The danger of an electrical fire grows during the winter months, causing millions of dollars in damage and causing chaos for those whose lives it touches. Blue Township Fire Chief Eric Ward says fire departments nationwide, but especially in the heartland, see an increase in electrical fires during the colder months. “A lot of that occurs because of misue of heating equipment and things of that sort,” Ward said. Electrical appliances, especially, are at risk. Checking the wiring to things such as space heaters and coffee pots before you use them can save lives. Ward advises you to look for…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas House members have given final approval to a bill that will give Junction City more time to pay down debt related to growth at Fort Riley. The bill passed 98-25 on final action Thursday. It gives the city an additional three years to reduce the ratio of outstanding debt to its total property valuation. The limit would remain at 37 percent under the bill through June 30, 2016. Approval by the House sends the bill to the Senate. Junction City issued the bonds in the past decade to make improvements related to the return of the…
Falling on his sword for the redistricting issue wasn’t going to do anything. Those are the words of St. Senator Roger Reitz of Manhattan, who ended up voting for the Senate’s congressional redistricting bill, that moves Manhattan from the second to the first district. “I’m not proud of what happened,” Reitz told KMAN. “I just know that the people of this body were not interested in the map I was proposing. They weren’t going to give me the time of day. Leadership on this issue was faulty and left a lot to be desired.” Reitz adds fellow Republican Senator Tim Owen’s committee…
Incumbent Register of Deeds, Debbie Regester publicly announced on Wednesday that she will be re-running for the Riley County position this fall. Regester has held the title for the past four years and says her dedication to the position has not wavered. “I love my job, I love working with people,” Regester told KMAN. “It is basically the building block for everything that goes on in the county.” Regester is expected to file her “declaration of intent” paperwork with the county elections office in the next few days.
A familiar face in the Rock Creek school district is coming home to take over the Junior Senior High School. USD 323 Superintendent Darrel Stufflebeam tells KMAN the school board unanimously voted last night in favor of Eric Koppes, currently the principal at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School in Manhattan. “Mr. Koppes was a teacher Westmoreland Elementary School and Rock Creek Junior/Senior High School for several years prior to becoming a principal in Pamona and Manhattan/Ogden,” Stufflebeam said. In addition to being personally familiar with the district, Koppes’ wife is currently a teacher in the district and has had other family…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Some state legislators said Tuesday they were surprised by remarks from Gov. Sam Brownback that Kansas and its congressional delegation face “a continuous fight” to obtain federal funding for a new lab that would research plant and animal pathogens. Brownback told two-dozen lawmakers during a Monday evening meeting at his official residence that he expects the legislative battle over the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility to last another five years. A site in Manhattan, near the Kansas State University campus, has been cleared for construction of the $650 million biosecurity lab. “It’s troubling to learn that, hey,…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) As new details emerge, a Kansas newspaper’s attorney remains convinced that private meetings legislators had with Gov. Sam Brownback at his official residence were illegal. Topeka Capital-Journal attorney Mike Merriam said meetings in January violated the Kansas Open Meetings Act because a majority of some legislative committees were present and legislative issues were discussed. Brownback had seven meetings in January with fellow Republicans on 13 legislative committees. He had another meeting Monday evening for a bipartisan group of lawmakers not tied to specific committees. Brownback allowed The Associated Press to observe and later said the gathering was…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A group of Johnson County teachers is heading to the Kansas Statehouse to deliver signatures they have gathered in protest of plans to change the state employee retirement system. Group members say they will deliver some 30 binders with more than 6,400 signatures from school employees from every district in Johnson County to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s office. Brownback and the Republican-controlled Legislature are proposing to change the Kansas Public Employee Retirement System from a defined benefit program to a defined contribution program. The changes are designed to close a projected $8.3 billion gap between pension obligations…