HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Four Wichita women were arrested Thursday evening accused of stealing numerous items from three stores in the Hutchinson Mall and also Target.
It started with two of the women running out of Hibbett Sports with arms full of clothing. Law enforcement got a description of the vehicle and it was spotted at K-96 and Victory Road. When stopped, they said they were headed to Wichita from Hutchinson, but denied being in the Hutchinson Mall. But, the officer apparently spotted clothing and other items on the floor board of the vehicle with the tags still on them.
That included numerous items from other stores including Bath and Body Works, Rue 21 and Target.
Arrest on charges of felony theft and criminal damage was 22-year-old Kairie S. Frazier, 24-year-old Quaneisha L. Yates, 20-year-old Cierra L. Hutton and 20-year-old Vermikia L.T. Harris. Hutton was also arrested for felony interference for giving officers her name as Sara Scales which was not true.
In court, all three women were given a break on bond with all but Hutton having bonds set at $2,500. Because Hutton had an additional charge, her bond was set at $3,500.
Photo by Andy Marso/KHI News Service Tim Keck, interim secretary of the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services.
Federal officials Monday opened their regional office in Kansas City to take feedback on several changes to disability support policies in Kansas — including one they’ve instructed state officials to put on hold.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told leaders of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services earlier this month they cannot implement a change to the “capable person” policy — one of two changes to home and community-based disability support services made in May to help balance the state budget.
Federal officials also have instructed the state to provide more information about the elimination of a waiting list for Kansans with physical disabilities who requested such services. KDADS announced in August that the list was eliminated, but CMS officials say they have questions about whether Kansans were dropped from the list improperly.
Angela de Rocha, a spokeswoman for state agencies including the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, said the agency will abide by CMS requirements for the capable person policy after it receives more federal guidance.
“The agency has requested a technical assistance call with CMS to discuss the process,” de Rocha said.
De Rocha said the agency has also provided CMS “extensive documentation” about the waiting list for services for Kansans with physical disabilities.
Photo by Courtesy Vicki Distefano Vicki Distefano, far right, says a KanCare policy change reduced support services for her brother Mike from 189 hours per week to 71.25 hours per week. Mike Distefano, middle, is severely disabled due to a traumatic brain injury and lives in Fairway with Vicki, his primary caregiver.
The inclusion of home and community-based services in KanCare was one of the most controversial aspects of the state’s 2013 switch to managed care Medicaid administered by three private insurance companies.
Brownback has said including the support services in the same plan as medical services for Kansans with disabilities allows for better coordination of their care and leads to improved health and lower Medicaid costs, which in turn means more services can be provided to Kansans on waiting lists.
Tim Keck, interim secretary of the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, said in a Wichita Eagle opinion column published Monday that some criticisms of KanCare are politically motivated.
Keck said the state is providing 36 percent more home and community–based services since switching to KanCare and the program’s care coordinators are helping Kansans with disabilities receive the proper level of medical services and daily supports.
“Individuals with disabilities who are on the KanCare waiver programs are receiving all the care and services for which they have a demonstrated need,” Keck said. “If they or their families don’t believe that is the case, there is a robust, multi-level appeals system in place to allow them to challenge such decisions.”
But providers of the support services say the change has led to service cuts, and some legislators have predicted new talks next session on removing them from KanCare.
The state announced the capable person policy change as a small part of $56 million in budget-balancing Medicaid cuts.
It and another change to how the state reimburses those who provide disability support services were expected to save the state $1.3 million each.
A state spokeswoman said the change would make for stricter enforcement of an existing federal rule limiting what reimbursements are allowed for routine daily tasks like cooking and laundry done for people with disabilities if they have another person living in their house capable of doing them.
James Scott, associate regional administrator for CMS, told state officials in a letter dated Oct. 12 that after reviewing the change his office “found a number of corrections and improvements we would like to suggest.”
Scott said his office found “inconsistencies” between how the state had changed the policy and the waiver agreements Kansas had signed with federal officials to implement KanCare.
Scott said the state must put the change on hold until it fixes the inconsistencies.
“Please be advised that until the waiver amendments are approved by CMS, KDADS must halt the implementation of the capable person policy as written,” Scott wrote. “Implementation of the capable person policy prior to approval of amendments that reconcile the waivers and the policy may result in compliance action by CMS.”
For Vicki Distefano, the capable person change was part of a reduction in her brother Mike’s services from 189 hours per week to 71.25 hours per week.
Mike Distefano is severely disabled due to a traumatic brain injury and lives in Fairway with Vicki, his primary caregiver. They received a letter last month from Mike’s KanCare company, UnitedHealthcare, alerting them that the reductions in his services would begin Nov. 1.
They’ve retained the services of Leawood attorney Kimberly Kass, who has filed for a fair hearing to appeal the reductions.
“Most of it does designate the capable person policy as the reason for the deduction (in hours),” she said.
Kass said she first read the letter from Scott stopping the capable person change Monday morning.
She said the letter should mean that UnitedHealthcare can’t cut Mike Distefano’s services, but she’s heard nothing from the company to that effect yet.
“They risk the wrath of CMS if they continue to implement it, but I don’t know what that means as far as what CMS is going to do about it,” Kass said. “Are they going to withhold funds? That’s not going to help.”
But it’s one of the things federal officials took comment on at Monday’s stakeholder meetings in Kansas City.
Waiting lists
CMS officials also are seeking comment on the waiting lists for services, which have been around through several administrations and burgeoned during the recession under Democratic governors Kathleen Sebelius and Mark Parkinson.
The list for Kansans with intellectual and developmental disabilities remains large, but the list for Kansans with physical disabilities has dropped quickly over the last several years.
That led the state to scrutinize the physical disability list, which was kept by the Centers for Independent Living. The names of more than a thousand people who could not be contacted, were no longer eligible for services or no longer wanted them were removed from the list as the state worked to reduce it.
Advocates for Kansans with disabilities have for years expressed concerns about the culling of the list and whether people who still needed support services were dropped improperly.
Megan Buck, acting associate regional administrator for Medicaid in the Kansas City CMS office, told state officials that the federal agency has heard from KanCare clients who were dropped from the waiting list without being contacted.
“Given the high number of people who have been moved off the waiting list in the last sixth months and the reports of individuals unaware they have been dropped from the list, we are concerned that some people who should have been offered services may not have been contacted properly,” Buck wrote.
Buck added a list of questions about the waiting lists to the bottom of her letter.
Edwina Ware, a 54-year-old who lives near Emporia, said she is one of those dropped from the list.
Ware, who has back problems and uses a walker, said she joined the physical disability waiting list before 2013. But when she checked her status this summer with the help of staff at the Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging, they found she was no longer on the list.
“There was no call; there was no nothing,” Ware said.
She has been reassessed for services and is in the process of completing paperwork to accept a formal offer for them, now that the waiting list is gone.
Andy Marso is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team. You can reach him on Twitter @andymarso
Courtesy Photo from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism
TOPEKA – In addition to voting for their chosen candidates and other important matters in the Nov. 8, 2016 general election, voters will decide whether to amend the Kansas Constitution’s Bill of Rights to add a constitutional right to hunt, fish and trap wildlife.
The proposed amendment would specify the people have a right to hunt, fish and trap by traditional methods, subject to reasonable laws and regulations that promote wildlife conservation and management and that preserve the future of hunting, fishing and trapping. The amendment would also specify that hunting and fishing are the preferred means for managing and controlling wildlife, and that the amendment shall not be construed to modify any provision of law relating to trespass, eminent domain or other private property rights.
The amendment would be created if approved by a majority of Kansas voters. A “Yes” vote will be a vote in favor of adding the amendment to the constitution, and a “No” vote will be a vote against adding the amendment. If the amendment passes, current laws and regulations governing hunting, fishing and trapping of wildlife would still apply, as the proposed right is subject to reasonable laws and regulations. If the amendment fails, there would be no changes to current laws and regulations.
The proposed amendment was introduced into the 2015 Legislative Session as House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 5008 by Representative Couture-Lovelady and Representative Lusker, but no action was taken. It was carried over to the 2016 session where it passed both chambers by large margins. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) testified in support of the resolution.
According to the website Ballotpedia.org, 19 states currently have similar constitutional provisions for the right to hunt and fish. Two others have constitutional provisions guaranteeing the right to fish, and two have statutes providing for the right to hunt and fish. Vermont established its right to hunt and fish in 1777, but most of the other states have created their rights since 2000.
Hunters and anglers provide all of the support for Kansas’ wildlife and fisheries management programs. These programs are entirely funded by license/permit fees and a federal match from the excise tax paid by hunters and anglers on equipment they buy (these revenues can only be used to fund wildlife and fisheries programs; they cannot be used for state park maintenance).
The state’s share of the federal excise tax can only be returned to Kansas if someone buys a license or permit. KDWPT does not receive any state general funds for any of its programs.
Police on the scene of Wednesday’s shooting-photo courtesy KAKE
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a man has been fatally shot during an argument in a strip mall parking lot.
Police Lt. Nikki Woodrow said in a statement that the shooting happened late Wednesday afternoon. The Wichita Eagle reports that witnesses told police that two men argued before the victim was shot in the chest and the right leg. He was taken to a Wichita hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police say the suspect left in a vehicle with California tags. The vehicle was recovered later but the suspect wasn’t immediately arrested.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. – The Kansas Supreme Court has denied the Writ of Mandamus requested by District Attorney Keith Schroeder against Judge Trish Rose surrounding the issues in the Samuel Vonachen case.
Schroeder filed the writ to try to stop plans to have a new mental evaluation completed for the teen convicted of killing his mother and sister.
The state had requested that the 17-year-old be moved to adult jail after being convicted of two counts of murder, attempted murder and aggravated arson as an adult and also asking the court to block another mental evaluation be conducted, instead of going ahead and sentencing him for the conviction.
Schroeder stated in the motion that he was never notified of the judge trying to set this up.
Because of the decision on the high court, Schroeder says it would appear Vonchan will remain housed in the Reno County Juvenile Detention Facility until further order of the court and be subject to another evaluation by Larned State Security Hospital.
Schroeder in an e-mail to the media. “I stand by my decision to challenge Judge Rose’s decisions, despite the ruling of the Kansas Supreme Court. I believe it was my sworn duty to do everything possible to protect the community.”
A Reno County jury convicted the teen of the two counts of murder for the killing of his mother and sister who died after he set fire to the family home on Sept. 26, 2013. His father was able to escape. But, he was also convicted for attempted first-degree murder for trying to kill his father and aggravated arson for the actual setting of the fire.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A 22-year-old man arrested by police back on June 21 after a fire and explosion at the Plaza Towers building was bound over Monday on all five felony counts.
Chase Coble faces trial for three counts of aggravated arson with substantial risk of great bodily harm and two counts criminal use of explosives. The first three counts are level three felonies with a maximum sentence on each count of over 20 years in prison.
He was allegedly experimenting with plastic and chemicals and it got out of hand. Police say he had the chemicals to make black powder to use in explosives, but he claims he wasn’t doing that.
The chemicals he had were all toxic and volatile, according to authorities. The fire and explosion caused significant damage to the apartment on the 12th floor of the Tower’s building and also some damage to the apartment below.
Magistrate Judge Cheryl Allen, after hearing the evidence Monday, bound him over for arraignment, which will come next month.
HARPER COUNTY — A pair of earthquakes shook portions of Kansas early Monday morning.
Just after 8:25 a.m., a 3.5 magnitude quake hit approximately 11 miles northeast of Anthony, Kansas, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
A few minutes later at 8:50 a.m., a 2.5 magnitude quake was reported near the same area approximately 10 miles northeast of Anthony.
A staff member at the police department in Anthony reported they felt the quake. No damage or injuries reported early Monday, according to the Harper County Sheriff’s Department.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson Police are working another apparent robbery of a Dillons Store.
Reno County 911 says a call came out about a robbery at the East 4th Avenue Dillons just before 3 p.m. It’s the second robbery of a Dillons this week.
Police say that a man wearing a mask walked into the store and demanded money. Officers say this robbery and the one at the Dillons on North Main on Monday may be connected, but can’t say for sure right now.
Some parents were called by local schools and asked if they wanted their children to walk home or be picked up because of the robbery.
The Dillons at 14th and Main was robbed when a man, also wearing a Halloween mask, walked in and demanded money before attempting to flee on a bicycle. No arrests have been made in that case.
Officers stop shoppers from entering Dillons after a robbery. While the store remained closed, cars were still being helped at the pharmacy drive-thru.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Attendance numbers for the 2016 Kansas State Fair were released Friday, and they’re good.
Despite rainy weather that dampened several days of the 10-day fair, gate attendance reached 359,808. That’s the third highest in the fair’s 104-year history.
“The weather on the first Friday was less than desirable, but attendance was high over both weekends,” said general manager Susan Sankey. “Even the potential of rain can keep people away. We work to communicate the many alternate indoor venues and activities available before fairgoers make a change in plans.”
2015 was a record-breaking year for fair attendance with numbers at 369,322, beating the previous record set in 1995 at 361,647. Those years celebrated near-perfect weather throughout.
The Fair welcomed new schools and students with an increased focus on education components. “It was fun to watch the children’s excitement bloom as they experienced their first fair,” said Sankey. The increase in 4-H and FFA livestock exhibitors and the birth of multiple sets of twin calves also helped entice the crowds.
Sankey accepted the position as general manager in November 2015, allowing ten months to learn the ropes and plan Kansas’ largest event. “The Kansas State Fair has a hard working board, staff and many volunteers who plan well in advance,” she said. “We started planning for next year’s fair before this year’s had ended. This approach matched with the outstanding support of our partners, sponsors, exhibitors and participants keeps the fair successful year after year.”
Mark your calendars for the 2017 Kansas State Fair, September 8-17 in Hutchinson.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Douglas Belt died in prison this past spring. Still the man who was on death row for the murder of Lucille Gallegos had an appeal before the supreme court trying to get part of a rape conviction overturned.
And the court did just that vacating the sentence this week. While it does nothing for Belt or anyone else now, it does stay with in the sentencing guidelines and so the appeal continued even though Belt has been deceased since April.
Belt was sentenced to die for the 2002 death of Gallegos who was found decapitated at a west Wichita apartment that someone had tried to set on fire. Prosecutors believed Belt had attempted to rape Gallegos before killing her.When Belt’s DNA was put into the national database, it linked him to six unsolved rapes going back to the 1980’s.
However, attempts to prosecute Bell with those crimes were eventually tossed over constitutional and technical errors. Belts latest appeal cited multiplicity in the attempted rape charge which was granted by the supreme court.
