TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas State Board of Education is requesting an additional $450 million in state spending on public schools for the 2014 state budget cycle. Board members voted 7-2 on Tuesday to submit the request to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and the GOP-controlled Legislature. The request covers education expenses for the 2013-14 school year. Members say they felt they had to ask legislators to increase education spending, including increasing the base state aid per pupil to $4,492, up from the $3,838 that districts now receive. The increase represents $440.1 million of the board’s request. The request includes identifying…
Author: KMAN Staff
KINGMAN, Kan. (AP) The trial of a former Kansas law enforcement instructor accused of killing his wife has been delayed until December. Brett Seacat, a former Sedgwick County sheriff’s deputy, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Vashti, at their Kingman home in 2011. Seacat is also charged with aggravated arson and two counts of endangering a child. Prosecutors allege Seacat shot his wife and set the house on fire. Brett Seacat and the couple’s two young sons escaped. Seacat pleaded not guilty to the charges. His attorneys say Vashti Seacat set the fire and took…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Shawnee County officials estimate it will cost about $50,000 to rid an area lake of a troublesome invasive plant. John Knight, Shawnee County parks and recreation director, says the plant, called Eurasian Watermilfoil, has been spreading at Lake Shawnee and can cause a dense surface canopy that interferes with swimming, fishing and boating at the lake. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the Shawnee County Commission on Thursday will consider Knight’s recent request for the county to solicit bids to treat the lake for the plant species. He says the department’s budget has the necessary funds. Knight says…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has named a new district court judge for the Topeka area. Brownback’s office announced Tuesday that Carl William Ossmann, the chief litigation attorney for one of the state’s social services agencies, will fill a judicial vacancy in Shawnee County. Ossmann will replace the late District Judge Charles Andrews, who retired in March and died recently after battling cancer. Ossmann is an attorney for the Department for Aging and Disability Services. He also is a former first assistant Shawnee County district attorney and has been an adjunct professor at Washburn University’s law school since…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will speak July 26 at a forum on current affairs at the Dole Institute of Politics in Lawrence. Rumsfeld served as secretary of defense from 1975 to 1977 and again from 2001 to 2006, working for two Republican administrations after the Vietnam War and through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also was a four-term congressman from Illinois from 1962 to 1969. Bill Lacy, director of the Dole Institute, said Rumsfeld’s appearance will give insight into U.S. history and how policy was made by different administrations. Rumsfeld will also be…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Westar Energy wants 1,000 customers to try a new program that would shift electricity use to off-peak periods. The utility company says the Under the Time of Use program would save customers money and help manage the demand on the electric system. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that peak energy use times during the summer are weekdays from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Under the pilot program, the cost for energy during that period would be about 13.5 cents per kilowatt hour. Using energy during off-peak times would cost about 5.5 cents per kilowatt hour. The hours and…
COFFEYVILLE, Kan. (AP) A 68-year-old southeast Kansas man has died after being struck by lightning. Coffey County Sheriff Randy Rogers says in a news release that Ronald Nicholas was attending a family gathering in the rural Waverly area when he was hit by lightning. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the death occurred Saturday night. Rogers says Nicholas was pronounced dead at the scene.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The triple-digit temperatures and lack of rain in Kansas this past week came at a critical time in row crop development. Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service on Monday reported declines in the condition of the state’s major spring-planted crops. Among the hardest hit is the Kansas corn crop with 43 percent of it now rated in poor to very poor condition and just 18 percent in good and 1 percent in excellent condition. Other crops also are struggling with 12 percent of the state considered to have adequate topsoil moisture. About 33 percent of soybeans and 37 percent…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Wichita woman and her daughter returned home to surprise two men, who were apparently stealing their electronics. The Wichita Eagle reports that the suspects fled on foot from the home late Sunday after they were surprised by the residents. Lt. Doug Nolte says the suspects apparently left so fast they forgot their car, which had been parked nearby. When a woman came by to pick up the car later, she led police back her apartment, where police arrested two 19-year-old men and found the victims’ belongings. Police said the recovered items included a camera that the…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A legislative committee is expected to consider a request from a Topeka Democratic state senator to audit the state’s new vehicle registration system. A request from Sen. Laura Kelly is on Tuesday’s agenda of the Legislative Post Audit Committee, which has the authority to approve such reviews. The Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles has been plagued in recent weeks with delays and backlogs in processing registrations as it implements a new $40-million computer system. The changes have resulted in long lines statewide as residents seek to register vehicles and conduct related business. Kelly wants to review…