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USD 313 to consider drug testing policy

BUHLER, Kan. — The Buhler USD 313 School District may be considering a drug testing policy for school students for next year.

The school board will get a chance to look over and discuss a proposed policy for such testing of students during Monday’s agenda session. No action will be taken, but approval of the policy could come as early as the July board meeting.

Buhler would join Nickerson USD 309 as an area school district with a drug testing policy if approved.

Also Monday, the board may consider approval of a new collective bargaining agreement between the district and the KNEA representing Buhler faculty. A vote was taken Thursday, but the results of that vote are unavailable at this time.

Monday’s meeting of the Buhler USD 313 School Board begins at 6 p.m. in the Burkholder Administrative Center in Buhler.

Warning signs of stroke mean ‘get help’ right away

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — One of the issues many face when having a stroke is getting help right away, according to Terry David, head of Reno County EMS. He says people have better odds when EMS is called to the scene:

 

David also discussed the information medical teams need when a person suffers a suspected stroke:

 

Once in the emergency room, Bobbie Starks — a registered nurse at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center — says patients can be helped quickly, but timing is everything for treating stroke victims:

 

Starks also talked about those who may have what is called a “T.I.A.” or mini-stroke:

 

She says this is a warning and suggests you get checked to make sure it doesn’t lead to a much bigger event, which could cost you your life.

For more information, contact your own physician.

House rejects immigration bill favored by Kan. representatives

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House killed a hard-right immigration bill Thursday, and Republican leaders delayed a planned vote on a compromise GOP package with the party’s lawmakers fiercely divided over an issue that has long confounded them.

Kansas Rep. Ron Estes spoke in support of the measure Thursday

The conservative measure was defeated 231-193, with 41 Republicans — mostly moderates — joining Democrats in voting against it. Those defections — nearly 1 in 5 GOP lawmakers — underscored the party’s chasm over immigration and the election-year pressures Republicans face to stay true to districts that range from staunchly conservative to pro-immigrant.

Thursday’s vote set the stage for debate on the second bill, this one crafted by Republican leaders in hopes of finding an accord between the party’s sparring moderate and conservative wings. That compromise was considered too lenient by some conservatives and seemed likely to fall, too, and aides said the final roll call would wait till Friday.

Rejection of both would represent an embarrassment for President Donald Trump, who had embraced them. As if the internal GOP turmoil was not enough, the party’s political exposure on the issue has been intensified by heartbreaking images of migrant children separated from families and complicated by opaque statements by Trump.

At the White House, Trump defended his administration’s “zero tolerance” policy of prosecuting all migrants caught illegally entering the country, a change that has caused thousands of families to be divided while the parents are detained. He said without it, “you would have a run on this country the likes of which nobody has ever seen.”

He said he was inviting Congress’ top two Democrats, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, to the White House for immigration bargaining. He called them “extremist open-border Democrats.”

And in a tweet that seemed to undermine House leaders’ efforts to round up votes, he questioned the purpose of their legislation by suggesting it was doomed in the Senate anyway.

Trump issued an executive order Wednesday aimed at reversing his own policy of taking immigrant children from their detained parents, but emotions remained high.

“I was welcomed here,” a tearful Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., said during House debate, describing her journey to the U.S. as a child from Guatemala. “I was not put in a freezing cell.”

In an embarrassing detour, the House used an early procedural vote to correct what Republicans called a drafting error — language providing $100 billion more than they’d planned to help build Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico. Instead of giving initial approval for $24.8 billion spread over the next five years, the legislation said it would open the door to $24.8 billion “for each” of the next five years.

The rejected conservative bill would have granted no pathway to citizenship for young “Dreamers” who arrived in the country illegally as children, curbed legal immigration and bolstered border security.

The second was a compromise between GOP moderates and the party’s conservatives that included an opportunity for citizenship for the young immigrants. It provides $25 billion for Trump’s wall, restrictions on legal immigration and language requiring the Homeland Security Department to keep migrant families together while they’re being processed for illegal entry to the U.S.

Democrats oppose both measures as harsh.

“It is not a compromise,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters. “It may be a compromise with the devil, but it is not a compromise with the Democrats.”

Even before votes began, Trump complicated GOP efforts to round up votes.

“What is the purpose of the House doing good immigration bills when you need 9 votes by Democrats in the Senate, and the Dems are only looking to Obstruct (which they feel is good for them in the Mid-Terms),” Trump wrote. “Republicans must get rid of the stupid Filibuster Rule-it is killing you!”

In the unlikely event that the House approved the GOP compromise, it seemed certain to go nowhere in the GOP-run Senate. Democrats there have enough votes to use procedural delays to kill it. Sixty votes are needed to end filibusters.

On Wednesday, Trump reversed himself and took executive action aimed at curbing the separation of families. His order seemed to stem some of the urgency for Congress to act.

But GOP leaders were eager to hold the votes anyway. The roll calls would let Republicans assert to voters that they tried addressing the immigration problem.

“Our members wanted to express themselves on an issue they care a great deal about,” Speaker Paul Ryan said.

Passage of the GOP compromise was always a long shot, but failure may now come at a steeper price. Republicans and Trump have raised expectations that, in control of Congress and the White House, they can fix the nation’s long-standing immigration problems.

When the crisis of family separations erupted at the border, GOP leaders revised the compromise bill to bolster a provision requiring parents and children to be held together in custody. It did so by eliminating the 20-day cap on holding minors and allowing indefinite detentions.

Even though Trump has acted unilaterally to stem the family separations, lawmakers still prefer a legislative fix. The administration is not ending its “zero tolerance” approach to border prosecutions. If the new policy is rejected by the courts, which the administration acknowledges is a possibility, the debate could move back to square one.

Senate Republicans, fearing Trump’s action will not withstand a legal challenge and eager to go on record opposing the administration’s policy, have unveiled their own legislation to keep detained immigrant families together.

In the House, moderate Republicans forced the immigration debate to the fore by threatening to use a rare procedure to demand a vote. Led by Curbelo and Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., many are from states with large populations of young “Dreamer” immigrants who now face deportation threats under Trump’s decision to end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. A federal court challenge has kept the DACA program running for now.

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Roberts shares South Hutchinson company’s struggles due to rising steel tariffs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a Senate Finance Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) Wednesday shared with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, the negative impacts the administration’s steel and aluminum tariffs are having on Kansas’s small business community.

Mike Bergmeier, the owner and operator of Shield Agriculture Equipment, a small business in South Hutchinson, Kansas, recently contacted Senator Roberts about the rising costs his business is experiencing due to steel tariffs. ShieldAg designs, manufactures and distributes tillage tools and hardware.

 

Bergmeier’s company uses steel from Manitoba, Canada, to make their Shield V-Blades, a key component of blade plows that farmers use for conservation efforts across the High Plains. Due to the lack of supply in the United States, ShieldAg submitted a steel exemption request from the Department of Commerce. They are currently awaiting the department’s determination. In the absence of an exemption, ShieldAg will have no choice but to pass the rising cost of production onto customers, primarily farmers and ranchers.

“What will the impact of tariffs on steel and aluminum be?” asked Senator Roberts. “Well, Mike Bergmeier knows, as do many small and medium sized enterprises, who are seeing price increases now and have been for months. These businesses are paying the price for the administration’s negotiating strategy.”

Roberts urged Secretary Ross to call Mr. Bergmeier to hear first-hand the tough choices small and medium sized businesses are making due to tariffs.

UPDATE: Hutchinson man pulled from Colorado lake drowned

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Authorities say a man drowned after he slipped below the surface of a northern Colorado lake.

Park rangers search the lake Friday -image courtesy Steamboat Today

Routt County Coroner Rob Ryg tells Steamboat Today that 64-year-old David Bass, of Hutchinson, Kansas, did not have any heart issues and was “a very healthy man” when he drowned at Steamboat Lake on Friday.

Bass was with another man on the shore trying to fix a problem with their boat’s trolling motor. The boat drifted away, and Bass swam after it before disappearing.

His body was recovered just after midnight early Saturday morning.

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STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Authorities have recovered the body of a man who went missing in a northern Colorado lake.

Steamboat Today reports 64-year-old David Bass, of Hutchinson was with another man on the shore of Steamboat Lake trying to fix a problem with their boat’s trolling motor Friday afternoon. The boat drifted away, and Bass swam after it before disappearing under the surface.

Routt County Coroner Rob Ryg says, “We don’t really know a lot about why he went down.”

Bass’ body was recovered just after midnight early Saturday morning, and an autopsy is scheduled for Monday.

Thousands lose power after powerful storm

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The storms that moved through the area around 5:45 p.m. knocked power out on the north side of Hutchinson into the northeast part of Reno County, according to Westar Energy.

43rd and Plum. Photo courtesy of Christopher Pohl.

Outages extended from Hendricks Street east to Mayfield Road in the county, and generally north of 11th as far as Medora and south to the northern edge of Hutchinson Regional Airport.

Westar officials say one of the poles fell on a car. The driver was not injured, but crews are worked to de-energize the poles in the area. This occurring in the 400 block of East 43rd

There were scattered outages in other parts of Hutchinson as well.

Power poles snapped in the storm which caused the outages.

The winds blew out signs to some businesses on North Main

 

 

 

 

 

Funerals set for Kansas deputies killed in line of duty

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Two Kansas deputies killed in the line of duty will be laid to rest Thursday following a joint funeral service.

Deputy King and Deputy Rohrer-photos Wyandotte Co. Sheriff

Wyandotte County deputies Theresa King and Patrick Rohrer were fatally shot Friday. Authorities say they were killed by an inmate as they were preparing to leave the courthouse to return to jail after a hearing. King was 44 and had three children. Rohrer was 35 and was the father of two.

The funeral service is at 9 a.m. Thursday at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

Authorities have not identified the suspect, who was shot several times and is hospitalized in stable condition.

Authorities say the inmate apparently overpowered the deputies in a gated area behind the courthouse and shot them — possibly with one of their own guns.

County Commission to consider Buhler/Haven Road construction project

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A major stretch of Buhler/Haven Road is getting a facelift in the near future.

Reno County Commissioners will take action on a contract with Flint Hills Materials of Cedar Point, Kansas, for the mill and overlay of the two-lane blacktop from K-96 in Haven, all the way to the McPherson County line north of Buhler.

The cost to resurface the 19 miles of road is $1,516,735. Once work gets underway, the project will take about two months to complete.

The Reno County Commission meeting is set for 9 a.m. in the Reno County Courthouse.

Minority Populations Driving Future Kansas Growth

Source: KHI analysis of data from the National Center for Health Statistics

Kansas is on its way to becoming a majority-minority state, with white residents expected to make up less than half of the population by 2066.

A new report from the Kansas Health Institute shows that the state is quickly becoming older, more urban and more diverse.

“The urban areas of our state have seen some increase in the white population,” says Steve Coen, head of the Kansas Health Foundation, which commissioned the report. “Every county in the state has seen an increase in diverse populations, people of color. Every single county.”

View the entire report here.

Kansas’ overall population was about 2.9 million in 2016; it’s expected to grow to 3.2 million by 2036, and 3.6 million by 2066. The growth is driven entirely by minority groups: The Hispanic population in Kansas is expected to more than double in the next 20 years to about 20 percent. Meanwhile, the white population is projected to shrink steadily, following a trend that goes back to 2000.

“If we did not have this growth in minority population in the state of Kansas,” Coen says, “we would not have had any growth in Kansas whatsoever in the last 16 years.”

CREDIT NADYA FAULX/DATA FROM KHI-KHF DEMOGRAPHIC REPORT

The Wichita metro area mirrors the shift happening at the state level, with minority populations — Hispanics, African-Americans, Asian-Americans and Native Americans — expected to make up more than half of the total population by 2066, if not sooner.

“I think Wichita’s going to change much quicker,” Coen says.

He says in many ways, the change is a good thing for Kansas, not just culturally, but also economically: The growth in minority populations has kept the state’s unemployment rate stable, allowing for a larger pool of labor for businesses.

“To have a lower unemployment rate, we couldn’t recruit any industries to Kansas,” Coen says. “We already have a really low unemployment rate the way it is right now.

“And we’ve heard our community leaders talk a lot about how we need to have this talent in our community in the future. We need to have this work force, and they’re struggling with how to do that.

“So let’s embrace this change, and figure out how we can use this future workforce that we have that will probably stay in our community.”

He says the changing demographic makeup will have implications, like on education. Black and Hispanic students in Kansas graduate high school at lower rates than their white peers; and while dropout rates have fallen across the board nationally, they’re highest among Hispanic students.

“I think with this change, of us becoming a majority-minority state, education becomes an even bigger factor,” Coen says. “We have to talk about how do we address that issue long-term.”

Nadya Faulx reports for KMUW and the Kansas News Service. Follow Nadya on Twitter @NadyaFaulx.

UPDATE: Harvey County pipeline fire contained

Pipeline fire Friday morning in rural Harvey County -image courtesy KWCH

UPDATED: 11:36 a.m.

HESSTON, Kan. — The pipeline fire in rural Harvey County is contained but will burn for several hours, according to Harvey County Emergency Services.

There are no injuries reported and officials have not determined a cause of the explosion and fire.

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ORIGINAL STORY

HESSTON, Kan. — Fire crews and other emergency officials are at the scene of a pipeline fire near Hesston. Harvey County Emergency Services say it’s on Dutch Avenue and Hertler Road.

The call came in just after 7:30 a.m.

 

The gas line belongs to Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline. Company spokesman Rob Southard says everyone is safe and that the gas supply has been shut off. He says crews will wait until the excess gas in the line burns off before repairing it.

He says the cause of the fire is under investigation. He says there was no excavation work being done in the area beforehand.

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