AP Top Kansas News at 5:45 a.m. CDT
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Flu virus spreads faster than info on who has it
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- When a swine flu case forced two neighboring Minnesota schools to close, an obvious question arose: Was it a staff member from a shared cafeteria or a student back from spring break?
School officials didn't know. Minnesota health officials wouldn't say. And the absence of information fed a small-town rumor mill that prompted one parent to set the record straight about her daughter's cough.
"I'm sending this to put a rumor to rest," Kim Baumgarten wrote in Thursday's St. Boniface School electronic newsletter, declaring firmly that her seventh-grade daughter "does not have the 'Swine Flu."'
The spreading swine flu virus poses a dilemma for public health officials. They are trying to protect patient privacy while giving enough information to people about a contagion in their midst.
And so far, that's led to different practices in different places:
--In Minnesota, only the barest details are being released -- where a suspected or confirmed case is found, if they have a connection to a school and whether the person is recovering.
------ Kan. sends probable case to CDC for testing
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Kansas health officials sent a probable case of swine flu on Friday from a person in suburban Kansas City to the federal labs in Atlanta for testing.
Dr. Jason Eberhart-Phillips said the case was sent after a patient at a hospital in Johnson County showed symptoms. He said results from testing at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment lab in Topeka on Thursday warranted further testing by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Work is under way to determine if this is a case that's related to this virus," Eberhart-Phillips said.
The health department declined to provide any details about the age or gender of the Johnson County victim. Results were expected back from the CDC late Sunday or early next week. Missouri had its first confirmed case on Friday -- a woman from Platte County, a northern suburb of the Kansas City metro area.
Also Friday, the Sedgwick County Health Department said swine flu was possible in a student at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School. A sample from the student will be tested by KDHE and, depending on the result, by the CDC.
The school sent a letter to parents saying the student became ill out of state, has not been in the building since then and will remain out of school for at least seven additional days. Principal Mary Sweet said school will be in session Monday.
------ Kan. House rejects budget-balancing bill
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- A budget-balancing bill failed Friday night in the House, even after members stripped out a provision to cut all state government workers' pay.
The vote was 62-53 against giving the amended bill first-round approval. Leaders of the Republican majority tried to improve its chances of passing by sacrificing a proposed 5 percent pay cut for about 42,000 state employees, and that provision was removed on a voice vote.
But Democrats complained the measure still cut spending too much and accused GOP leaders of slighting proposals to boost revenues. The revised bill would have made more than $240 million in cuts, including a reduction of $127 million in aid to public schools.
House Speaker Mike O'Neal, a Hutchinson Republican, said the chamber's Appropriations Committee will have to draft a new budget-balancing plan next week. That's likely to delay the end of the Legislature's wrap-up session, which began Wednesday.
The GOP-controlled Legislature and Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson must eliminate a projected $328 million deficit in the $13 billion budget already approved for the state's 2010 fiscal year, which begins July 1.
"We have time," said Rep. Bill Feuerborn, of Garnett, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. "We can do better."
------ Sedgwick County finds suspected swine flu case
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- The Sedgwick County Health Department has identified a suspected swine flu case involving a parochial school student.
County health officials said in a news release Friday night that a specimen must be tested further by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Wichita media outlets began reporting about the case after St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School sent a letter Friday to parents of students, informing them of the case.
The letter said the student contracted the flu while out of state and has been out of the building since becoming ill. It also said that the student will remain out of school for at least seven additional days.
Principal Mary Sweet said school will be in session Monday.
------ Sedgwick County requests sandbags
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- Flooding continues to be a concern in parts of southern and eastern Kansas after heavy rains caused some rivers and creeks to swell.
The Adjutant General's Department said in a news release Friday that Sedgwick County has requested 100,000 sandbacks to hold back floodwaters. Previously, Butler County requested 100,000 sandbags, and 6,000 sandbacks were sent to Harper County.
The National Weather Service says southeast and south-central Kansas are expected to receive 1 to 2 additional inches of rain from Friday night to Sunday afternoon. The area will remain under a flood watch through late Saturday night.
The Neosho River already is flooding from Erie to Oswego at almost 8 feet above flood stage. The Verdigris River has been receding and is expected to fall below flood stage Friday night in Independence and late Saturday morning in Coffeyville.
------ Kan. gov. to wait to pick lt. gov. replacement
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Gov. Mark Parkinson said Friday he would wait until the Legislature finishes its wrap-up session to name his successor as lieutenant governor.
In his first news conference since becoming governor Tuesday, Parkinson said he has been thinking about picking a new No. 2. But, he said, eliminating a projected deficit in the next state budget is more important.
Parkinson said his choice will be a fellow Democrat with whom he can work and who is qualified to become governor immediately if necessary -- but isn't necessarily interested in running for governor in 2010. He reiterated that he won't run for the job next year.
"It is way, way more important to me that I pick the partner as lieutenant governor who can help us get Kansas out of this current economic challenge than it is that I pick someone who can be a candidate a couple of years from now," he said.
Parkinson, a former Kansas Republican Party chairman, became a Democrat in 2006 to be Kathleen Sebelius' running mate in her campaign for a second term as governor. Sebelius resigned Tuesday after winning Senate confirmation as U.S. secretary of health and human services, making Parkinson the state's 45th governor.
While Sebelius was being considered for the Cabinet position, Parkinson said, he didn't interview any possible candidates to replace him as lieutenant governor.
------ Kan. gov. decries 'impasse' on energy policy
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Supporters of two proposed coal-fired power plants should concede defeat if they can't override a veto of a bill that would let the project go forward, Gov. Mark Parkinson said Friday.
Parkinson opposes Sunflower Electric Power Corp.'s plan to build the plants in Finney County and said the impasse between the governor's office and the Legislature over the issue means Kansas lags behind other states in developing renewable energy.
But dozens of supporters of Sunflower's project rallied Friday outside the Statehouse. They included U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, U.S. Reps. Todd Tiahrt and Lynn Jenkins, other elected officials and business and labor representatives.
They want the Legislature to override former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' veto of energy legislation that tied provisions helping Sunflower to "green" measures. Parkinson took over as governor this week when Sebelius resigned to become U.S. health and human services secretary.
Overriding a veto requires two-thirds majorities in both legislative chambers. Sunflower's allies always have had more than enough votes in the Senate but have been short in the House.
"I would hope that if we are successful in sustaining this veto, that Sunflower would recognize that it's futile to continue to fight this," Parkinson said in during an interview with The Associated Press.
------ Kan. theme park founder jailed in Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- The founder of a defunct Wichita-area amusement park has been extradited to Kansas to face 10 counts of securities fraud.
The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that Thomas Etheredge was booked Friday afternoon into the Sedgwick County Jail. He was arrested two days earlier in Texas.
Kansas Securities Commissioner Chris Biggs alleges that Etheredge made misrepresentations or failed to disclose material facts when raising more than $800,000 from private investors for Wild West World, near Park City.
Etheredge opened the $30 million Western-themed amusement park on May 5, 2007. The park closed two months later with Etheredge owing creditors about $24 million.
Bond has been set at $1 million. Etheredge is expected to make his first appearance Monday.
------ Court records: Kan. woman sent nude photos to cop
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- A woman secretly recorded conversations with a police officer accused of offering to help get a case against her dismissed in exchange for sex, according to court documents.
The recently unsealed documents also say that Angelique Mason, of Wichita, sent nude pictures of herself from her cell phone to Goddard police officer Calvin Schaffer's cell phone. Schaffer, 44, had arrested her in February for allegedly driving drunk. He no longer works for the Goddard Police Department.
He faces a federal charge of wire fraud for allegedly sending naked pictures of himself to Mason from a computer at work while he was on duty.
Schaffer declined to comment Friday. Brian Silcott, the city administrator, said Schaffer worked as a Goddard police officer from Nov. 19, 2007, until March 26. He would not say whether Schaffer was fired or resigned.
Mason did not return a telephone message seeking comment.
According to an affidavit filed to support search warrants in the case, Mason filed a complaint about Schaffer with the FBI in March. She gave the FBI secret recordings that she and a private investigator friend of hers had made of a telephone call and a meeting with the officer, the affidavit states.
------ Report: Memo raises question in Kan. ethics case
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- An internal memo raises questions about House Speaker Mike O'Neal's public statements that he was not involved in the hiring of his wife as a member of the chamber's staff, a newspaper reported Friday.
O'Neal, a Hutchinson Republican, faces a May 13 hearing before the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission on a complaint that he violated a state anti-nepotism law. The complaint was filed by Rep. Marti Crow, a Leavenworth Democrat.
O'Neal has said he was not involved in the hiring this year of his wife, Cindy, as liaison to the House's Republican caucus. He has said the hiring was done by Majority Leader Ray Merrick's office, which a top aide to Merrick, a Stilwell Republican, has backed up.
But the Lawrence Journal-World reported Friday that in a Jan. 6 memo, Merrick's office listed Cindy O'Neal as being hired "with the assistance of the speaker's office."
Follow-up memos two days later from both O'Neal and Merrick stated that her $27,000 salary would be paid by the majority leader's office.
All of the memos were to Jeffrey Russell, director of Legislative Administrative Services, who was appointed by legislative leaders.
------ Kan. regents name Scott Pittsburg State president
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- The new president of Pittsburg State University said Friday that the economic recession is forcing higher education to make difficult decisions as revenues decline, but that the system will emerge stronger.
Steven Scott was introduced as the new president immediately after being hired by the Kansas Board of Regents to replace Tom Bryant, who retired after nine years. Scott will take office July 1. Currently, Scott serves as Pittsburg State's provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Legislators are pursuing cuts in the budget for the state's 2010 fiscal year, which also begins July 1. Pittsburg State is determining where to cut, Scott said.
"The decisions I've been making have been about the budget. We've been trying to buy ourselves time," Scott said. "The longer this lasts, the deeper it will be."
He said students and residents see the university as the vehicle for their hopes and dreams and the president is the face of those aspirations. Pittsburg State, known for its Gorilla mascot, had a fall 2008 enrollment of 7,127 students.
"I think I'm ready for that," Scott said.
------ Court rules for iPCS in Sprint WiMax fight
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- An Illinois court is allowing a lawsuit to move forward that challenges Sprint Nextel's deal with Clearwire Corp. to provide wireless broadband.
The Cook County Circuit Court on Thursday denied Sprint's motion to dismiss parts of the lawsuit, although it did limit the type of monetary damages iPCS could eventually try to gain from the case.
"We are very pleased that the court has again ruled in our favor as we seek to have Sprint live up to its obligations under our affiliation agreements," said Timothy Yager, chief executive officer for Schaumburg, Ill.-based iPCS, Inc.
IPCS filed the suit last fall after Sprint and Clearwire announced plans to provide high-speed wireless Internet services using their combined WiMax technology. Sprint has a 51 percent interest in the new Clearwire, which has begun offering WiMax in a handful of U.S. markets.
IPCS claims the arrangement violates Sprint's agreement not to compete with iPCS in its territories. IPCS sells Sprint service across a swath of the Midwest.
The affiliate agreed not to block the Sprint-Clearwire deal from closing in November after Clearwire said it didn't plan to offer WiMax service in iPCS' territory in the near future.
------ Kan. defender fined for each day she won't testify
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) -- A public defender who refused to testify in a Reno County murder case has been found in contempt of court and fined $1,000 a day until she testifies.
Reno County Judge Joe McCarville ordered public defender Sarah McKinnon to testify Thursday during a hearing for Valerie Gonzalez, who is charged in the 2007 death of 67-year-old Eugene Lewis.
McKinnon had been Gonzalez's attorney but withdrew because seven prosecution witnesses had been represented by her office.
In her motion to withdraw, she said a witness for the state told her of plans to commit perjury if called to testify. The judge wants her to testify about those conversations.
McKinnon's lawyer, Roger Falk, said McKinnon will appeal. Falk says communication between McKinnon and the state's witness is protected by attorney-client privilege.
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------ Wild horse auction at Hutchinson prison
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) -- Psst. Want to adopt a horse?
Interested parties and the curious are welcome at the Bureau of Land Management's wild horse adoption Friday and Saturday at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility's training center. About 10 trained horses and nearly 300 wild horses are up for grabs.
The horses once roamed free on public lands in the West, but were removed to control herd populations to preserve the animals and maintain rangelands.
Since 2001 the agency and the prison have partnered for the prison training facility, where inmates train horses as part of a rehabilitation program. About 350 horses trained by inmates have been adopted out.
BLM spokesman Paul McGuire said the minimum initial bid for saddle-trained horses is set at $250 and $150 for halter-trained horses. Untrained wild horses are available for a flat fee of $125.
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