Kan. GOP seeks delegation sweep

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) -- While nearly 100 members of the Johnson County Republican Elephant Club dined on chicken, potatoes and vegetables, candidates for the 3rd Congressional District of Kansas gave them a healthy portion of red meat.

Eight of the nine GOP hopefuls in this suburban Kansas City district delivered brief stump speeches, touting their conservative credentials, dislike for higher taxes and desire to take the nation from what they see as the brink of ruin.

It's a scenario playing out in three of the state's four congressional districts as the Aug. 3 primary approaches. There's an open seat, a crowded Republican primary and plenty of bashing of President Barack Obama and Democrats who control Congress.

Weighing on voters' minds is the dismal economy. At the recent Johnson County event, voters said they want candidates to work on jobs and the threat of higher taxes.

"I think that's our biggest concern," said Becky Johnson, a Republican from Parker. "We sense these tax increases will not be beneficial to the businesses or the employee."

In the 3rd District, which covers Johnson, Wyandotte and the eastern part of Douglas counties, the nine Republicans are seeking the nomination to take the seat of retiring Democrat Rep. Dennis Moore.

------ Kansas seeking additional relief for June storms

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Kansas wants federal funds to help pay for removing debris and repairing infrastructure following storms and flooding in June.

Lt. Gov. Troy Findley has sent a request for a disaster declaration to the federal government. He acted for Gov. Mark Parkinson during Parkinson's recent trip to England for an international air show.

Findley says the federal assistance will help the 77 counties affected by the storms to clean up and make repairs to roads, bridges and utilities.

The state estimates that the counties face nearly $11 million worth of cleanup and repairs, most of it in fixing roads and bridges.

------ Kan. GOP hopeful seeks voter-initiated laws

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Republican Kris Kobach promised Tuesday that if fellow Kansans elect him secretary of state, he'll push to allow them to initiate state laws or constitutional changes without going through the Legislature.

Kobach outlined his position just a week before the Aug. 3 primary, which will settle a three-person contest for the GOP nomination for the state's top elections post. His proposal would require revising the Kansas Constitution in a future election.

Twenty-six states, including all four surrounding Kansas, have mechanisms for allowing voters to put laws or constitutional changes on their statewide ballots, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Kansas does not, and the last serious push to create a mechanism came in the early 1990s.

Kobach, a University of Missouri-Kansas City law professor and former Kansas GOP chairman, is best known for advising cities and legislatures wanting to crack down on illegal immigration. He helped draft Arizona's new immigration law.

He said an initiative process would allow Kansas voters to consider immigration policies, as well as help them keep taxes in check. But he noted it would allow progressives to pursue their policies as well.

"I don't care who benefits from it in terms of the left or the right," Kobach said during a news conference outside the Statehouse. "It's right for we the people to control our own political destiny."

------ Kan. medical board files complaint over abortions

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- A Kansas doctor who provided second opinions for a late-term abortion provider who was gunned down last year could face disciplinary action from a state medical regulatory board.

Dr. Ann Neuhaus provided the second opinions for Dr. George Tiller that are required under Kansas law for any abortion performed after the 21st week of pregnancy when a fetus is viable, or can survive outside the womb.

The Kansas Board of Healing Arts filed an 11-count disciplinary complaint against Neuhaus over some of her second opinions, alleging the Nortonville woman failed to properly evaluate whether an abortion of a viable fetus was necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother -- as required by Kansas law.

The petition, signed April 16, was made public Tuesday by the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, which had filed the initial complaint to the board against Tiller and Neuhaus. The complaint against Tiller was dismissed after he was killed at his Wichita church in May 2009.

An evidentiary hearing on the petition is set for Jan. 11. The hearing officer then will make recommendations to the board on how Neuhaus should be disciplined. Disciplinary action could range from fines to license restrictions to suspension or revocation of her medical license, said board spokeswoman Lisa Corwin.

"Anytime you get abortion as an issue, you are dealing with a highly emotional subject anyway," Corwin said, noting that the board has found an independent hearing officer to hear the evidence.

------ Holy spelunker: Caves closed to fight bat fungus

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- Even Batman isn't immune from an eviction notice these days.

The U.S. Forest Service said Tuesday it was barring entry to caves on service-owned land in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas and South Dakota because of white-nose syndrome, which has killed nearly a million bats in the eastern and southern U.S. and is spreading west.

The agency said it took the action to help prevent humans from inadvertently spreading the disease.

But thousands of people -- professional and amateur -- enjoy exploring the multitude of dark, damp underground crevices and caverns in the West. Many are chafing at the federal restrictions.

"It's just like Prohibition," said Richard Rhinehart of Denver, who has a caving blog and has been spelunking since he was in high school in 1974.

Deputy Regional Forester Tony Dixon said it was impractical for the agency to widely enforce the ban, given the vast number of caves in the Rocky Mountain region. He appealed to cave explorers to voluntarily adhere to the restriction and help the agency determine which caves and mines don't harbor bats.

------ SE Kan. authorities investigating homicide

PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) -- Authorities in southeast Kansas have taken three people into custody after discovering a meth lab during the investigation of a rural homicide.

Crawford County Sheriff Sandy Horton says the body of a man was found Monday evening in a field behind a mobile home park south of Pittsburg.

KOAM-TV reports authorities continued to withhold the man's name and details of how he died Tuesday night. The body was sent to Topeka for an autopsy.

As part of the investigation, deputies searched a trailer in the mobile home park Tuesday afternoon and found a meth lab. Horton declined to comment on possible charges against the three people taken into custody.

The Kansas Highway Patrol and Kansas Bureau of Investigation were assisting in the case.

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------ Kan. doctor admits illegal sales of painkillers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A northeast Kansas doctor has pleaded guilty to illegally selling prescriptions for painkillers at low-income apartment complexes in Kansas City, Mo.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says 67-year-old Wayne Williamson, of Olathe (oh-LAY-thuh), Kan., also admitted in his plea Tuesday that he defrauded the federal government and threatened a state medical investigator.

Williamson is a licensed osteopathic physician. His plea agreement calls for a three-year prison term, restitution to Medicaid and Medicare and surrender of his medical license.

Prosecutors say Williamson routinely drove to apartment complexes in Kansas City where people lined up to buy illegal prescriptions for painkillers and other drugs such as Oxycontin and Xanax (ZAN'-ax).

Williamson continued his illegal activities even after Missouri suspended his license to prescribe certain drugs in March 2008.