CAIC

TOPEKA–The Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission is now accepting applications for its two main grant categories. The deadline for application submission is May 15, 2017 and the review dates are the week of June 5, 2017. The grant period is from June. 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018. Projects should still be active as of the review date, though relevant expenses made during the entire grant period can be included, projects completed before the review date are unlikely to be funded. The programs and their sub-categories are as follows:

STRATEGIC INVESTMENT PROGRAM

The Strategic Investment Program recognizes the important role creative organizations play in building and sustaining cultural and economic vibrancy in Kansas. By funding a variety of professional and organizational development opportunities that impact cultural programming, these grants support initiatives that use the arts to enhance community vitality, revitalize neighborhoods, generate local business, create and preserve job opportunities and impact tourism. Applicants must make a compelling case as to why this particular self-identified activity or opportunity was selected, how it will have a substantial impact on their work and community, and how it will enhance the national reputation of Kansas.

Strategic Investment Program grants are awarded in three categories:

· Organizational Development: This category provides funding for professional development opportunities for Kansas based arts organizations that help strengthen business practices, increase organizational viability and promote long term sustainability.
· New and Expanded Works: This program provides funding for new or significantly expanded productions, exhibitions, programs or events by Kansas-based nonprofit arts organizations. Projects should either be an entirely new type of program for the organization designed to diversify its services or an expansion of an existing program designed to significantly enhance the quality of current offerings.
· Equipment and Technology: This program provides funding to purchase equipment, materials, and/or technology upgrades to expand or improve an applicant’s organization.

ARTS INTEGRATION PROGRAM

Arts Integration Programs support the role the arts play in all levels of education, community service, and workforce development. This program provides funding for educational institutions, arts organizations, and community service non-profits to use the arts to increase student success, foster creative thinking, develop critical job skills, and enhance community development.

Arts Integration Programs are awarded in three categories:

· Visiting Artists: This category provides funding for eligible organizations to engage and deepen the impact of arts programming on local and underserved audiences through exposure to and interaction with professional visiting arts. Presenters may book artists in any discipline, not just in performing arts. Projects should strive to integrate an arts discipline into non-arts content areas; help interpret an exhibition, performance, or presentation; and support community development goals and objectives.
· Integrated Arts Education: This category supports new or expanded educational programming that integrates arts learning into non-arts curriculum and content areas to address emerging technologies, areas of skills shortages, STEM curricula, workforce readiness, and increase student performance.
· Innovative Partnerships: This category supports innovative programming between arts organizations and non-arts organizations to impact a variety of community and/or economic development goals. Arts organizations are encouraged to partner with other community entities (hospitals, prisons, etc.) to develop arts-centered programs that address community needs such as public health, transportation, tourism, unemployment, aging, corrections, etc.

To review the application process, as well as program and category specific policies and guidelines visit KansasCommerce.gov/CAIC.

Grants will be reviewed by peer panel and awarded at the quarterly commission meeting on June 6, 2017.

All grants are made possible through a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and are subject to KCAIC and NEA standards and regulations.

On April 7, 26 grants in 19 communities totaling $139,582 were awarded by the Commission in the above categories.

KDADS

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) has scheduled a listening tour of the state for public discussions of the Kansas System of Care, a project for addressing the needs children and youth in the state with a serious emotional disturbance (SED) and their families.

The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has awarded KDADS a four-year, $9.5 million grant to create the System of Care (SOC) under SAMHSA’s System of Care Expansion and Sustainability Cooperative Agreements program.

“We are going to be working with community partners to improve the lives of children with SED and their families,” KDADS Secretary Tim Keck said. “This listening tour will allow us to collect the best ideas from around the state about improving behavioral health outcomes for this vulnerable population.”

KDADS is collaborating with four Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) in Kansas and with the Center for Behavioral Health Initiatives (CBHI) at Wichita State University’s Community Engagement Institute to strengthen the services provided to children with SED.

“Our goal is to create an outcomes-based system that is family centered and culturally appropriate to meet these children’s needs,” Secretary Keck said.

The listening tour sessions are scheduled for:

Individuals who wish to provide feedback but are unable to attend one of these events are invited to participate in the following survey: https://wichitastate.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e3RRxBFo8FmyxAp.

KDADS

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) has been awarded $3,114,402 for the first year of a two-year grant by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the prevention and treatment of opioid abuse in Kansas.

“Opioid addiction and abuse is a growing problem in Kansas, as it is in the rest of the country,” KDADS Secretary Tim Keck said. “Kansas is the 16th highest opioid prescribing state in the country. We are working to address this critical public health issue before it gets any worse.”

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reports that, between 2013 and 2015, Kansas’ prescription opioid overdose death rate increased by 28 percent and heroin deaths increased by 71 percent.

Increases in opioid-related drug misuse and deaths parallel the increase in prescription opioid availability. According to data from Kansas Tracking and Reporting of Controlled Substances (KTRACS), the Kansas prescription drug monitoring program, there were more than 4.2 million Schedule II-IV prescriptions and more than 256 million pills dispensed in Kansas in 2014. Furthermore, more than 100,000 Kansas patients had overlapping prescriptions for opioids and benzodiazepines and more than 75,000 patients had more than 90 morphine-milligram equivalent per day of opioid prescriptions in 2014.

The grant funding, announced today by HHS Secretary Tom Price, is part of the first of two rounds provided for in the 21st Century Cures Act. It is being made available through the State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis Grants administered by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

KDADS’ Behavioral Health Commission will implement, oversee and monitor grant activities; 80 percent of the grant funding will be used to pay for treatment and recovery activities, with the remainder going to prevention, early intervention and public education.

The agency plans to issue an RFP to identify prospective providers to manage all elements of the project within four targeted regions, West, Southeast, Northeast and Southcentral (Wichita area), including quality assurance and timely care, and to communicate progress to the state. In addition, a special project under the grant will focus on methadone treatment clinics. KDADS licenses and regulates nine methadone clinics in five counties that treat individuals for heroin and other opioid addictions.

CEP

HUTCHINSON–The Climate + Energy Project (CEP) is pleased to announce Rachel Myslivy as Assistant Director as of April 15, 2017. CEP is a Hutchinson-based non-partisan 501(c)3 working to find practical solutions for a clean energy future.

Myslivy originally joined the Climate + Energy Project in 2012 as a Program Director for the Water + Energy Progress initiative, which recognized 20 Kansas farmers and ranchers successfully innovating to conserve resources in Kansas. Myslivy was instrumental in many CEP programs throughout the following four years. In July 2016, she transitioned from staff to a position on the Board of Directors, which she held until March 2017 when she accepted the Assistant Director position.

“The Climate + Energy Project’s unique approach involves working with diverse groups to find common ground solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Heartland,” Myslivy says. “I believe wholeheartedly in the work, and I’m thrilled to take on this new role.”

Myslivy holds a Master’s Degree in Religious Studies with a Graduate Certificate in Environmental Studies. Her research focused on the intersection of religion and ecology, particularly as seen in communities of Catholic sisters in Kansas. Rachel was recently designated a KU Hawk to Watch: Young Alumni making a difference. She is a 2015 recipient of the KACEE Award for Excellence in Conservation and Environmental Education, awarded by the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education. She was a recipient of the KU Sustainability Leadership Award in 2013. Rachel is the co-founder of the Kansas Women’s Environmental Network. Rachel is pursuing a Level II Teaching Leadership Certification with the Kansas Leadership Center.

The non-profit Climate + Energy Project seeks to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in America’s Heartland through the ambitious deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy, in policy and practice.

CEP

LAWRENCE–Doing something good for the bottom line can be good for the environment and community too.

That’s the story that one company in Lawrence, Kan., is planning to tell to state and local legislators, and community and business leaders at an upcoming open house where Kansas Secretary of Commerce Antonio Soave is scheduled to speak.

Build SMART (buildsmartna.com) is a manufacturer of modular wall panels and foundation forms that make extremely energy-efficient construction affordable and simple. Late last year, owners of sister companies Build SMART and PROSOCO investigated how a solar array installed on the Build SMART building’s rooftop would affect its energy bills and its bottom line.

The results were surprising – they would yield a return on investment and immediate cost savings for both companies. Company officials learned that the panels will save $14,000 in the first year, and $592,000 over 25 years. A return on investment will be realized within just six years of installation, and the community and state will benefit from the reduction of peak power demand on the electric utility. As an added benefit, the implementation of the solar array aligns with both companies’ focus on providing energy-efficient products and services to the construction industry.

“The decision to invest in solar energy came from a desire for our operations to match the energy-efficient, resilient properties of our products,” said David Boyer, President and CEO of Build SMART and PROSOCO. “Throughout the process, we realized that it’s really not as difficult or cost-prohibitive as we’d anticipated, and that’s the lesson we want to share with our neighbors, community and elected officials. Regardless of whether you live in a state that’s business-friendly for renewable energy or not, solar energy can benefit your bottom line, your community and the environment. That’s what we hope to demonstrate.”

At the open house scheduled for Tuesday, April 18, from 9:30-11 a.m., Kansas Secretary of Commerce Antonio Soave is scheduled to speak, as well as officials from Build SMART, PROSOCO, solar array provider Brightergy and the Clean Energy Business Council. Tours, refreshments and a micro-exhibit of vendors will also be available for the media.

The Clean Energy Business Council, part of the Hutchinson-based Climate and Energy Project (CEP),  expands opportunities for business access to wind, solar, geothermal and waste-heat recovery systems and energy efficiency in Kansas and the Greater Kansas City Metro.

KDHE

TOPEKA – Smokers in Kansas can get free medications shipped directly to their home to help them quit from Monday, April 17, to Friday, April 21, or while supplies last. Medications made available by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) include nicotine lozenge, gum and nicotine patch. During this time period, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Tips From Former Smokers national tobacco education campaign will encourage smokers to call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (800-784-8669) for free help getting medication and quit assistance. In order to take advantage, tobacco users must enroll in the Kansas Tobacco Quitline with a trained coach and be medically eligible to receive the free medication.

“We want all tobacco users to know that although quitting is hard, they can do it,” said Matthew Schrock, KDHE Cessation Coordinator. “Smokers often try to quit several times before succeeding, but proven treatments and services are available that can improve your chances to quit for good. We encourage all Kansans to try to quit, and if they want free help, to take advantage of this opportunity.”

People who smoke cigarettes can and do quit. In fact, today there are more former smokers than current smokers in the United States. Surveys show that about 70 percent of all cigarette smokers want to quit, and research shows quitting completely at any age has health benefits that include the following:

· Lowers your risk for lung cancer and many other types of cancer.
· Reduces your risk for heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease (narrowing of the blood vessels outside your heart).
· Reduces your heart disease risk almost immediately.
· Reduces respiratory symptoms, such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.
· Reduces risk of developing lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
· Reduces risk for infertility in women of childbearing age. Women who stop smoking during pregnancy also reduce their risk of having a low birth weight baby.

Counseling, including Quitline coaching, and medication, including nicotine lozenge, gum and patch, are effective in helping smokers quit, and using them together is more effective than using either one alone. Medications help smokers quit by decreasing urges to smoke and other withdrawal symptoms while quitting.

The most recent data shows that approximately 17.7 percent of Kansas adults smoke. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the United States. Smoking kills 480,000 Americans each year, and millions more live with diseases caused by smoking.

Additional information on quitting is available at ksquit.org.

OFFICE OF GOV.

TOPEKA – Governor Sam Brownback and Topeka Mayor Larry Wolgast Friday, April 14, asked Attorney General Derek Schmidt to examine the financial structure of St. Francis Hospital of Topeka. Following a joint meeting late Friday afternoon between Governor Brownback, Attorney General Schmidt, and St. Francis medical personnel, Attorney General Schmidt confirmed he will launch an inquiry aimed at ensuring the charitable assets of St. Francis remain in Kansas.

The hospital’s parent company maintains over $2 billion dollars in assets, yet is seeking to “divest” St. Francis, possibly leading to its closure. The Kansas roots of St. Francis trace back to 1858 and the founding of Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth which remains organized as a non-profit corporation under the laws of the State of Kansas. The actions by Governor Brownback and Attorney General Schmidt seek to protect Kansas-based charitable assets from being improperly transferred from the state leading to the closure of St. Francis.

“St. Francis has benefitted from its status as a Kansas charity for many years, and it is important to make certain that such charitable assets are properly managed and remain in Kansas,” said Governor Brownback. “The charitable assets should stay here for the benefit of Kansans, to serve their stated mission of improving the health of those who are poor and vulnerable. Northeast Kansas needs the medical services St. Francis provides.”

The office of the Attorney General has the authority to safeguard Kansas charities.

“Any decision by its out-of-state owners that would fail to maintain full operations of Saint Francis Hospital would be deeply troubling,” Schmidt said. “The absence of meaningful consultation with local leaders compounds the concern, particularly in light of the considerable benefits the people of Kansas have bestowed on this charitable operation over the years.”

Topeka Mayor Larry Wolgast emphasized the importance of St. Francis to the health and economy of Topeka and surrounding communities.

“I share Governor Brownback and the Attorney General’s deep concern that the charitable assets of St. Francis Hospital, a hospital that met the health care needs of our community for so long, will be improperly removed from the people it serves,” Wolgast said. “I welcome the action the Attorney General is taking. St. Francis has been a vital part of this city and northeast Kansas for 159 years and has benefited by the non-profit status the citizens of Kansas granted.”

DCF

TOPEKA – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, in partnership with the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF), Kansas Children’s Service League (KCSL), Wesley Medical Center and the Wichita Police Department spoke at a “Pinwheels for Prevention” rally on Wednesday, April 12, at Wesley Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital, Wichita. The event highlighted the role mandated reporters play in the abuse prevention process, and outlined steps Kansans should take if they suspect a child is the victim of abuse and/or neglect.

“Keeping a watchful eye for the signs of child abuse can help protect our Kansas children,” Attorney General Schmidt said. “We all have a responsibility to help keep children safe.”

In FY 2016, DCF’s Child Protective Services division received 67,642 reports of abuse and/or neglect in Kansas—up 9.7 percent from FY 2015. More than 20 percent (13,609) of those reports came from Sedgwick County, more than 9 percent (6,333) from Wyandotte County and nearly 9 percent (6,064) from Shawnee County.

“Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, loving environment,” Secretary Gilmore said. “Parenting can present challenges, but we need to connect with our communities so that when we are struggling to cope, we know we’re not alone. DCF and our community partners offer many services to strengthen Kansas families, and keep children in their homes, as long as that is a safe option.”

One resource offered to families is the Parent Helpline. Sponsored by KCSL, the Parent Helpline is a free, statewide, anonymous information and referral service. Helpline advocates are trained and offer support to help with simple questions or complex situations. The Helpline is available 24/7. If you have parenting questions or need someone to talk to, please call the Parent Helpline at 1-800-CHILDREN.

Mandated reporters, such as social workers, teachers and law enforcement, are required by law to report suspected child abuse. DCF Social Worker Sarah Hoss has spent 13 years working in Wichita’s Exploited and Missing Child Unit, investigating cases of child abuse and neglect. She understands firsthand the important role both mandated and non-mandated reporters play in protecting children from dangerous situations.

“I want the public to know that it is important if you suspect, or even have a concern, of abuse or neglect that you report it,” Hoss said. “They are the voice of the children, and without them reporting it, we don’t know that it’s occurring and we can’t help the families and the children in our communities.”

As part of Wednesday’s event, local children planted pinwheels outside the hospital in flowerbeds to commemorate Child Abuse Prevention Month. The planting ceremony is part of the Pinwheels for Prevention campaign—an effort to change the way our nation thinks about prevention and how we can deliver on our commitment to Kansas children. The pinwheel serves as an uplifting reminder of childhood and the bright futures all children deserve.

If you suspect a child is being abused and/or neglected, you are urged to call the Kansas Protection Report Center at 1-800-922-5330.

KANSAS SAMPLER FOUNDATION

WINFIELD–The 28th, and final, Kansas Sampler Festival will take place May 6-7 in Winfield’s Island Park. The largest outdoor travel show in the state will once again feature what there is to see, do, hear, taste, buy and learn in Kansas. Attendance in 2016 was 8,250.

More than 130 Kansas communities will be represented by tourism exhibitors, musicians, historic performers, entrepreneurs, food vendors, and cultural heritage demonstrators.

The 2017 festival is organized by the Winfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism with chamber director Sarah Werner serving as the local festival director. More than 300 volunteers, city workers, and area sponsors make the festival possible.

The primary focus of the festival is to give the public ideas for Kansas day trips. Exhibitors from across the state will set up displays in twelve tents to promote tourism. Entrepreneurs will sell their products in three tents and another tent will feature Kansas wine and beer producers. There will be four stages for musicians and a fifth for historic performers. Twenty food vendors will be found on the grounds as will a blacksmith demonstration, antique cars, Pack goats and Mammoth donkeys, and children’s activities.

This will be the final Kansas Sampler Festival before the foundation switches to a new format to educate the public about what Kansas has to see and do. The “Big Kansas Road Trip” will start in 2018 and the showcase counties for the road trip will be announced at the festival.

The festival began in 1990 as a book-signing party for Milferd and Marci Penner’s Kansas Weekend Guide book. Some of the places in the guidebook set up displays. The crowd reaction was so positive that the event was given a name, the Kansas Sampler Festival, and was held on the Penner Farm near Inman for another seven years. It then rotated on a two-year basis to the host communities of Pratt, Ottawa, Independence, Newton, Garden City, Concordia, Leavenworth, Liberal, Wamego, and Winfield.

The new 480-page Kansas Guidebook 2 for Explorers by Marci Penner and WenDee Rowe will debut at the festival and can be purchased in the Kansas Explorers Club tent.

Festival hours are Saturday, May 6 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday May 7 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children ages 7-12. For more information go to kansassamplerfestival.com.

KDWPT

PRATT – The Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission will conduct its April public meeting on Thursday, April 20, 2017 in Pratt at the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism’s Operations Office, Downstairs Conference Room, 512 SE 25th Ave. The afternoon session will begin at 1 p.m. and recess at 5 p.m. The evening session will convene at 6:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend both sessions and time will be set aside for public comment at the beginning of each for discussion of non-agenda items.

The afternoon session will begin with a report on the agency and state fiscal status and an update on the 2017 Kansas Legislative Session. The General Discussion portion of the meeting will include an update on Tourism efforts, an overview of the Kansas Wildlife & Parks Magazine, an update on the State Wildlife Action Plan as well as preliminary discussions on park regulations, fishing regulations, license expiration dates, and falconry regulations.

The Workshop Session will include reviews of webless migratory bird season recommendations, threatened and endangered species regulations and deer seasons on Ft. Riley, Ft. Leavenworth and Smoky Hill Air National Guard.

The evening portion of the meeting will convene at 6:30 p.m. for the Public Hearing. Commissioners will vote on recommendations for waterfowl seasons and public land regulations.

Waterfowl recommendations include:

September Early Teal Season

High Plains Unit: Sept. 16-24, 2017

Low Plains Zone: Sept. 9-24, 2017.

Ducks

High Plains Unit: Oct. 7, 2017-Jan. 1, 2017 AND Jan. 20-28, 2018

Youth Season: Sept. 30-Oct. 1, 2017

Low Plains Early Zone: Oct. 7-Dec. 3, 2017 AND Dec. 16-31, 2017

Youth Season: Sept. 30-Oct. 1, 2017

Low Plains Late Zone: Oct. 28-Dec. 31, 2017 AND Jan. 20-28, 2018

Youth Season: Oct. 21-22, 2017

Low Plains Southeast Zone: Nov. 11-Dec. 31, 2017 AND Jan. 6-28, 2018

Youth Season: Nov. 4-5, 2017

Geese

Canada geese: Oct. 28-29, 2017 AND Nov. 8, 2017-Feb. 18, 2018

White-fronted geese: Oct. 28-Dec. 31, 2017 AND Jan. 27-Feb. 18, 2018

Light geese: Oct. 28-Oct. 29, 2017 AND Nov. 8, 2017-Feb. 18, 2018

Light geese Conservation Order: Feb. 19-April 30, 2018

If necessary, the Commission will reconvene at the same location at 9 a.m., April 21, 2017, to complete any unfinished business. Information about the Commission, as well as the April 20 meeting agenda and briefing book, can be downloaded at ksoutdoors.com/KDWPT-Info/Commission/Upcoming-Commission-Meetings.

Live video and audio streaming of the April 20, 2017 meeting will be available at ksoutdoors.com. If notified in advance, the department will have an interpreter available for the hearing impaired. To request an interpreter, call the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at 1-800-432-0698. Any individual with a disability may request other accommodations by contacting the Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission secretary at (620) 672-5911.

The next Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission meeting is scheduled for June 22, 2017, at the George Meyn Community Center, 126th & State Ave, Bonner Springs.

KHI

TOPEKA–House Republicans in March took the first step toward repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—also known as Obamacare—with the release of H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act (AHCA).

However, following several days of negotiation and debate among House Republicans and President Donald Trump, Speaker Paul Ryan declared the bill dead when he determined there were not enough votes to pass it. Despite the withdrawal of the bill, many Republicans have maintained that repealing and replacing the ACA is still a priority.

To help stakeholders better understand how future federal legislation might impact Kansans, the Kansas Health Institute (KHI) has prepared an issue brief, Repealing and Replacing the Affordable Care Act: Key Provisions of the American Health Care Act. The brief describes the major policy issues under discussion among House Republicans and the White House in the debate of the AHCA, including:

• Repealing both the individual and employer mandates;
• Moving away from income-based tax credits to help individuals purchase health insurance;
• Eliminating cost-sharing subsidies for low-income individuals to reduce their out-of-pocket costs for deductibles, copayments and coinsurance;
• Eliminating some existing requirements to give health insurance companies greater flexibility in the design of health insurance plans;
• Making health insurance more affordable for young adults by expanding age-rating rules, possibly resulting in higher costs for older adults;
• Repealing Medicaid expansion and substantially changing the way state Medicaid programs are funded by the federal government; and
• Encouraging states to experiment and find ways to impact the cost of health insurance and health care for their citizens.

See more at: http://www.khi.org/policy/article/AHCA?

The Kansas Health Institute delivers credible information and research enabling policy leaders to make informed health policy decisions that enhance their effectiveness as champions for a healthier Kansas. The Kansas Health Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan health policy and research organization based in Topeka, established in 1995 with a multiyear grant from the Kansas Health Foundation. 

KAN. SECURITIES COMMISSIONER

TOPEKA — Kansas Securities Commissioner Josh Ney has issued a cease and desist order and notice of intent to impose administrative actions against ABM Management, Inc. and Chad Walker Brooks for alleged violations of the Kansas Uniform Securities Act (KUSA). ABM Management, Inc. is a Washington corporation that was also previously formed in Nevada, however both organizations have since expired.

The cease and desist order alleges that Brooks, whose last known residence was in the Republic of Panama, violated the KUSA by operating as an unregistered investment adviser in the state of Kansas since at least 1998. Brooks has also been associated with a company named Investment Management Consulting, Inc. and an investment portfolio business called AMCAP Premier, LP.

The Kansas Securities Commissioner urges any individuals that have had dealings with Chad Walker Brooks or ABM Management, Inc., to contact the Office of the Securities Commissioner at (785) 296-3307 or email [email protected].

The violations listed in the order are allegations at this point in time. Brooks and ABM have the opportunity to request a hearing on the matter within 30 days after service of the order.

KDWPT

PRATT – The sound of a gobble will stop a turkey hunter in their tracks – anytime, anywhere. Like no other sound you’ve heard, a gobble is a high-pitched, rattling chortle that seems to erupt from a tom’s throat. It carries far on a calm spring morning, which can be good and bad for the turkey. Gobbles also signal the start of the spring turkey season.

Spring turkey hunting entails calling males, or toms, within range by imitating the call of a female, or hen. It’s both exhilarating and nerve frazzling. But be forewarned, many become hopelessly addicted to the adrenaline rush of spring turkey hunting after just one experience.

The Kansas spring turkey season opened for youth and hunters with disabilities on April 1 (During the youth season, youth 16 and younger may hunt with adult supervision). Archery hunters started hunting April 3, and the regular shotgun/archery season is April 12-May 31, 2017. All hunters need a turkey permit, as well as a hunting license, unless exempt by law. Go to www.ksoutdoors.com for all spring turkey regulations, a unit map, as well as license and permit fees. Only bearded birds may be harvested during the spring season, and hunters may take one bird per permit and one bird per game tag in designated units. Turkey permits are not available online and must be purchased at Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) offices or license vendors.

Toms may gobble throughout the year, but they are most vocal in the spring during the breeding season. They sound off to let hens know they’re available, which is the good thing. However, gobbles also let hunters know where they’re located, which is the bad thing, if you’re a turkey.

Finding turkeys is the first step of a spring turkey hunt. Our largest game bird roosts in mature trees, so any timber stand, shelterbelt, creek bottom or even old homestead can host roosting turkeys. Scout likely areas by searching for tracks on dirt roads, glassing edges of stubble and winter wheat fields or listening for gobbles just after sunset. Toms have a peculiar habit of gobbling just after they fly to roost in the evening and just before they fly down in the morning, so if you hear that, you know you’ve found a great spot.

To take some of the guesswork out, consider hunting public lands. KDWPT manages more than 500,000 acres of state and federal land for public hunting, and more than 275,000 acres of private land are enrolled in the spring Walk-in Hunting Access (WIHA) program, so there’s plenty of spots to choose from this Spring. The 2017 Spring Turkey Hunting Atlas includes maps showing all public hunting lands and is available wherever licenses are sold, so grab yours today or download a copy from www.ksoutdoors.com.

Once you’ve found birds, the next step is to set your alarm for “dark-thirty” the next morning. Under the cover of darkness, try to quietly get in position 75 to 100 yards from the roost. Sit with a tree wider than your shoulders at your back, in full camouflage and watch the woods wake up. When you hear the sound of turkeys from their roost, make some soft tree yelps on your call to convince a tom you’re a new hen roosted nearby. After the birds fly down, the calling strategy begins. A tom will often gobble in response to your calls, but it’s never a sure thing. Real live hens are tough to compete with and may lead your tom away, and turkeys have excellent vision, so one false move can send a bird off. But when it works and you call a bird within range, watching and listening as a big tom gobbles, struts and spits so close is an experience you’ll never forget – and one you’ll want to repeat again and again.

Keeping safe during the spring turkey season requires some extra precaution because hunters are dressed in full camouflage and making sounds like a turkey. Sitting against a tree wider than your shoulders protects you if an unthinking hunter stalks your call from behind. Always assume any sound you hear is another hunter, and always yell or whistle if you see another hunter. Any movement like a wave could draw fire. Always be sure of your target before you pull the trigger, and that means you have to see a beard on the bird during the spring season. Some hunters will wear an orange hat walking in and out of the woods, and they hang that hat on a limb above them while sitting. It’s also a good idea to wrap a bird you kill in florescent orange for the carry out.