TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Emergency medical responders are asking Kansas lawmakers to require testing for more communicable diseases and improve notification of first responders. Current state law on accidental exposure requires first responders to be notified if they are exposed to AIDs or HIV. In testimony Wednesday before a Kansas House committee, emergency supervisors supported a proposal to require testing and notification for about 52 communicable diseases, including hepatitis, rabies, rubella, measles and mumps. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the measure likely will be amended to allow for testing at hospitals, clinics and other health facilities. Positive tests would be reported promptly…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas health officials say the state is being hit hard by the flu in the current flu season. The state health department says Kansas recorded 699 deaths from September through Monday in which flu and/or pneumonia was a direct or contributing factor. Department spokeswoman Miranda Steele says the rate of people being treated for influenza-like illness in Kansas is about 5 percent. She says that rate never reached 5 percent in the 2011-2012 and 2010-2011 flu seasons. The highest rate during those two seasons was 3.5 percent. State epidemiologist Charles Hunt told The Topeka Capital-Journal that the flu…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) A 33-year-old Overland Park man pleaded guilty to helping to distribute nearly $17 million in marijuana and cocaine in Kansas. Federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that Samuel Villeareal III, 33, pleaded guilty to one drug conspiracy count. After his arrest last June, federal prosecutors suggested that Villeareal sold marijuana to some University of Kansas basketball players. The Kansas City Star reports that neither the prosecutor nor Villeareal mentioned anything about Kansas sports during Wednesday’s hearing. Villeareal was one of 44 people indicted last year with conspiring to distribute the drugs over four years in Johnson and Douglas…
EL DORADO, Kan. (AP) A 24-year-old El Dorado man has died from gunshot wounds he suffered at his home. El Dorado police Chief Tom Boren says Trevor Wakefield died Wednesday after being shot on Monday. Boren says a Wichita couple charged in the shooting is likely to face amended charges after Wakefield’s death. Montee Ray Iverson, 34, and Mandy Renee Crandall, 29, made first appearances in Butler County court Wednesday on the original charges. A third person arrested in the shooting has been released without charges. The Wichita Eagle reports Iverson has an extensive criminal history, including being sent back…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas lawmakers are being urged to extend the life of a panel created to help improve technical education programs. The Senate Education Committee heard testimony Wednesday on a bill to keep the Kansas Postsecondary Technical Education Authority in business until July 2017. It’s now scheduled to shut down in mid-2014. Lawmakers established the authority in 2007 to coordinate and enhance technical education programs. It has an annual budget of approximately $680,000. Leaders of Kansas education groups testified Wednesday the authority has helped improve technical instruction. But they also said more work must be done to improve programs…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Ten nonprofit groups and public housing agencies in Kansas have been awarded a total of $1.2 million to help renters find affordable housing. The Kansas Housing Resources Corp. announced the grants Wednesday, saying the funds can be used on subsidies for renters or to help them pay utility and security deposits. The money comes from the federal government but the grants are administered by the state’s housing corporation, an independent agency with a board appointed by the governor. Girard-based Southeast Kansas Community Action Program received the largest grant, at $300,000. The Southwest Guidance Center in Liberal and…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Gov. Sam Brownback has reappointed a retired Washburn University professor as chairman of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission. Daniel Harden has served on the commission since 2011, and Brownback appointed him Wednesday to another two-year term. The commission enforces the state’s lobbying, campaign finance and conflict-of-interest laws. Harden is a Meriden resident who taught at Washburn in Topeka for more than two decades, starting in 1987. He’s taught graduate courses in leadership, law and education and has served on his local school board. He also is a former high school teacher and public school principal. The governor…
CHANUTE, Kan. (AP) Authorities in southeast Kansas are seeking help identifying a body found at the site of a fire in Chanute. The fire broke out last week in a residential area of the city. The Chanute Police Department was summoned back to the scene Wednesday to investigate the possible discovery of a body. Police say the person’s identity is unknown and the body will be transported for autopsy. The state fire marshal’s office is helping determine the cause of the fire.
On today’s InFocus, Tom talks with the John Armbrust, Executive Director of the Governor’s Military Council. [mp3-jplayer]
2,023 individuals submitted electronic surveys regarding the addition of a indoor/outdoor fieldhouse facility here in Manhattan. Out of the surveys collected, 1217 surveys came from Manhattan, 249 from Wamego and 61 from Junction City. 690 additional comments were also submitted to provide extra feedback, 474 of which provided email addresses so they could stay up to date on this project. The Riley County Commission had a chance to view these statistics, and additional information about the fieldhouse, during Thursday’s commission meeting. Fieldhouse Advisory Group Chair, Gail Urban shared the results with the commission, saying the goal is to create a…