation Division and the General Services Administration’s Office of Inspector General; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tris Hunt for their work on the case.