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Summer projects continue for Great Bend’s school district

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eisenhowerReplacing the vinyl flooring at Eisenhower Elementary School is one of the bigger projects USD 428 is trying to accomplish this summer.

Over time, moisture forced a few of the tiles to buckle. The Great Bend school district contracted Kustom Floors to replace the vinyl with more durable carpet tiles.

USD 428 Assistant Superintendent of Finances Khris Thexton said when a test was done to determine the concrete’s moisture concentration Kustom Floors found out there was more work to be done.

Khris Thexton Audio


Kustom Floors will grind the floor in order for the waterproof epoxy to be applied. The extra expense will add $11,800 to the total project that is now nearing $30,000. USD 428 still expects Kustom Floors to be done with the project by August 1.

Over at Riley Elementary, the district will be installing a security entrance camera at the front door to stop unauthorized access.

Khris Thexton Audio 


The camera system put in by Dayton Security from Hoisington will allow the secretary and principal to view the camera’s video from their offices. The security system with installation will cost $1,600.


Kansas man dies in semi rollover accident

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Fatal crashERIE – A Kansas man died in an accident just after 5 a.m. on Friday in Neosho County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2009 semi driven by Barry K. Welch, 50, Chanute, was eastbound on Kansas 47 three miles south of Erie.

The truck failed to yield at the stop sign at U.S. 59.

The driver tried to make the right hand turn but was traveling too fast.

The truck entered the east ditch and rolled.

Welch was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Frontier Forensics.

He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

Cheyenne Bottoms beginning to see migratory birds

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black-neckedCheyenne Bottoms has seen an influx of birds show up over that last couple of weeks as many birds are already thinking migration.

The fall migration begins in August as the first wave of shorebirds begin to make a pit stop at the wetlands.

Kansas Wetlands Education Center Director Curtis Wolf says there are already sightings of a unique bird, the black-necked stilt.

Curtis Wolf Audio


Wolf says the black-necked stilts remain at Cheyenne Bottoms during the spring and summer to nest. Many of the stilts occupying the wetlands are suspected to be juvenile birds that were born at the Bottoms.

The stilt is not the only species of bird that is beginning to arrive at the Bottoms.

Curtis Wolf Audio


The black-necked stilts are expected to spend most of the fall at Cheyenne Bottoms before heading south for Oklahoma and Texas.

Police: Kan. teen pulls gun on taxi driver to avoid paying

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police emergencyWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 17-year-old boy has been arrested after police say he pointed a gun at a taxi driver to avoid paying the fare in Wichita.

According to Sgt. Roger Runft, a 42-year-old taxi driver picked up the suspect and a 16-year-old girl Friday afternoon. Runft says when they arrived at their destination, the boy pulled out a gun “and told them to open the door and they would not get hurt.”

Authorities say the suspect then jumped out of the car and ran away. Officers arrested him a few blocks away after speaking with the girl.

The suspect faces aggravated assault charges.

Railroad crossing on US 281 in Hoisington is finally smooth

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railroad crossingAn issue that has been discussed for more than a decade is the railroad crossing at the south end of Hoisington.

The City was pleased to receive word from its partners at the Kansas Department of Transportation and the K&O Railroad that the crossing would finally be smoothed out.

The full-depth crossing replacement was scheduled last week and City Manager Jonathan Mitchell was pleased with the extensive work to make the crossing smoother.

Jonathan Mitchell Audio


Hoisington received help from Barton County and KDOT staff in preparing the detour used last week. An inspection was taken Thursday and work on the crossing finished Friday afternoon. Mitchell noted that roughly 5,500 vehicles cross the railroad each day on US 281.

Once you pass the tracks, on the east side of the street you will notice Casey’s General Store is getting close to opening. Casey’s may be the place to be during its grand opening later this month.

Jonathan Mitchell Audio


The Casey’s in Hoisington will have its grand opening on August 27.

Police: Kan. man with explosive device had no anti-abortion aim

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Wichita Abortion clinic

Wichita Abortion clinic

ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police say a Wichita man had no anti-abortion motives when he brought a small homemade explosive device into a women’s health clinic while applying for a job.

Wichita police spokesman James Espinosa said Tuesday the 19-year-old was homeless and carrying everything he owned in his backpack when he went to the South Wind Women’s Center on Monday for an interview.

A security officer who searched the pack called police after finding knives and a small bottle with gunpowder inside and a fuse.

The man was arrested on suspicion of possession of an explosive device. Espinosa says the police investigation “absolutely ruled out” any intent for anti-abortion violence.

The clinic is in the same building where Dr. George Tiller provided abortions until an anti-abortion opponent shot and killed him in 2009.

Kan. teen sentenced, showed ex-girlfriend’s nude pics on his phone

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Knepp

Trenton Knepp

HUTCHINSON – A Kansas teenager was sentenced Monday on a single count of sexual exploitation of a child.

Trenton Knepp, 18, Haven, was convicted of showing nude photos of his ex-girlfriend to others after the two broke up.

The girl told Haven Police that she was coerced into sending him the photos through her cell phone.

Knepp was granted three years community corrections with an underlying sentence of two years, eight months in prison.

“Stuff the Bus” distribution day for United Way set for Sept. 16

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uwckEvery year the United Way of Central Kansas hosts multiple Stuff the Bus events in order to support 19 community agencies. The goal is to collect much needed items for the agencies in an effort to help them not have to use funds for basic necessities, but rather be able to put their funds towards helping our communities.

The Great Bend Stuff the Bus event happened a couple of weeks ago and the Larned fundraiser occurred last week.

United Way of Central Kansas Executive Board member Dianne Call organized the event and says it’s almost time for the agencies to come shopping.

Dianne Call Audio


In Great Bend, volunteers were outside of Dillons and Wal-Mart handing out flyers of items needed by the 19 agencies. The agencies that UWCK helps out will be allowed to pick up items on September 16 from 8 a.m. to noon at the building next to Kustom Floors on Main Street.

Dianne Call Audio


The UWCK will present the Harlem Ambassadors game on September 20 at the Barton Gym at Barton Community College to benefit the United Way.


Kansas Navigator Grants Renewed

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By DAVE RANNEY

The federal government has awarded 2015 grants to navigators, who help consumers enrolling through the Affordable Care Act's health insurance marketplace. CREDIT BIGSTOCK

The federal government has awarded 2015 grants to navigators, who help consumers enrolling through the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplace.
CREDIT BIGSTOCK-KHI News

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced this week that it had renewed its navigator grants with two Kansas programs: Ascension Health and the Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved (KAMU).

The grants will, in part, underwrite the programs’ efforts to help uninsured and underinsured Kansans understand the coverage and financial assistance that are available on the federal health insurance marketplace, healthcare.gov. The marketplace was established as part of the Affordable Care Act to increase access to health insurance.

“We’re looking forward to helping more people enroll in health plans that they can afford and that will best meet their needs,” said KAMU spokesperson Katrina McGivern.

KAMU’s grant is for $516,000 a year for three years, while Ascension Health will receive $247,000 a year for three years.

Between November 2014 and February 2015, KAMU-sponsored navigators helped more than 15,300 Kansans buy insurance and Ascension Health-sponsored navigators helped 4,000.

Ascension Health is the nation’s largest Catholic nonprofit health system. Its Kansas holdings include the Via Christi Health hospitals in Wichita and Pittsburg, Mercy Regional Health Center in Manhattan and Wamego Health Center in Wamego, as well as several clinics throughout the state.

“This is going to allow us to help individuals throughout the Kansas community get coverage and, in the long run, get the screenings and prevention services they need to catch cancers earlier,” said Maggie Ward, who oversees Ascension Health’s navigators in Kansas.

Ascension Health’s navigators, she said, make sure their patients understand that under the Affordable Care Act, insurance plans are required to cover cancer screenings and preventive treatments.

“Hopefully this will help us catch problems long before (patients) wind up in the hospital with a significant disease,” Ward said.

Ascension Health, she said, plans to use a portion of its grant to develop webinars and expand its teleconferencing abilities.

KAMU, McGivern said, will use its grant to hire 15 full-time navigators prior to the Nov. 1 start of the 2015-2016 open enrollment period.

A “special emphasis,” she said, will be placed on reaching out to the 341,000 Kansans who are currently uninsured.

“We’re also going to host 10 ‘Cover Kansas’ open-enrollment events where navigators in a particular area — Wichita, for example — will all come together and be available at the same time,” McGivern said.

Though KAMU represents the state’s safety net clinics, it administers its grant on behalf of the Cover Kansas Consortium. That group includes the Kansas Hospital Education and Research Foundation, Kansas Association of Local Health Departments, Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas, Kansas Health Reform Project and the Kansas Association of Area Agencies on Aging and Disabilities.

KAMU and Ascension Health were awarded navigator grants in 2013 and 2014.

Kansas is one of 34 states dividing more than $67 million in navigator grants this year.

In Missouri, three organizations received navigator grants: Missouri Alliance of Area Agencies on Aging, which serves 110 counties and got $891,095; Planned Parenthood of St. Louis, which got $388,787; and St. Louis Effort for AIDS, Inc., which got $545,704.

Dave Ranney is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team.

Early school enrollment numbers down in Great Bend

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USD 428The Great Bend school district has their early enrollment numbers for the 2015-2016 school year and the figures show a decline from last year.

The final enrollment numbers will not be counted until September 21, but USD 428 Superintendent Brad Reed said the district is down 60 students compared to last year.

Reed mentioned there is a plus to having less students because of the way the funding formula is staged.

Brad Reed Audio


Reed speculated the fact that USD 428 is not accepting transfer students as a partial explanation for the decline. The school district receives no extra money for transfer students so the district quit taking them. Reed was curious on what the funding will look like in the future.

Brad Reed Audio 


USD 428 will send their final enrollment numbers to the state after next Monday’s count. Last year at this time, the early enrollment numbers for the five public schools, middle school, and high school was 2,990.

Police search for suspect in murder of Kansas woman

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McDay-photo Wichita Police

McDay-photo Wichita Police

WICHITA- Law enforcement authorities in Sedgwick County are investigating the death of a woman in her 60s as a homicide.

Wichita police say 66-year-old Jacquelyn Harvey was found dead in her home from a gunshot wound Wednesday morning by her son.

According to Lt. Todd Ojile, the victim’s body had at least one gunshot wound and her purse and SUV were missing.

Police have made one arrest in the case.

On Thursday morning, police reported they needed the public’s help in locating Brittany R. McDay, 22, in reference to the murder.

She is a biracial, 5 foot tall and weighs 145 pounds, according to police.

Anyone with information about her is to call 911.

Great Bend Police Department introduces new drug dog

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IMG_0661

Corporal Shane Becker handling Lazer, the new drug dog, at Monday’s Great Bend City Council meeting.

Police departments work 24 hours, seven days a week.

The Great Bend Police Department divides the day into four shifts for their officers including Corporal Adam Hales.

Hales is the handler for Kia the drug dog. Only having one drug dog creates scheduling issues for Kia and his trainer so the GBPD spent $14,500 on another drug dog.
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Police Chief Cliff Couch believes newcomer Lazer and veteran Kia will get along well.

Cliff Couch Audio


Great Bend purchased Lazer, a German Shepard, last May and sent him to a five-week training session. Lazer’s trainer is Corporal Shane Becker and the two have been back from training for a couple of weeks.

Cliff Couch Audio


Lazer just turned three years old and is a dual-purpose K9. Lazer can apprehend criminals and locate narcotics.

Juergensen helps OPI technology customers meet needs

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Michael Juergensen

Michael Juergensen

The new technology sales and service representative at Office Products Inc. (OPI) is available to help home-computer owners through the maze of getting the machine they need.

Michael Juergensen, a Great Bend native, recently joined the OPI technology team to help customers with computers and accessories, printers and tablets.

“Customers can rely on us to know what particular technology will solve their problems,” Juergensen said. “We also know how to maintain the equipment and explain any situation in layman’s terms.”

While some issues can be resolved with a phone call, Juergensen is available to go to the customer’s residence.

“I meet with people in their homes or wherever they need me,” he commented. “I’m also available to our business customers when needed.”

Juergensen noted he specifically wanted to work at OPI because of its technological expertise.

“OPI is on top of recent advances in technology,” he explained. “The owners and my colleagues stay at the forefront of new innovations so that we can accommodate a wide variety of customer needs.”

“The people here know this business inside and out, and I have learned a lot already,” Juergensen added. “I discover new information on the job every day.”

Juergensen currently is working on an associate’s degree in computer networking at Barton Community College. He was born and raised in Great Bend; his parents are Don and Dorothy Niedens, Great Bend.

OPI Technology Sales Manager Joey Bahr said Juergensen is a welcome addition to OPI.

“Michael is a quick-study and understands his customers’ concerns,” Bahr said. “He enjoys interacting with people who are looking for the solutions he can provide.”

OPI has access to and can maintain many computer brand names; it also provides custom-built desktops. The business is located at 1204 Main in Great Bend, 516 Broadway in Larned and 724 N. Main in Russell.

Pope lectures Congress in historic speech

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Screen Shot 2015-09-24 at 9.10.04 AMWASHINGTON (AP) — Pope Francis on Thursday warned Congress that fight against religious extremism must not trample on freedom.

He urged Congress members — and the United States as a whole — not to be afraid of immigrants but to welcome them as fellow human beings.

In his historic speech to lawmakers, the pontiff said people are not things that can be discarded just because they are troublesome. Francis also issued a call for an end to the death penalty in the U.S. and across the world. Francis says that every life is sacred and society can only benefit from rehabilitating those convicted of crimes.

The pontiff did not specifically mention abortion. But he urged lawmakers and all Americans to “protect and defend human life at every stage of its development.”

In addition, Francis used his speech to Congress to express sympathy for American Indians for their “turbulent and violent” early contacts with arriving Europeans. But he says it is hard to judge past actions by today’s standards.

Watch the Pope’s speech to congress here

9:20 a.m.

Pope Francis met briefly with House Speaker John Boehner in an opening act of his historic visit to Congress.

Awaiting the pope’s arrival, Boehner repeatedly straightened his tie and shifted from foot to foot, and joked and chatted with reporters about the history of the House furnishings.

When the pontiff arrived, their visit lasted only a few minutes. Tens of thousands wait outside, with lawmakers and guests seated in the House chamber for the first speech by a pope to Congress.

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8:50 a.m.

The pope greeted well-wishers outside the Vatican’s diplomatic mission on his way to his historic visit to Congress.

As he did Wednesday, Francis lingered with the excited crowd outside the mission, on another sunny day. Tens of thousands await him on Capitol Hill.

The pope shook hands and touched the faces of schoolchildren, dressed up in ties or Sunday dresses. As the pope moved past, one young boy shouted, “Oh yeah! I got a selfie.”

After his speech to Congress, Francis is expected to go to the Hall of Statues, where there is a statue of America’s newest saint, Junipero Serra, whom Francis canonized on Wednesday.

Joined by House Speaker John Boehner, he’ll then offer to the Library of Congress a special edition of the Bible. Then he’s to go to a balcony to greet and offer a benediction to the throngs below.

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8:30 a.m.

The Federal Aviation Administration is reminding people that Washington, New York and Philadelphia are no-drone zones during the pope’s visit to the U.S.

The FAA has put in flight restrictions through Sunday. That means flying a drone or unmanned aircraft anywhere in those cities is against the law and may result in criminal or civil charges.

Pope Francis leaves Washington on Thursday for New York and goes to Philadelphia on Saturday.

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8:20 a.m.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi is bringing Tom Steyer, who’s a California-based environmentalist and top Democratic donor, and Marc Benioff, a business software CEO, to the House gallery for the pope’s speech.

Among other guests, she’s also invited Mary Kay Henry, international president of the Service Employees International Union, and Matilda Cuomo, mother of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and widow of former Gov. Mario Cuomo.

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8:15 a.m.

Security is tight at the Capitol as crowds gather for Pope Francis’ arrival.

Streets are closed within a three-block radius of the Capitol and police advise visitors to avoid driving to the scene. The city’s subway was packed with riders hours before his speech to Congress but few delays were reported.

Police are visible throughout the Capitol complex and visitors are encountering a series of security checkpoints.

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8:10 a.m.

“Mr. Speaker, the pope of the Holy See!”

Those booming words will announce Pope Francis as he arrives for his historic speech as the first pontiff to address a joint session of Congress.

The man who will perform the ceremonial call is more accustomed to protecting famous people than introducing them.

Paul Irving spent his career in the Secret Service. He was a special agent for 25 years and the service’s assistant director from 2001 to 2008.

Speaker John Boehner chose him as House sergeant-at-arms in 2012.

When he’s not introducing dignitaries before Congress, his main duty is to oversee security in the House side of the Capitol.

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8:05 a.m.

Tens of thousands already are gathering on the front lawn of the Capitol to watch the pope’s speech on Jumbotron screens and maybe catch a glimpse of Francis. He is expected to wave from a balcony a few hundred yards away.

Libby Miller of Frederick, Maryland, says her friends all told her she was crazy for schlepping to Capitol Hill with her 4-year-old son, Camden, and 2-year-old daughter, Avery.

She left the house before 5 a.m. and settled into a spot on the lawn by 7:30 a.m., about two hours before the pope’s scheduled arrival. And she was prepared to keep her kids occupied — iPad loaded with games, toy trucks, snacks and a sippy cup.

Miller says she wants her kids to be there for an important moment in history. They won’t understand it now, but she says “they’ll get it eventually.”

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7:45 a.m.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is marking Pope Francis’ visit to the Capitol in the modern way: on YouTube.

The Kentucky Republican says in a video Thursday morning that Francis’ elevation to pope “heralded a new beginning for Catholics in Kentucky, across America and from every corner of the world.”

McConnell praises the pope’s “unique and engaging style” and says Americans have watched the pope reach new and different audiences, “both from within his flock and far beyond it.”

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7:30 a.m.

Joint gatherings of Congress for dignitaries’ speeches are usually a recipe for competing partisan ovations and chummy backslaps and handshakes.

This time, House and Senate leaders have asked lawmakers: Please, not when the pope is here.

The leaders sent an appeal to lawmakers in advance of Pope Francis’ speech Thursday morning, asking them to act with decorum in his presence. Among the no-no’s — reaching out for handshakes or conversation with the pope and those accompanying him as they walk down the center aisle of the grand House chamber.

To drum the lesson in, the leaders’ letter reminded legislators that the historic event will be seen on television “around the whole world and by many of our constituents.”

Leaders have made similar appeals for State of the Union addresses, with little luck.

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7 a.m.

With his speech Thursday morning, Francis will become the first pope to address Congress. But the list of foreign leaders and dignitaries who’ve done so is long.

The House historian’s office says it’s happened 117 previous times.

Francis won’t be the first religious leader to address the House and Senate. Technically that was Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in 1991, since the British monarch heads the Anglican Church.

The most addresses to Congress? Three, by both British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The historian’s office lists the first such speech in 1874. That’s when Congress heard King Kalakaua of Hawaii, still an independent kingdom then.

The first speech by a foreign leader to lawmakers was in 1824 by the Marquis de Lafayette, the French general who helped the colonies win independence. But he addressed only the House.

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6:45 a.m.

Francis’ speech to Congress is a personal and political coup for House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican and Catholic.

Boehner unsuccessfully invited the two previous popes, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, to speak. He began trying in 1994 during his second House term, organizing a petition by lawmakers saying John Paul II was a “world leader, ambassador of peace and an important catalyst in the fall of the Iron Curtain.”

Francis is the fourth pope to meet with a president in the U.S., including presidential visits on six separate trips by John Paul II.

The first was Paul VI’s 1965 New York meeting with President Lyndon Johnson. Benedict XVI met President George W. Bush in 2008.

Francis’ coming speech at the United Nations will be the fifth by a pope.

Single plane crashes in west Wichita, 1 killed

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fatalWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A twin-engine Cessna 310 crashed near a west Wichita neighborhood Friday, killing the pilot.

Wichita Fire Chief Ron Blackwell says the plane crashed about 4 p.m. in a wooded area behind some homes.

Blackwell says the pilot was the only person on board the plane. He says there was no fire at the crash site and no homes in the area were seriously damaged.

The pilot had taken off from a Wichita airport and then radioed that the plane was experiencing problems. Blackwell says the pilot was told to return to the airport and that is when the plane went down.

The fire chief says the investigation is continuing. The pilot’s identity and the flight plan of the plane were not immediately available.


Barton volleyball losing streak hits 14

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Barton Volleyballbartonsports.com

Coming off a Wednesday defeat to the No. 5 ranked Division I team in the country, the Barton Community College volleyball team didn’t get much relief from national caliber competition this weekend as the Cougars dropped all four matches to Division II nationally ranked opponents in the Johnson County Challenge in Overland Park, Kansas.

The weekend results drops Barton to 5-17 on the season heading into Monday evening’s 6:30 p.m. conference match versus Seward County Community College at the Barton Gym.

World War II legend celebrated in Kansas on 100th birthday

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GARDNER, Kan. (AP) — The 100th birthday of a one-of-a-kind World War II veteran lasted for days.

The Joplin Globe  reports that the festivities started last Thursday for retired Lt. Col. Richard Cole. That’s when the Texas man, who flew with Doolittle’s Raiders, the Himalayan Hump Route pilots and the 1st Air Commandos, received a standing ovation at the Kansas City Royals game.

 

Friday night at New Century Airport in Gardner, Kansas, people purchased copies of a Park University professor’s new biography about Cole.

On Saturday, he climbed into a PT-19 for a flight. He was given a print of his famed B-25 painted superimposed on a historic front page of the Globe.

Then Sunday, he tucked the key to the city of Olathe into his suitcase and headed home with “wonderful memories.”

Premium increases ahead for state employee health plan

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Health insurance doctorBy ANDY MARSO

Most Kansans who work for the state are facing increases in their insurance premiums next year, especially if they have their spouse and children on the state employee health plan. As the open enrollment period for 2016 nears, information about employee options published online this week showed hikes of 23 percent and 19 percent for families in the state’s two low-deductible plans and 166 percent and 152 percent for families in the two high-deductible plans.

Laura Calhoun, who works in corrections, said the premium increases will be especially hard to absorb for state workers who haven’t seen many pay raises in the last decade.

Calhoun said she has cut her cable television and carpools to work to save money, but the cost of necessities like water and electricity continues to rise, along with the health care premiums.

“That’s a large increase for a lot of us,” Calhoun said. “How are we going to fit that into (personal) budgets that don’t increase? The numbers don’t lie: I’m basically taking a pay cut to stay working for the state.” The State Employee Health Plan covers workers at public colleges and universities as well as those in state government.

Eligible employees may choose between plans from Aetna and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas.

Both companies offer a “Plan A” with a lower deductible and a “Plan C” that combines a higher deductible with a health savings account. All state employee plans are administered under the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

According to a KDHE presentation posted online, in past years the state employee health plan had used reserve funds to reduce cost increases for members.

But the reserves are approaching their target floor of approximately $59 million, so increased expenses now must be paid through new plan revenue.

Sara Belfry, a spokesperson for KDHE, said in an email that the premium increases were the result of higher premiums to the state and projected growth rates in health care costs.

“The Health Care Commission and its actuary believe reserve funding now is at an appropriate level to maintain the financial stability of the health plan,” Belfry said.

“But the excess funds that had been used to protect state employees from growing costs associated with health are no longer available, resulting in the premium rate increases in the current plan year.”

Expenses rose more than expected last year, due to more demand for health care and higher costs. The major cost drivers included increased use of emergency rooms, inpatient care and physician services, and higher prescription drug costs. Sky-high price tags for new prescription drugs, especially those that treat hepatitis C, are contributing to premium increases across the health insurance industry.

Premium costs for state employees who enroll only themselves, themselves and their children or themselves and their spouse are all increasing some or staying the same in 2016. But the largest increases will be for family plans that cover the state employee, his or her spouse and their children.

Aetna’s low-deductible family plan will go from $212.93 per pay period (every two weeks) to $261.56. The low-deductible plan from BCBS of Kansas will go from $192.15 per pay period to $229.50. The increases are even more dramatic in the high-deductible family plans, with Aetna’s plan going from $49.67 to $132.25 and the BCBS of Kansas plan going from $45.73 to $115.25.

Calhoun said she understands health care costs may be rising but doesn’t think it justifies the increased burden on state workers. She said she does her best to keep her medical costs low, but she and others who work in 24-hour residential facilities like state prisons and hospitals are exposed to a lot of germs and have shifts that sometimes mean they must seek care in emergency rooms because nothing else is open.

 Andy Marso is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.

St. Rose schedules free drive-through, flu-shot clinic

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St. Rose Health Center nurse volunteers provide free flu vaccinations at last year’s drive-through clinic. This year’s clinic is set for Oct. 17. (file photo)

St. Rose Health Center nurse volunteers provide free flu vaccinations at last year’s drive-through clinic. This year’s clinic is set for Oct. 17. (file photo)

Local and area residents will have the opportunity to take the first step to preventing influenza at St. Rose Health Center’s drive-through, flu-shot clinic.

The event is scheduled for 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17 at the parking lot on Forest Street, just south of St. Rose. Lincoln and Grant streets border the lot on the east and west, respectively. The flu shots are free; 400 doses are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Kristin Ohnmacht, physician assistant at St. Rose Family Medicine, strongly encourages the vaccination.

“The best way to prevent the flu is getting a vaccination each year,” Ohnmacht said. “It is the single most effective way to prevent it. Other recommendations are practicing good hand hygiene and avoiding contact with others who have been diagnosed with influenza.”

Anyone 6 months of age or older can receive the flu vaccination. However, at the drive-up clinic, St. Rose nurses will vaccinate only those 18 and older. Younger patients are encouraged to get a vaccination from their medical provider.

Signs and symptoms of the flu include fever or feeling feverish, chills, cough, sore throat, runny nose, muscle or body aches, headaches and fatigue.

“If you start experiencing these symptoms, you should see your primary-care provider as soon as possible,” Ohnmacht commented. “Antiviral agents are most effective when initiated within the first 48 hours of being symptomatic.”

“Antiviral medications, such as Tamiflu, can lessen the severity of the symptoms and shorten the duration of the flu,” she added.

Influenza poses a greater risk in certain patient populations, the physician assistant noted. These include pregnant women, children and the elderly. The flu usually peaks in January or February but can occur as early as October and as late as May.

Ohnmacht also pointed out that the vaccination doesn’t cause the flu.

“But you can experience mild side effects from the shot,” she acknowledged. “These include mild fever, body aches and/or soreness/swelling at the injection site. These symptoms are likely to go away within a couple of days.”

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention recommends receiving an annual flu vaccination.

St. Rose specializes in primary care, prevention and wellness. Services include St. Rose Family Medicine, Convenient Care Walk-in Clinic, Great Bend Internists, imaging, infusion clinic, WellnessWorks, one-day surgical procedures, Golden Belt Home Health & Hospice and a comprehensive Specialty Clinic. St. Rose is co-owned by Hays Medical Center and Centura Health.

Monday Barton County Commission Meeting Agenda

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barton county courthouseBOARD OF BARTON COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Agenda Meeting
Monday, October 5, 2015 – 9:00 a.m. until Close

I. OPENING BUSINESS:
A. Call Meeting to Order.
B. Recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
C. Consider Approval of the Agenda.
D. Consider Minutes of the September 28, 2015, Regular Meeting.
E. Any citizen wishing to make statements during the discussion of any item must first be recognized by the Commission Chair. After being recognized, that person should state their name and the name of any organization represented. Statements should be limited to five minutes.
F. Cell phones and other electronic devices, other than those used by the media, should be shut off.

II. APPROVAL OF APPROPRIATIONS:
-An Accounts Payable Register will be submitted to the Commission for the period of September 21, 2015, and ending October 5, 2015.

III. OLD BUSINESS – Items tabled, or scheduled, from previous Commission Meetings, will be heard at this time.
-There is no Old Business at this time.

IV. NEW BUSINESS – All new business to be considered by the Commission will be heard at this time.

A. PROCLAMATION 2015-14: Domestic Violence Awareness Month, October, 2015:
-Given the number of victims touched by domestic violence, the importance of working with survivors and the need to hold perpetrators accountable, the Commission will be asked by Laura Patzner, Executive Director of the Family Crisis Center, to recognize October, 2015, as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

B. ALLIANCE INSURANCE GROUP / EMC INSURANCE COMPANIES: Dividend Return:
-Cody Smith, Alliance Insurance Group, will present the Commission with a dividend return check as a result of the County’s participation in the Kansas County Safety Dividend Group with EMC Insurance Companies.

C. BARTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: 100th Anniversary of the Dedication of the “The Rifleman”:
-This November 7, 2015, the Barton County Historical Society will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the dedication of “The Rifleman”, an original bronze statue by noted American sculptor, Frederick C. Hibbard. To the north of the Barton County Courthouse, this likeness of a young man stands eternal guard in defense of the Union, rifle and bayonet at the ready. In October, “The Rifleman” will be professionally cleaned and restored. Bev Komarek, Executive Director, and Karen Neuforth, Research Coordinator, Barton County Historical Society, will provide details.

D. SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS REGIONAL HOMELAND SECURITY COUNCIL: Transfer of Property Agreement:
-The South Central Kansas Regional Homeland Security Council, through the North Central Regional Planning Commission, has awarded six (6) tactical vests to the Barton County Sheriff’s Office. The Barton County Sheriff’s Office will be responsible for maintaining the equipment on inventory and maintenance. Amy Miller, Emergency Risk Manager, will provide details.

2014 AUDIT: Payment of Audit Fee:
-Adams, Brown, Beran and Ball has submitted the final billing for the 2014 audit. Included on the billing is the fee for the 2014 audit, a fee for the preparation of two single audits and a change order. The change order includes additional work required due to evaluation of Federal Awards expenditures. It also includes the evaluation of the 2013 tax roll reconciliation and lack of reconciled distributions for the Treasurer’s Office. The additional fees of $12,395.00 bring the total billing to $53,695.00. Richard Boeckman, County Counselor / Administrator / Interim 911 Director, will provide details.

V. ENDING BUSINESS – After new items are heard by the Commission, the following items, including announcements, will be heard.

A. ANNOUNCEMENTS: -Following the close of the Agenda Meeting, the Commission will consider the authorization of personnel changes, sign any documentation approved during the agenda meeting or sign any other documentation required for regular County business. Similar action may take place throughout the day.

B. APPOINTMENTS:
-Subject to change, the following appointments have been scheduled:
10:00 a.m. or following the close of the Agenda Meeting – Richard Boeckman, County Counselor / Administrator / Interim 911 Director, will discuss regular business.
10:30 a.m. – Engineering Issues – Mr. Boeckman

THE COUNTY EDITION, KVGB-AM – Thursdays at 11:05 a.m. Kevin Wondra, County Treasurer, is scheduled for October 8, 2015.

VI. OTHER BUSINESS:
A. Discussion Items.
B. Citizens or organizations may present requests or proposals for initial consideration.
C. Announce the Commissioners are available to the Public on Mondays during regular business hours.
D. Announce that the Commissioners may, individually, schedule personal appointments related to County business at their discretion.
E. Announce next Regular Meeting will be Monday, October 12, 2015, at 9:00 a.m.

VII. ADJOURN.

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