Kenneth Alan DuBois July 13, 1941 ~ December 14, 2023

On December 14, 2023, God called his faithful servant, Kenneth Alan DuBois, home.&nbsp;&nbsp;He was 82.&nbsp;&nbsp;Ken was born on July 13, 1941, in the farming community of Agra, Kansas to Howard and Dorothy (Larson) DuBois.

After graduating from Agra High School (with a class of 13), he attended Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, KS to pursue a degree in education. He paid part of his tuition by singing in a traveling quartet. Ken sang in the Wesleyan choir, as did a fellow student named Janet Widrig. After engaging in a staring contest on the choir bus (there are debates about who won), they became an item. They married on August 1, 1965, in her hometown of Beloit, KS.&nbsp;

Ken earned a Masters Degree in Education from Colorado State College in 1969. He taught in Salina USD 305 for 34 years, the majority of his career as a Physical Education instructor at Sunset Elementary.&nbsp;

Though a teacher by trade, Ken had the gift of excellent carpentry and handyman skills. He worked after school and in the summers doing projects for those who called for his services, and there were many. He could fix or build just about anything.&nbsp;

Ken was a member of the Salina AMBUCs for more than 50 years. In 2013, he began using his carpentry skills to help lead the team of volunteers that builds ramps for those in need. At the time of his passing, they had installed more than 600 ramps.&nbsp;

Ken sang in the Trinity United Methodist Church choir, as well as participated in countless service opportunities there, for more than 60 years.&nbsp;

Though he became a “city boy” after leaving Agra, farming never left his blood. He helped his father with harvest until he passed in 1990, and then his only brother, Keith, until he retired in 2022. He was also keenly aware of the weather and forecast at all times.&nbsp;

Ken’s hobbies included music, (both participating and listening), traveling, reading, playing cards, and rooting for Kansas State and the Chiefs…sometimes raising his voice in an “encouraging” manner. He also immensely enjoyed spending time with his family and watching his grandchildren participate in their various activities.&nbsp;

More important than his resume is the fact that Ken was considered by those who knew him to be a kind, humble, generous man of integrity who fiercely loved God, his wife, family and community.&nbsp;&nbsp;

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Janet, daughters Jodi Bertram (Brice) of Shawnee, KS, Jill Heidrick (Jeff), of Lenexa, KS, grandchildren Elise Heidrick, Emery Heidrick, Evan Bertram, Brant Bertram, brother Keith DuBois (Sharon) of Quinter, KS, as well as many nieces and nephews and many friends.&nbsp;

Ken requested cremation. A Celebration of Life will be held Thursday, December 21, 2pm at Trinity United Methodist Church, 901 Neal in Salina. In lieu of flowers, please consider memorial contributions to Trinity United Methodist Church, the Salina AMBUC chapter, or Kansas Wesleyan University, care of Ryan Mortuary, Salina.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1702911250797.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Kenneth Alan DuBois July 13, 1941 ~ December 14, 2023On December 14, 2023, God called his faithful servant, Kenneth Alan DuBois, home.&nbsp;&nbsp;He was 82.&nbsp;&nbsp;Ken was born on July 13, 1941, in the farming community of Agra, Kansas to Howard and Dorothy (Larson) DuBois.After graduating from Agra High School (with a class of 13), he attended Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, KS to pursue a degree in education. He paid part of his tuition by singing in a traveling quartet. Ken sang in the Wesleyan choir, as did a fellow student named Janet Widrig. After engaging in a staring contest on the choir bus (there are debates about who won), they became an item. They married on August 1, 1965, in her hometown of Beloit, KS.&nbsp;Ken earned a Masters Degree in Education from Colorado State College in 1969. He taught in Salina USD 305 for 34 years, the majority of his career as a Physical Education instructor at Sunset Elementary.&nbsp;Though a teacher by trade, Ken had the gift of excellent carpentry and handyman skills. He worked after school and in the summers doing projects for those who called for his services, and there were many. He could fix or build just about anything.&nbsp;Ken was a member of the Salina AMBUCs for more than 50 years. In 2013, he began using his carpentry skills to help lead the team of volunteers that builds ramps for those in need. At the time of his passing, they had installed more than 600 ramps.&nbsp;Ken sang in the Trinity United Methodist Church choir, as well as participated in countless service opportunities there, for more than 60 years.&nbsp;Though he became a “city boy” after leaving Agra, farming never left his blood. He helped his father with harvest until he passed in 1990, and then his only brother, Keith, until he retired in 2022. He was also keenly aware of the weather and forecast at all times.&nbsp;Ken’s hobbies included music, (both participating and listening), traveling, reading, playing cards, and rooting for Kansas State and the Chiefs…sometimes raising his voice in an “encouraging” manner. He also immensely enjoyed spending time with his family and watching his grandchildren participate in their various activities.&nbsp;More important than his resume is the fact that Ken was considered by those who knew him to be a kind, humble, generous man of integrity who fiercely loved God, his wife, family and community.&nbsp;&nbsp;He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Janet, daughters Jodi Bertram (Brice) of Shawnee, KS, Jill Heidrick (Jeff), of Lenexa, KS, grandchildren Elise Heidrick, Emery Heidrick, Evan Bertram, Brant Bertram, brother Keith DuBois (Sharon) of Quinter, KS, as well as many nieces and nephews and many friends.&nbsp;Ken requested cremation. A Celebration of Life will be held Thursday, December 21, 2pm at Trinity United Methodist Church, 901 Neal in Salina. In lieu of flowers, please consider memorial contributions to Trinity United Methodist Church, the Salina AMBUC chapter, or Kansas Wesleyan University, care of Ryan Mortuary, Salina.

Kenneth A. DuBois

KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man was sentenced for a violent armed robbery from an auto repair shop&nbsp; in 2020 that was working on his vehicle..

&nbsp;A Jackson County judge sentenced 44-year-old Tomorren Garrett to 10 years in state prison for convictions related to the robbery, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

In September 2023, jurors convicted Garrett of two counts of Robbery in the 1st Degree and two counts of Armed Criminal Action for a robbery at a Truman Road auto repair shop.&nbsp;

According to a probable cause statement, in April of 2020,&nbsp;Officers of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department were notified of an armed robbery that occurred at 1700 Truman Rd (Ebenezer Auto).

Upon officers arrival they contacted several employees who were victims of the incident.

The owner of the business stated&nbsp; Garrett brought them a vehicle to repair approximately two and a half weeks ago. Garrett brought them parts for the vehicle and they agreed on a labor price of $700.00. Garrett gave them a $350.00 deposit to complete the work. 

When Garrett came in the store to check the status of his vehicle he was talking with an employee of the business who told him his vehicle heads don't have compression. Garrett got upset, asked for his parts back, and left the business. Approximately 5 minutes later, Garrett came back armed with a handgun and put the gun in his right pant pocket. Garrett stated, “No you will listen, I'm going to kill you and I want my money”. An employee gave Garrett $110.00 but Garrett demanded that she gives him all the money that she had. Garrett then pushed another employee and told him to give more money. The employee&nbsp; gave Garrett $300.00. 

Garrett then produced a handgun and struck an employee in the face with the handgun. Another employee approached Garrett.&nbsp; When Garrett’s girlfriend warned Garrett that the employee was approaching him. Garrett hit the employee in the face with the handgun. Garrett then left the scene but came back a short time later and was yelling at the owner to come outside.

 Garrett remained on scene when the officers arrived and was arrested. He later&nbsp;admitted going to Ebenezer Auto and confronting employees about his vehicle.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1702395793776.png" alt="Garrett-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Garrett-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man was sentenced for a violent armed robbery from an auto repair shop&nbsp; in 2020 that was working on his vehicle..&nbsp;A Jackson County judge sentenced 44-year-old Tomorren Garrett to 10 years in state prison for convictions related to the robbery, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.In September 2023, jurors convicted Garrett of two counts of Robbery in the 1st Degree and two counts of Armed Criminal Action for a robbery at a Truman Road auto repair shop.&nbsp;According to a probable cause statement, in April of 2020,&nbsp;Officers of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department were notified of an armed robbery that occurred at 1700 Truman Rd (Ebenezer Auto).Upon officers arrival they contacted several employees who were victims of the incident.The owner of the business stated&nbsp; Garrett brought them a vehicle to repair approximately two and a half weeks ago. Garrett brought them parts for the vehicle and they agreed on a labor price of $700.00. Garrett gave them a $350.00 deposit to complete the work. When Garrett came in the store to check the status of his vehicle he was talking with an employee of the business who told him his vehicle heads don't have compression. Garrett got upset, asked for his parts back, and left the business. Approximately 5 minutes later, Garrett came back armed with a handgun and put the gun in his right pant pocket. Garrett stated, “No you will listen, I'm going to kill you and I want my money”. An employee gave Garrett $110.00 but Garrett demanded that she gives him all the money that she had. Garrett then pushed another employee and told him to give more money. The employee&nbsp; gave Garrett $300.00. Garrett then produced a handgun and struck an employee in the face with the handgun. Another employee approached Garrett.&nbsp; When Garrett’s girlfriend warned Garrett that the employee was approaching him. Garrett hit the employee in the face with the handgun. Garrett then left the scene but came back a short time later and was yelling at the owner to come outside. Garrett remained on scene when the officers arrived and was arrested. He later&nbsp;admitted going to Ebenezer Auto and confronting employees about his vehicle.&nbsp;

Man robbed Kansas City repair shop working on his vehicle

ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUB

Q: It seemed like the Bills were trying to get you to return a kickoff, why didn’t you?

TOUB: “Like I said before, during the week, they were probably the best kickoff team that I’ve seen. They take pride in pinning people deep. They have a lot of players. We just felt gameplan wise it felt like if we return four of them and two of them were inside the 20 then it’s not worth it for our offense. So, we just took the ball at the 25.”

Q: So the decision to fair catch was predetermined?

TOUB: “Yeah, we decided it before. There were certain kicks that if obviously if we would have got them we would have took them out but they just kept giving us the same type of kick and it just was not something we wanted to do in that game.”

Q: When do your returners identify when to fair catch versus when to return it?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

TOUB: “It’s really hangtime and placement. You know where it’s going to be, what we have called, you know you don’t want to return a ball that’s away from your call, that type of stuff without getting too detailed of it.”

Q: Chamarri Conner is getting more defensive reps, does this mean he’ll have less reps on special teams?

TOUB: “I hope I get him (Chamarri Conner) for the rest of the season. I hope that’s the case. He’s a good football player. He’s going to get more and more on defense. In fact, he got 62 plays last game if you add up everything because I have to look at that all the time, how much is a guy getting, he was the most. If that continues, I’m going to have to pull him back because right now he’s a four-phase guy. He plays on everything right now for me, and that may be something I have to do.”

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLO

Q:&nbsp;What do you see in Patriots QB Bailey Zappe?

SPAGNUOLO:&nbsp;“I tell you what, I see a really good, efficient football player that can move the ball. I was watching one of the TV games – sometimes I put the TV games on to hear the – he’s won football games for them; I think they’re doing the right things with him. To me when they’ve got either of those running backs going, I think their quarterback becomes really pretty good. I know they’ve had injuries at wide out, but those two tight ends now that they are both healthy, I think they can be a little bit of a stress on us, we’ve got to be cautious of that. We probably haven’t played – I’d have to think back to teams we’ve played – but these two tight ends as pass catchers are as good of a twosome as I think we’ve faced.”

Q:&nbsp;The Patriots play old school physical football, is that different for you to prepare for?

SPAGNUOLO:&nbsp;“Well it’s not a difference in emphasis because I’m always talking about that. When teams can be two dimensional it makes it tough on us. We’re always talking about killing the engine. The engine to us is the running back. We’ve got to make sure they don’t get him going. They won’t give up on trying to do that, we understand that. (Patriots Head) Coach (Bill) Belichick, best in the business, he understands it. Their defense is terrific – I told the guys the other day that we need to match or be better than their defense, to help our team win. A lot of that is early in the game because we just don’t want Patrick (Mahomes) having to go out in the middle of the second quarter down 14 points. That’s tough on any offense. They’re challenging because they play as a team, they win as a team, they find ways to win. You’re onto something, if we don’t bow up and play a physical game to match their physicality, they will make it tough.”

Q:&nbsp;How rare is it to have two corners as good as Trent McDuffie and L'Jarius Sneed with the versatility they give you?

SPAGNUOLO:&nbsp;“Pretty unique, that’s a credit to both of those guys. We haven’t had to play LJ (L'Jarius Sneed) inside as much – and you guys all know he can do that. As a matter of fact, he just walked through a couple of snaps with him in there just in case you get an injury situation. Trent (McDuffie) gives us a lot of flexibility, and you saw it last week, Chamarri Conner is coming on. We knew it was going to be a little bit of a slow process, but anytime we’re able to put him in there and keep those two guys outside is great for us. We don’t always do it because we like to get the other guys out there too. Having versatility, in any group but especially in the secondary is big.”

Q:&nbsp;What did you see on the play where Chamarri Conner got the interception?

SPAGNUOLO:&nbsp;“He was in man and one of the other defenders cut his man and he came off it, he was supposed to play with eyes, which he did, he found an available hole. I don’t think (Bills QB) Josh Allen saw him because he was coming from the back side. It was a really good play. It was where he was supposed to be eventually. At first it looked a little shaky but then he got there.”

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR&nbsp;MATT NAGY

Q: There were a few plays where it seemed like some miscommunication occurred at the line of scrimmage. What happened there?

NAGY:&nbsp;“Yeah, you definitely want to get up to the line of scrimmage and play as fast as you can. You have those – sometimes when things happen in a game whether it’s over the course of time or you look back at different, you have different guys coming in at different times. You want to reduce those to a minimum or to nothing so we had a few of those. I think the biggest thing is making sure that we understand, ‘Ok listen if we’re going to have different guys coming in and out of the huddle each play, we want to make sure that we as coaches practice that as much as possible and those guys are doing it then on gameday.’ So, when we get up to the line of scrimmage, it’s clean, it’s sharp, there’s not confusion. You have that – being completely clear – you have that all the time, more than probably you think but you just don’t want to have the ones where you’re crossing the ball or you’re communicating and just the clock is ticking down and now you feel like you’re fast on the play. We had a few of those that we want to make sure and that’s my job is to make sure, ‘Hey whatever is going on communication wise, during the week in practice and then on gameday that that’s clean.’ We have to learn through that.”

Q:&nbsp;Are you stressing the details of lining up this week?

NAGY:&nbsp;“Yeah it was early on, and he (Kadarius Toney) knows it continues. I think it’s a good teaching moment for all of us, for me as a coordinator, for all of us as coaches, for KT. Obviously none of it was intentional. I think that’s the frustrating part for all of us is in a moment like that, you know KT didn’t do that maliciously or intentionally. It’s a big moment in the game, but it is what it is, and we’ve got to learn from that. If we don’t use this lesson to make us better – and it doesn't have to just be offsides on offense – it’s just in general the rules of the game and making sure we lock in on that and making sure we understand it and use it to our benefit. At the same point in time when the guys got back in the next day and we talked about it as a group and unit we’re in this together – this isn’t about one person winning and losing a game. I think that’s probably the biggest message is that when we have an opportunity to win a game – whether it’s in the first quarter or whether it’s in the fourth quarter to finish it. Whether it’s the four-minute or the two-minute, behind or winning. We need to do that; we need to finish it. We can get caught up in being offsides and the play that was taken back, but let’s not get caught up on second-and-15, third-and-15, and fourth-and-15. We have a chance with a 1:12, with two timeouts down three, we’re going to at worst tie the game we need to go down and win the game. We didn’t do that, that’s the thing we have to take from this. If we want to be a championship, Super Bowl level team there’s got to be a mindset of finishing. It’s not a criticism, it’s just where we’re at. We’ve been through this where we start fast, we get leads – (against the) Jets, Dolphins and then we don’t finish. Or we get behind – the last three weeks 14-0, 14-3, 14-0 we get behind and we don’t start fast, we had a chance to finish and we didn’t do it. Let’s dig into that, and let’s understand now that when we don’t have penalties, when we don’t have turnovers, when we execute like we did at the end of the first half and the start of the third quarter last week we’re a pretty good team offensively, we help our defense and special teams out. Let’s take that first part of the year, that second part where we’re at now. Let’s put it all together these next four games starting with New England and let’s get a win, everything else will take care of itself. We need to be hard on ourselves as coaches, players need to do it, this is where I think real leaders step up. This is where it’s about us, it’s not about anyone else. If you can’t be a professional about this as a coach or as a player you shouldn’t be in this profession.”

Q:&nbsp;The last three games having to play from behind, does that change your play calling?

NAGY:&nbsp;“Yeah, you’re down 14 to nothing in the first quarter last week – I think more than anything we keep going back to reducing penalties, reducing turnovers and watch what happens if you just do that. We had four penalties and a turnover in the first half last week. When we didn’t have a penalty, when we didn’t turn the ball over, we were pretty effective in the redzone, good things happened. We scored, we crept back in the game to the moment we talked about when we first started in here, to have a chance to finish. Are we starting games, are we finishing? We’ve been doing both. Let’s put it together like we did against the Chargers. Let’s put it together like we did against the Bears, and let’s see what happens when we do that. Complement it with the defense, complement it with special teams. The beauty is we are 8-5, we’ve built an opportunity for us to worry about New England right now and get back on the winning track. They are one great great defense; we haven’t even talked about them. This is a really really good defense; their numbers speak for themselves. We’ve got to lock in on that. I know we’re back here talking about all the KT (Kadarius Toney) stuff, but we have to teach that and move on. That’s where we’re at.”

ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE TOUBQ: It seemed like the Bills were trying to get you to return a kickoff, why didn’t you?TOUB: “Like I said before, during the week, they were probably the best kickoff team that I’ve seen. They take pride in pinning people deep. They have a lot of players. We just felt gameplan wise it felt like if we return four of them and two of them were inside the 20 then it’s not worth it for our offense. So, we just took the ball at the 25.”Q: So the decision to fair catch was predetermined?TOUB: “Yeah, we decided it before. There were certain kicks that if obviously if we would have got them we would have took them out but they just kept giving us the same type of kick and it just was not something we wanted to do in that game.”Q: When do your returners identify when to fair catch versus when to return it?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;TOUB: “It’s really hangtime and placement. You know where it’s going to be, what we have called, you know you don’t want to return a ball that’s away from your call, that type of stuff without getting too detailed of it.”Q: Chamarri Conner is getting more defensive reps, does this mean he’ll have less reps on special teams?TOUB: “I hope I get him (Chamarri Conner) for the rest of the season. I hope that’s the case. He’s a good football player. He’s going to get more and more on defense. In fact, he got 62 plays last game if you add up everything because I have to look at that all the time, how much is a guy getting, he was the most. If that continues, I’m going to have to pull him back because right now he’s a four-phase guy. He plays on everything right now for me, and that may be something I have to do.”DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR STEVE SPAGNUOLOQ:&nbsp;What do you see in Patriots QB Bailey Zappe?SPAGNUOLO:&nbsp;“I tell you what, I see a really good, efficient football player that can move the ball. I was watching one of the TV games – sometimes I put the TV games on to hear the – he’s won football games for them; I think they’re doing the right things with him. To me when they’ve got either of those running backs going, I think their quarterback becomes really pretty good. I know they’ve had injuries at wide out, but those two tight ends now that they are both healthy, I think they can be a little bit of a stress on us, we’ve got to be cautious of that. We probably haven’t played – I’d have to think back to teams we’ve played – but these two tight ends as pass catchers are as good of a twosome as I think we’ve faced.”Q:&nbsp;The Patriots play old school physical football, is that different for you to prepare for?SPAGNUOLO:&nbsp;“Well it’s not a difference in emphasis because I’m always talking about that. When teams can be two dimensional it makes it tough on us. We’re always talking about killing the engine. The engine to us is the running back. We’ve got to make sure they don’t get him going. They won’t give up on trying to do that, we understand that. (Patriots Head) Coach (Bill) Belichick, best in the business, he understands it. Their defense is terrific – I told the guys the other day that we need to match or be better than their defense, to help our team win. A lot of that is early in the game because we just don’t want Patrick (Mahomes) having to go out in the middle of the second quarter down 14 points. That’s tough on any offense. They’re challenging because they play as a team, they win as a team, they find ways to win. You’re onto something, if we don’t bow up and play a physical game to match their physicality, they will make it tough.”Q:&nbsp;How rare is it to have two corners as good as Trent McDuffie and L'Jarius Sneed with the versatility they give you?SPAGNUOLO:&nbsp;“Pretty unique, that’s a credit to both of those guys. We haven’t had to play LJ (L'Jarius Sneed) inside as much – and you guys all know he can do that. As a matter of fact, he just walked through a couple of snaps with him in there just in case you get an injury situation. Trent (McDuffie) gives us a lot of flexibility, and you saw it last week, Chamarri Conner is coming on. We knew it was going to be a little bit of a slow process, but anytime we’re able to put him in there and keep those two guys outside is great for us. We don’t always do it because we like to get the other guys out there too. Having versatility, in any group but especially in the secondary is big.”Q:&nbsp;What did you see on the play where Chamarri Conner got the interception?SPAGNUOLO:&nbsp;“He was in man and one of the other defenders cut his man and he came off it, he was supposed to play with eyes, which he did, he found an available hole. I don’t think (Bills QB) Josh Allen saw him because he was coming from the back side. It was a really good play. It was where he was supposed to be eventually. At first it looked a little shaky but then he got there.”OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR&nbsp;MATT NAGYQ: There were a few plays where it seemed like some miscommunication occurred at the line of scrimmage. What happened there?NAGY:&nbsp;“Yeah, you definitely want to get up to the line of scrimmage and play as fast as you can. You have those – sometimes when things happen in a game whether it’s over the course of time or you look back at different, you have different guys coming in at different times. You want to reduce those to a minimum or to nothing so we had a few of those. I think the biggest thing is making sure that we understand, ‘Ok listen if we’re going to have different guys coming in and out of the huddle each play, we want to make sure that we as coaches practice that as much as possible and those guys are doing it then on gameday.’ So, when we get up to the line of scrimmage, it’s clean, it’s sharp, there’s not confusion. You have that – being completely clear – you have that all the time, more than probably you think but you just don’t want to have the ones where you’re crossing the ball or you’re communicating and just the clock is ticking down and now you feel like you’re fast on the play. We had a few of those that we want to make sure and that’s my job is to make sure, ‘Hey whatever is going on communication wise, during the week in practice and then on gameday that that’s clean.’ We have to learn through that.”Q:&nbsp;Are you stressing the details of lining up this week?NAGY:&nbsp;“Yeah it was early on, and he (Kadarius Toney) knows it continues. I think it’s a good teaching moment for all of us, for me as a coordinator, for all of us as coaches, for KT. Obviously none of it was intentional. I think that’s the frustrating part for all of us is in a moment like that, you know KT didn’t do that maliciously or intentionally. It’s a big moment in the game, but it is what it is, and we’ve got to learn from that. If we don’t use this lesson to make us better – and it doesn't have to just be offsides on offense – it’s just in general the rules of the game and making sure we lock in on that and making sure we understand it and use it to our benefit. At the same point in time when the guys got back in the next day and we talked about it as a group and unit we’re in this together – this isn’t about one person winning and losing a game. I think that’s probably the biggest message is that when we have an opportunity to win a game – whether it’s in the first quarter or whether it’s in the fourth quarter to finish it. Whether it’s the four-minute or the two-minute, behind or winning. We need to do that; we need to finish it. We can get caught up in being offsides and the play that was taken back, but let’s not get caught up on second-and-15, third-and-15, and fourth-and-15. We have a chance with a 1:12, with two timeouts down three, we’re going to at worst tie the game we need to go down and win the game. We didn’t do that, that’s the thing we have to take from this. If we want to be a championship, Super Bowl level team there’s got to be a mindset of finishing. It’s not a criticism, it’s just where we’re at. We’ve been through this where we start fast, we get leads – (against the) Jets, Dolphins and then we don’t finish. Or we get behind – the last three weeks 14-0, 14-3, 14-0 we get behind and we don’t start fast, we had a chance to finish and we didn’t do it. Let’s dig into that, and let’s understand now that when we don’t have penalties, when we don’t have turnovers, when we execute like we did at the end of the first half and the start of the third quarter last week we’re a pretty good team offensively, we help our defense and special teams out. Let’s take that first part of the year, that second part where we’re at now. Let’s put it all together these next four games starting with New England and let’s get a win, everything else will take care of itself. We need to be hard on ourselves as coaches, players need to do it, this is where I think real leaders step up. This is where it’s about us, it’s not about anyone else. If you can’t be a professional about this as a coach or as a player you shouldn’t be in this profession.”Q:&nbsp;The last three games having to play from behind, does that change your play calling?NAGY:&nbsp;“Yeah, you’re down 14 to nothing in the first quarter last week – I think more than anything we keep going back to reducing penalties, reducing turnovers and watch what happens if you just do that. We had four penalties and a turnover in the first half last week. When we didn’t have a penalty, when we didn’t turn the ball over, we were pretty effective in the redzone, good things happened. We scored, we crept back in the game to the moment we talked about when we first started in here, to have a chance to finish. Are we starting games, are we finishing? We’ve been doing both. Let’s put it together like we did against the Chargers. Let’s put it together like we did against the Bears, and let’s see what happens when we do that. Complement it with the defense, complement it with special teams. The beauty is we are 8-5, we’ve built an opportunity for us to worry about New England right now and get back on the winning track. They are one great great defense; we haven’t even talked about them. This is a really really good defense; their numbers speak for themselves. We’ve got to lock in on that. I know we’re back here talking about all the KT (Kadarius Toney) stuff, but we have to teach that and move on. That’s where we’re at.”

Chiefs Coordinator Quotes: 12-14-23

Join 910KINA's Saturday Morning Show hosts Dave and Sam this Saturday from 9-11 a.m. on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.910kina.com/">910AM 107.5 FM.</a>

Hear highlights about community events, public affairs, and all things happening in Salina. Their approach is friendly, informative, and entertaining. They're committed to making a difference in their community and keeping listeners up-to-date with updates from new and returning guests.

To listen to past 910KINA Saturday Morning Shows head on over to the KINA podcast homepage&nbsp;<a href="https://streamdb7web.securenetsystems.net/cirrusencore/KINA&amp;embedOpened=true&amp;embedOpenedApp=song&amp;embedOpenedSong=910683and6831076845683KINA&amp;embedOpenedArtist=&amp;embedOpenedAlbum=">here.</a>

9:05 a.m.&nbsp; Melissa McCoy, Public Information Officer Saline County on Cope Notes, Choose Saline County, Bussom Buddies and other Saline County programs

9:30 a.m.&nbsp; Tayla Naden, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Affiliate Development and Volunteer Coordinator on "Do It Your Way" fundraiser

10:05 a.m.&nbsp; Jane Anderson, Executive Director, Friends of the River Foundation

10:20 a.m.&nbsp; Teri Seymour Benfer, Account Manager, American Red Cross on Blood Drives

10:30 a.m.&nbsp; Trooper Ben, Kansas Highway Patrol on Holiday and Winter Driving

10:45 a.m.&nbsp; Chad Young, Executive Director Salina Rescue Mission on $100,000 Match

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/8/1691172591916.png" alt="Dave and Sam" />
 <figcaption>Dave and Sam</figcaption>
 </figure>Join 910KINA's Saturday Morning Show hosts Dave and Sam this Saturday from 9-11 a.m. on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.910kina.com/">910AM 107.5 FM.</a>Hear highlights about community events, public affairs, and all things happening in Salina. Their approach is friendly, informative, and entertaining. They're committed to making a difference in their community and keeping listeners up-to-date with updates from new and returning guests.To listen to past 910KINA Saturday Morning Shows head on over to the KINA podcast homepage&nbsp;<a href="https://streamdb7web.securenetsystems.net/cirrusencore/KINA&amp;embedOpened=true&amp;embedOpenedApp=song&amp;embedOpenedSong=910683and6831076845683KINA&amp;embedOpenedArtist=&amp;embedOpenedAlbum=">here.</a><h2>This week's lineup</h2>9:05 a.m.&nbsp; Melissa McCoy, Public Information Officer Saline County on Cope Notes, Choose Saline County, Bussom Buddies and other Saline County programs9:30 a.m.&nbsp; Tayla Naden, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Affiliate Development and Volunteer Coordinator on "Do It Your Way" fundraiser10:05 a.m.&nbsp; Jane Anderson, Executive Director, Friends of the River Foundation10:20 a.m.&nbsp; Teri Seymour Benfer, Account Manager, American Red Cross on Blood Drives10:30 a.m.&nbsp; Trooper Ben, Kansas Highway Patrol on Holiday and Winter Driving10:45 a.m.&nbsp; Chad Young, Executive Director Salina Rescue Mission on $100,000 Match

910KINA Saturday Morning Show lineup with Dave and Sam

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Wednesday authorized the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/impeachment">impeachment</a>&nbsp;inquiry into President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden,</a>&nbsp;with every Republican rallying behind the politically charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president.

The 221-212 party-line vote put the entire House Republican conference on record in support of an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-congress-oversight-republicans-impeachment-57c5b1b40d19ede4ecf7fde08c027cee">impeachment process</a>&nbsp;that can lead to the ultimate penalty for a president: punishment for what the Constitution describes as “high crimes and misdemeanors,” which can lead to removal from office if convicted in a Senate trial.

Authorizing the monthslong inquiry ensures that the impeachment investigation extends well into 2024, when Biden will be running for reelection and seems likely to be squaring off against former President Donald Trump — who was twice impeached during his time in the White House. Trump has pushed his GOP allies in Congress to move swiftly on impeaching Biden, part of his broader calls for&nbsp;<a>vengeance and retribution</a>&nbsp;against his political enemies.

The decision to hold a vote came as House Speaker&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mike-johnson/">Mike Johnson</a>&nbsp;and his leadership team faced growing pressure to show progress in what has become a nearly yearlong probe centered around the business dealings of Biden's family members. While their investigation has raised ethical questions, no evidence has emerged that Biden acted corruptly or accepted bribes in his current role or previous office as vice president.

Ahead of the vote, Johnson called it “the next necessary step" and acknowledged there are “a lot of people who are frustrated this hasn’t moved faster.“

In a recent statement, the White House called the whole process a “baseless fishing expedition” that Republicans are pushing ahead with “despite the fact that members of their own party have admitted there is no evidence to support impeaching President Biden.”

House Democrats rose in opposition to the inquiry resolution Wednesday.

“This whole thing is an extreme political stunt. It has no credibility, no legitimacy, and no integrity. It is a sideshow," Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said during a floor debate.

Some House Republicans, particularly those hailing from politically divided districts, had been hesitant in recent weeks to take any vote on Biden's impeachment, fearing a significant political cost. But GOP leaders have made the case in recent weeks that the resolution is only a step in the process, not a decision to impeach Biden. That message seems to have won over skeptics.

“As we have said numerous times before, voting in favor of an impeachment inquiry does not equal impeachment,” Rep. Tom Emmer, a member of the GOP leadership team, said at a news conference Tuesday.

Emmer said Republicans “will continue to follow the facts wherever they lead, and if they uncover evidence of treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors, then and only then will the next steps towards impeachment proceedings be considered.”

Most of the Republicans reluctant to back the impeachment push have also been swayed by leadership's recent argument that authorizing the inquiry will give them better legal standing as the White House has questioned the legal and constitutional basis for their requests for information.

A letter last month from a top White House attorney to Republican committee leaders portrayed the GOP investigation as overzealous and illegitimate because the chamber had not yet authorized a formal impeachment inquiry by a vote of the full House. Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, also wrote that when Trump faced the prospect of impeachment by a Democratic-led House in 2019, Johnson had said at the time that any inquiry without a House vote would be a “sham.”

Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said this week that while there was no evidence to impeach the president, “that’s also not what the vote this week would be about.”

“We have had enough political impeachments in this country,” he said. “I don’t like the stonewalling the administration has done, but listen, if we don’t have the receipts, that should constrain what the House does long-term.”

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who has long been opposed to moving forward with impeachment, said that the White House questioning the legitimacy of the inquiry without a formal vote helped gain his support. “I can defend an inquiry right now,” he told reporters this week. "Let's see what they find out.”

House Democrats remained unified in their opposition to the impeachment process, saying it is a farce used by the GOP to take attention away from Trump and his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-investigations-election-fraud-documents-1d8d88542e6257ad957cf2fc03e190ae">legal woes</a>.

“You don’t initiate an impeachment process unless there’s real evidence of impeachable offenses,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, who oversaw the two impeachments into Trump. “There is none here. None.”

Democrats and the White House have repeatedly defended the president and his administration's cooperation with the investigation thus far, saying it has already made a massive trove of documents available.

Congressional investigators have obtained nearly 40,000 pages of subpoenaed bank records and dozens of hours of testimony from key witnesses, including several high-ranking Justice Department officials currently tasked with investigating the president's son, Hunter Biden.

While Republicans say their inquiry is ultimately focused on the president himself, they have taken particular interest in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/hunter-biden">Hunter Biden</a>&nbsp;and his overseas business dealings, from which they accuse the president of personally benefiting. Republicans have also focused a large part of their investigation on whistleblower allegations of interference in the long-running Justice Department investigation into the younger Biden's taxes and his gun use.

Hunter Biden is currently facing criminal charges in two states from the special counsel investigation. He’s charged with firearm counts in Delaware, alleging he broke laws against drug users having guns in 2018, a period when he has acknowledged struggling with addiction. Special counsel David Weiss filed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-tax-charges-special-counsel-75b2aa05f247535677454ff2dfa7c71f">additional charges</a>&nbsp;last week, alleging he failed to pay about $1.4 million in taxes over a three-year period.

Democrats have conceded that while the president's son is not perfect, he is a private citizen who is already being held accountable by the justice system.

“I mean, there’s a lot of evidence that Hunter Biden did a lot of improper things. He’s been indicted, he’ll stand trial,” Nadler said. “There’s no evidence whatsoever that the president did anything improper.”

Hunter Biden arrived for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-congress-investigation-impeachment-0226bb1041d7b5c10bc8c33e5d98b5e0">rare public statement</a>&nbsp;outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, saying he would not be appearing for his scheduled private deposition that morning. The president's son defended himself against years of GOP attacks and said his father has had no financial involvement in his business affairs.

His attorney has offered for Biden to testify publicly, citing concerns about Republicans manipulating any private testimony.

“Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say,” Biden said outside the Capitol. “What are they afraid of? I am here.”

GOP lawmakers said that since Hunter Biden did not appear, they will begin contempt of Congress proceedings against him. “He just got into more trouble today,” Rep. James Comer, the House Oversight Committee chairman, told reporters Wednesday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1702488142386.png" alt="FILE - Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 29, 2023. The House is pushing toward a vote to authorize the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden formally. This comes as Republicans rally behind the charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)" />
 <figcaption>FILE - Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 29, 2023. The House is pushing toward a vote to authorize the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden formally. This comes as Republicans rally behind the charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Wednesday authorized the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/impeachment">impeachment</a>&nbsp;inquiry into President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden,</a>&nbsp;with every Republican rallying behind the politically charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president.The 221-212 party-line vote put the entire House Republican conference on record in support of an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-congress-oversight-republicans-impeachment-57c5b1b40d19ede4ecf7fde08c027cee">impeachment process</a>&nbsp;that can lead to the ultimate penalty for a president: punishment for what the Constitution describes as “high crimes and misdemeanors,” which can lead to removal from office if convicted in a Senate trial.Authorizing the monthslong inquiry ensures that the impeachment investigation extends well into 2024, when Biden will be running for reelection and seems likely to be squaring off against former President Donald Trump — who was twice impeached during his time in the White House. Trump has pushed his GOP allies in Congress to move swiftly on impeaching Biden, part of his broader calls for&nbsp;<a>vengeance and retribution</a>&nbsp;against his political enemies.The decision to hold a vote came as House Speaker&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/mike-johnson/">Mike Johnson</a>&nbsp;and his leadership team faced growing pressure to show progress in what has become a nearly yearlong probe centered around the business dealings of Biden's family members. While their investigation has raised ethical questions, no evidence has emerged that Biden acted corruptly or accepted bribes in his current role or previous office as vice president.Ahead of the vote, Johnson called it “the next necessary step" and acknowledged there are “a lot of people who are frustrated this hasn’t moved faster.“In a recent statement, the White House called the whole process a “baseless fishing expedition” that Republicans are pushing ahead with “despite the fact that members of their own party have admitted there is no evidence to support impeaching President Biden.”House Democrats rose in opposition to the inquiry resolution Wednesday.“This whole thing is an extreme political stunt. It has no credibility, no legitimacy, and no integrity. It is a sideshow," Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said during a floor debate.Some House Republicans, particularly those hailing from politically divided districts, had been hesitant in recent weeks to take any vote on Biden's impeachment, fearing a significant political cost. But GOP leaders have made the case in recent weeks that the resolution is only a step in the process, not a decision to impeach Biden. That message seems to have won over skeptics.“As we have said numerous times before, voting in favor of an impeachment inquiry does not equal impeachment,” Rep. Tom Emmer, a member of the GOP leadership team, said at a news conference Tuesday.Emmer said Republicans “will continue to follow the facts wherever they lead, and if they uncover evidence of treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors, then and only then will the next steps towards impeachment proceedings be considered.”Most of the Republicans reluctant to back the impeachment push have also been swayed by leadership's recent argument that authorizing the inquiry will give them better legal standing as the White House has questioned the legal and constitutional basis for their requests for information.A letter last month from a top White House attorney to Republican committee leaders portrayed the GOP investigation as overzealous and illegitimate because the chamber had not yet authorized a formal impeachment inquiry by a vote of the full House. Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, also wrote that when Trump faced the prospect of impeachment by a Democratic-led House in 2019, Johnson had said at the time that any inquiry without a House vote would be a “sham.”Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said this week that while there was no evidence to impeach the president, “that’s also not what the vote this week would be about.”“We have had enough political impeachments in this country,” he said. “I don’t like the stonewalling the administration has done, but listen, if we don’t have the receipts, that should constrain what the House does long-term.”Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who has long been opposed to moving forward with impeachment, said that the White House questioning the legitimacy of the inquiry without a formal vote helped gain his support. “I can defend an inquiry right now,” he told reporters this week. "Let's see what they find out.”House Democrats remained unified in their opposition to the impeachment process, saying it is a farce used by the GOP to take attention away from Trump and his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-investigations-election-fraud-documents-1d8d88542e6257ad957cf2fc03e190ae">legal woes</a>.“You don’t initiate an impeachment process unless there’s real evidence of impeachable offenses,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, who oversaw the two impeachments into Trump. “There is none here. None.”Democrats and the White House have repeatedly defended the president and his administration's cooperation with the investigation thus far, saying it has already made a massive trove of documents available.Congressional investigators have obtained nearly 40,000 pages of subpoenaed bank records and dozens of hours of testimony from key witnesses, including several high-ranking Justice Department officials currently tasked with investigating the president's son, Hunter Biden.While Republicans say their inquiry is ultimately focused on the president himself, they have taken particular interest in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/hunter-biden">Hunter Biden</a>&nbsp;and his overseas business dealings, from which they accuse the president of personally benefiting. Republicans have also focused a large part of their investigation on whistleblower allegations of interference in the long-running Justice Department investigation into the younger Biden's taxes and his gun use.Hunter Biden is currently facing criminal charges in two states from the special counsel investigation. He’s charged with firearm counts in Delaware, alleging he broke laws against drug users having guns in 2018, a period when he has acknowledged struggling with addiction. Special counsel David Weiss filed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-tax-charges-special-counsel-75b2aa05f247535677454ff2dfa7c71f">additional charges</a>&nbsp;last week, alleging he failed to pay about $1.4 million in taxes over a three-year period.Democrats have conceded that while the president's son is not perfect, he is a private citizen who is already being held accountable by the justice system.“I mean, there’s a lot of evidence that Hunter Biden did a lot of improper things. He’s been indicted, he’ll stand trial,” Nadler said. “There’s no evidence whatsoever that the president did anything improper.”Hunter Biden arrived for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-congress-investigation-impeachment-0226bb1041d7b5c10bc8c33e5d98b5e0">rare public statement</a>&nbsp;outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, saying he would not be appearing for his scheduled private deposition that morning. The president's son defended himself against years of GOP attacks and said his father has had no financial involvement in his business affairs.His attorney has offered for Biden to testify publicly, citing concerns about Republicans manipulating any private testimony.“Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say,” Biden said outside the Capitol. “What are they afraid of? I am here.”GOP lawmakers said that since Hunter Biden did not appear, they will begin contempt of Congress proceedings against him. “He just got into more trouble today,” Rep. James Comer, the House Oversight Committee chairman, told reporters Wednesday.___

House approves impeachment inquiry into President Biden

TOPEKA – On Monday, the Kansas Early Childhood Transition Task Force (ECTTF), established by Governor Laura Kelly through the&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDEsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vZ292ZXJub3Iua2Fuc2FzLmdvdi93cC1jb250ZW50L3VwbG9hZHMvMjAyMy8wMS9FTy0yMy0wMS1TaWduZWQtRXhlY3V0ZWQucGRmIiwiYnVsbGV0aW5faWQiOiIyMDIzMTIxMS44Njk1NDk0MSJ9.U7Mhs4E6ksw7h5t9qpyf-u9mjgseCfQBPzorU1Jllrg/s/1303160919/br/232753984573-l" target="_blank">first executive order</a>&nbsp;of her second term, presented its final report outlining how the State of Kansas can better serve children and families.

<a href="https://governor.kansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Kansas-Early-Childhood-Transition-Task-Force-Final-Report.pdf">Click here to read the final report</a> from the Task Force

The purpose of the Task Force was to examine Kansas’ early childhood system and identify steps the state can take to reduce burdens placed on families, increase accountability for early childhood programs, and eliminate inefficiencies and gaps in service.

“A key component of making Kansas the best state to raise a family is giving our children the strongest possible start to life,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said. “Thank you to the Early Childhood Transition Task Force members for their hard work, for listening to Kansans across the state this past summer, and for putting together a blueprint for action. Their final report will help me determine the best path forward to make early childhood services more accessible and affordable for all Kansas families.”

The Task Force’s final report, drawing from a series of public input sessions held across the state this past summer, highlights the need to consolidate services to reduce red tape and bureaucratic burdens on families navigating the system. Currently, four different state agencies are involved in providing early childhood services. The report recommends that Kansas unify its “early childhood care and education services into a single state entity.”

“I’m proud to have guided the Early Childhood Transition Task Force through its work this past year,&nbsp;said Sam Huenergardt, Co-Chair of the ECTTF.&nbsp;“Our final recommendation to consolidate Kansas’ early childhood care and education services into one entity would reduce the burden on children and families attempting to navigate the current system. Thank you to Governor Kelly and the Task Force for their dedication to Kansas families and future generations."

Other recommendations include collecting and sharing data that could improve the provision and accountability of services and providing greater support for families and businesses looking to access or provide child care. &nbsp;

“It has been a true honor to serve as Co-Chair of the Early Childhood Transition Task Force,”&nbsp;said Cornelia Stevens, Co-Chair of the ECTTF. “The group’s commitment to improving systems and processes that will positively impact Kansas children and families was evident in every discussion. The recommendations provided were well thought out and will result in a more efficient and effective system for Kansas children and families.”

Governor Kelly will take the Task Force’s recommendations under advisement and now determine next steps for beginning the process of unifying Kansas’ early childhood services. The Task Force included&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDIsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vZ292ZXJub3Iua2Fuc2FzLmdvdi9nb3Zlcm5vci1rZWxseS1hbm5vdW5jZXMtYXBwb2ludG1lbnRzLXRvLWVhcmx5LWNoaWxkaG9vZC10cmFuc2l0aW9uLXRhc2stZm9yY2UvIiwiYnVsbGV0aW5faWQiOiIyMDIzMTIxMS44Njk1NDk0MSJ9.Kxb5TqavyajyDOV9anIcFzm-vdPma8ihIrhBTEIAkOQ/s/1303160919/br/232753984573-l" target="_blank">representatives</a>&nbsp;from business, government, advocacy, and early childhood sectors, as well as members of the Kansas Legislature. The Hunt Institute provided operational support and policy expertise to the Task Force’s efforts.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1702347029300.png" alt="Courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA – On Monday, the Kansas Early Childhood Transition Task Force (ECTTF), established by Governor Laura Kelly through the&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDEsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vZ292ZXJub3Iua2Fuc2FzLmdvdi93cC1jb250ZW50L3VwbG9hZHMvMjAyMy8wMS9FTy0yMy0wMS1TaWduZWQtRXhlY3V0ZWQucGRmIiwiYnVsbGV0aW5faWQiOiIyMDIzMTIxMS44Njk1NDk0MSJ9.U7Mhs4E6ksw7h5t9qpyf-u9mjgseCfQBPzorU1Jllrg/s/1303160919/br/232753984573-l" target="_blank">first executive order</a>&nbsp;of her second term, presented its final report outlining how the State of Kansas can better serve children and families.<a href="https://governor.kansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Kansas-Early-Childhood-Transition-Task-Force-Final-Report.pdf">Click here to read the final report</a> from the Task ForceThe purpose of the Task Force was to examine Kansas’ early childhood system and identify steps the state can take to reduce burdens placed on families, increase accountability for early childhood programs, and eliminate inefficiencies and gaps in service.“A key component of making Kansas the best state to raise a family is giving our children the strongest possible start to life,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said. “Thank you to the Early Childhood Transition Task Force members for their hard work, for listening to Kansans across the state this past summer, and for putting together a blueprint for action. Their final report will help me determine the best path forward to make early childhood services more accessible and affordable for all Kansas families.”The Task Force’s final report, drawing from a series of public input sessions held across the state this past summer, highlights the need to consolidate services to reduce red tape and bureaucratic burdens on families navigating the system. Currently, four different state agencies are involved in providing early childhood services. The report recommends that Kansas unify its “early childhood care and education services into a single state entity.”“I’m proud to have guided the Early Childhood Transition Task Force through its work this past year,&nbsp;said Sam Huenergardt, Co-Chair of the ECTTF.&nbsp;“Our final recommendation to consolidate Kansas’ early childhood care and education services into one entity would reduce the burden on children and families attempting to navigate the current system. Thank you to Governor Kelly and the Task Force for their dedication to Kansas families and future generations."Other recommendations include collecting and sharing data that could improve the provision and accountability of services and providing greater support for families and businesses looking to access or provide child care. &nbsp;“It has been a true honor to serve as Co-Chair of the Early Childhood Transition Task Force,”&nbsp;said Cornelia Stevens, Co-Chair of the ECTTF. “The group’s commitment to improving systems and processes that will positively impact Kansas children and families was evident in every discussion. The recommendations provided were well thought out and will result in a more efficient and effective system for Kansas children and families.”Governor Kelly will take the Task Force’s recommendations under advisement and now determine next steps for beginning the process of unifying Kansas’ early childhood services. The Task Force included&nbsp;<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDIsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vZ292ZXJub3Iua2Fuc2FzLmdvdi9nb3Zlcm5vci1rZWxseS1hbm5vdW5jZXMtYXBwb2ludG1lbnRzLXRvLWVhcmx5LWNoaWxkaG9vZC10cmFuc2l0aW9uLXRhc2stZm9yY2UvIiwiYnVsbGV0aW5faWQiOiIyMDIzMTIxMS44Njk1NDk0MSJ9.Kxb5TqavyajyDOV9anIcFzm-vdPma8ihIrhBTEIAkOQ/s/1303160919/br/232753984573-l" target="_blank">representatives</a>&nbsp;from business, government, advocacy, and early childhood sectors, as well as members of the Kansas Legislature. The Hunt Institute provided operational support and policy expertise to the Task Force’s efforts.

Read the Kansas Early Childhood Transition Task Force final report

K-State beef cattle experts share how to best manage bulls during this season

Many people know maintaining a healthy weight is one factor in an overall health plan, and weight maintenance is also important in the well-being of cattle, according to the Kansas State University Beef Cattle Institute experts who spoke on this topic on a recent&nbsp;<a href="https://ksubci.org/2023/12/08/industry-inventory-counts-winter-cow-and-bull-management-research-round-up/">Cattle Chat</a>&nbsp;podcast.

For spring-calving cow herds, oftentimes beef nutritionists are focused on maintaining the cows in an optimum body condition through gestation and into the calving season, said K-State veterinarian Bob Larson. But he stressed that it is also important to make sure the bulls are managed to maintain a healthy weight.

“In the winter, a bull’s nutritional demands are similar to those of a cow in mid-gestation,” Larson said. “Poor quality forage alone will not meet his nutritional needs and so he may need to be given some protein supplement as well.”

Along with maintaining the bull’s weight, Larson recommends that producers manage them in a way that also protects their reproductive health from the winter weather.

“If bulls have had a rough winter, we may see scrotal frostbite and poor semen quality from those animals in the spring when we do their breeding soundness exams,” Larson said.

To keep this from happening, Larson recommends producers offer the bulls protection from the wind, allow them access to dry bedding and keep them away from the mud.

For producers who are introducing new bulls into the herd this winter, Larson said it is important to follow a biosecurity plan to reduce potential disease risk.

“I recommend producers quarantine all new animals for about 30 days so that they can watch for signs of illness during that time,” Larson said. “Oftentimes if a disease is going to break, it will show up in that time.”

He also offered one additional biosecurity tip.“It is also good to institute a vaccine program to make sure both the new cattle and the ones who have been in the herd for a while are following a similar health protocol,” Larson said.

To hear the full discussion, listen to the&nbsp;<a href="https://ksubci.org/2023/12/08/industry-inventory-counts-winter-cow-and-bull-management-research-round-up/">Cattle Chat</a>podcast online or through your preferred streaming platform.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/12/1702389421324.jpeg" alt="Bulls may need to be supplemented in the winter to maintain their body condition. Image Courtesy KSRE" />
 <figcaption>Bulls may need to be supplemented in the winter to maintain their body condition. Image Courtesy KSRE</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>K-State beef cattle experts share how to best manage bulls during this season</h2>By LISA MOSER&nbsp;KSREMany people know maintaining a healthy weight is one factor in an overall health plan, and weight maintenance is also important in the well-being of cattle, according to the Kansas State University Beef Cattle Institute experts who spoke on this topic on a recent&nbsp;<a href="https://ksubci.org/2023/12/08/industry-inventory-counts-winter-cow-and-bull-management-research-round-up/">Cattle Chat</a>&nbsp;podcast.For spring-calving cow herds, oftentimes beef nutritionists are focused on maintaining the cows in an optimum body condition through gestation and into the calving season, said K-State veterinarian Bob Larson. But he stressed that it is also important to make sure the bulls are managed to maintain a healthy weight.“In the winter, a bull’s nutritional demands are similar to those of a cow in mid-gestation,” Larson said. “Poor quality forage alone will not meet his nutritional needs and so he may need to be given some protein supplement as well.”Along with maintaining the bull’s weight, Larson recommends that producers manage them in a way that also protects their reproductive health from the winter weather.“If bulls have had a rough winter, we may see scrotal frostbite and poor semen quality from those animals in the spring when we do their breeding soundness exams,” Larson said.To keep this from happening, Larson recommends producers offer the bulls protection from the wind, allow them access to dry bedding and keep them away from the mud.For producers who are introducing new bulls into the herd this winter, Larson said it is important to follow a biosecurity plan to reduce potential disease risk.“I recommend producers quarantine all new animals for about 30 days so that they can watch for signs of illness during that time,” Larson said. “Oftentimes if a disease is going to break, it will show up in that time.”He also offered one additional biosecurity tip.“It is also good to institute a vaccine program to make sure both the new cattle and the ones who have been in the herd for a while are following a similar health protocol,” Larson said.To hear the full discussion, listen to the&nbsp;<a href="https://ksubci.org/2023/12/08/industry-inventory-counts-winter-cow-and-bull-management-research-round-up/">Cattle Chat</a>podcast online or through your preferred streaming platform.

Cattle Chat: Caring for bulls in the winter 

OPENING STATEMENT:&nbsp;“I don’t have any injuries for you, the guys are coming in now. I had a chance to go back through the tape and evaluate it. Like I mentioned to the team, there’s some good things in there that are going to help us. We’re getting better in some spots, but we’ve got to clean up some things, the penalties, the drops offensively, and then obviously the scores early on the defensive side. We’ve got to take care of that, so we’re not playing from behind there. Some of that was also turnovers on the offensive side, and that added up to it. With that, I know what I said about the officials yesterday or – insinuated about the officials. Listen, there are no excuses for this thing, that’s not what I’m saying. I’ve always had a good working relationship with these guys, and that’s the important part. They know when they tell me something with a guy that I’m going to address the guy, like right now, and make sure that it gets changed – when you’re talking about inches you know those types of things. Those happen in the game. I mean, I’ve been doing this a long time, so this isn’t an excuse or a blame on the officials for blowing the game. That’s not what it is, but it’s that working relationship. That part is so important in this thing because you can see it on both sides. Whether it’s a defensive end been lining up in the neutral zone at times or that, just you give the head coach a heads up and then in our case, we tell them. Then if they get called, listen, that’s – you were warned, so that’s how it’s worked over the years. That’s what I was really trying to get across, and I take a lot of pride in taking what the officials give me and going to our players and telling them – like immediately telling them and giving them that and telling them, ‘Hey listen they’re giving you a warning, if you don’t do it that’s on your plate.’ That’s the important part that I was trying to get across, but probably not very well after the game. Anyways, with that we’ve got to do better just all the way around. That’s what we’re striving for, but at the same time, we’re getting better and it’s so close it’s crazy and I think the guys understand what we’ve got to get done. With that, time’s yours.”

Q: It looked like there were some positive offensive signs later on in the game. What offensive breakthroughs did you see?

REID:&nbsp;“I thought we had a good blend of things going, that’s what I thought. Of the run, the screen, the quick screens, the pass, we were presenting a lot out there for a defense to have to defend. We were doing that with accuracy for the most part. Listen, there were a couple that we’ve got to work on, you come out of every game like that, but you know we had a lot of yards and that was a positive thing. I thought the guys came out with the right intent. They were playing their tail off, aggressive, hard football, both sides of the ball and on special teams. We’ve just, we’ve got to clean up some of these self-destructive things, and whether it’s the penalties, whether it’s the drops, whether it’s the turnovers, we’ve got to clean that up and we’ll be ok. We have to be consistent with it.”

Q: With Justyn Ross coming back, what is your expectation for Justyn Ross?

REID:&nbsp;“We’ll just see kind of where he’s (Justyn Ross) at physically and – it’s hard to be gone that long and just kind of jump right back in. We’ll just have to see where he’s at.”

Q: Regarding the offsides call on Kadarius Toney, how do you address this with him?

REID:&nbsp;“Listen, normally he (Kadarius Toney) looks over to the sideline and just gets an okay and on that one he just happened not to, so that would be the coaching point. Make sure you check with the guy on the side just to see if you’re aligned. He’s not lining up offsides on purpose. Listen he was two inches away from or an inch away from being legal so you can always – like I said, you can argue both sides for both teams. There were things that happened where people – it happens like that. I guess the league is trying to clean that up from what I heard by one of the broadcasters last nights but whatever.”

Q: Are you getting to a point where you think Kadarius Toney needs a little more coaching before he gets more playing time?

REID:&nbsp;“Well, the thing I know is he (Kadarius Toney) makes plays. He makes plays when the ball is in his hands, and that’s the important part. He’s a young guy. I mean, he’s not coming to us with a ton of experience, but I think he’s getting better every week. This is one of those things. I don’t see that as being a negative. I look at the things he produced on too.”

Q:&nbsp;Have you heard through any other avenues that offensive offsides is a point of emphasis for the officials this season?

REID:&nbsp;“I guess maybe they mentioned it to us somewhere – this was one of the officials saying it on the broadcast. I’m sure that they probably mentioned it somewhere.”

Q:&nbsp;Was offensive offsides not a point you got in training camp and went over with the team?

REID:&nbsp;“The officials give us everything. Everything has been covered.”

Q:&nbsp;Patrick Mahomes was frustrated after the game, how much of that frustration do you think is carry over from how the team has played in the past several weeks?

REID:&nbsp;“I think what he said was pretty accurate – and you know this – we put so much time and effort into it, both physical and mental effort. You don’t want it to come down to that. That ends up being the frustration. It’s not what happened before, you know what you’ve heard before and you put that in the memory bank on how things are normally handled. When something changes like that in that type of situation with two really good football teams playing against each other and you’re down to a minute and a half or a minute and 50 seconds, all of a sudden, you’re right there and have a big play. I think anyone would say that’s a little bit frustrating. You just spent a whole week in preparation for an hour game, you put hours into this thing for it to come down to that inch. Do we need to line up right? Yeah, we do, yeah we do. We’ve got to take care of that and not put it in the officials’ hands, that part we have to do. The frustration comes in with the other part that you spend so much time doing that thing. I don’t see it as a thing that has happened in the past and this or that. It has been the past couple of weeks but it’s one of those things. I don’t think that’s where the frustration was at that time though.”

Q:&nbsp;How is the mood of the locker room?

REID:&nbsp;“It’s week-to-week in the league. I think our players understand that. They’re together, if that’s what you’re asking. They know what they need to do. We just have to get it done. We know we are playing a good opponent this week; we talked about that after the game. They know they have to be focused in and ready to go. In this league it’s a matter of getting those things straightened out, and when you do, and you’re in a good position health wise, you giddy up and you go. That’s how I think they’re thinking.”

Q:&nbsp;How frustrating is it that it’s minor things that are hurting you and how do you fix those things?

REID:&nbsp;“We’ve got to take care of that business there of the penalties and the detailed things. It’s getting done 90% of the time, but you have to keep it right the whole time at this level. That’s what we’re working on. I get paid to teach, so I’m going to continue to teach, the players are going to continue to work and we have to get ourselves ready to go up and play in New England.”

Q:&nbsp;With your post-game comments did you feel you needed to send a message to the team or anyone else?

REID:&nbsp;“I was just speaking what I thought was the truth. My intention was – I’ve been doing this a long time, I think I have a good relationship with the officials, and I had no communication, that’s all. That’s really where I was coming from, I was disappointed in that part. I know again how much time and effort goes into it. I know how much I have to sit in front of the media. I know how much our players have to sit in front of the media and answer these questions. We try to make it the right way, try to do it the right way. That’s where I was with it, I was just speaking what I thought was the truth.”

OPENING STATEMENT:&nbsp;“I don’t have any injuries for you, the guys are coming in now. I had a chance to go back through the tape and evaluate it. Like I mentioned to the team, there’s some good things in there that are going to help us. We’re getting better in some spots, but we’ve got to clean up some things, the penalties, the drops offensively, and then obviously the scores early on the defensive side. We’ve got to take care of that, so we’re not playing from behind there. Some of that was also turnovers on the offensive side, and that added up to it. With that, I know what I said about the officials yesterday or – insinuated about the officials. Listen, there are no excuses for this thing, that’s not what I’m saying. I’ve always had a good working relationship with these guys, and that’s the important part. They know when they tell me something with a guy that I’m going to address the guy, like right now, and make sure that it gets changed – when you’re talking about inches you know those types of things. Those happen in the game. I mean, I’ve been doing this a long time, so this isn’t an excuse or a blame on the officials for blowing the game. That’s not what it is, but it’s that working relationship. That part is so important in this thing because you can see it on both sides. Whether it’s a defensive end been lining up in the neutral zone at times or that, just you give the head coach a heads up and then in our case, we tell them. Then if they get called, listen, that’s – you were warned, so that’s how it’s worked over the years. That’s what I was really trying to get across, and I take a lot of pride in taking what the officials give me and going to our players and telling them – like immediately telling them and giving them that and telling them, ‘Hey listen they’re giving you a warning, if you don’t do it that’s on your plate.’ That’s the important part that I was trying to get across, but probably not very well after the game. Anyways, with that we’ve got to do better just all the way around. That’s what we’re striving for, but at the same time, we’re getting better and it’s so close it’s crazy and I think the guys understand what we’ve got to get done. With that, time’s yours.”Q: It looked like there were some positive offensive signs later on in the game. What offensive breakthroughs did you see?REID:&nbsp;“I thought we had a good blend of things going, that’s what I thought. Of the run, the screen, the quick screens, the pass, we were presenting a lot out there for a defense to have to defend. We were doing that with accuracy for the most part. Listen, there were a couple that we’ve got to work on, you come out of every game like that, but you know we had a lot of yards and that was a positive thing. I thought the guys came out with the right intent. They were playing their tail off, aggressive, hard football, both sides of the ball and on special teams. We’ve just, we’ve got to clean up some of these self-destructive things, and whether it’s the penalties, whether it’s the drops, whether it’s the turnovers, we’ve got to clean that up and we’ll be ok. We have to be consistent with it.”Q: With Justyn Ross coming back, what is your expectation for Justyn Ross?REID:&nbsp;“We’ll just see kind of where he’s (Justyn Ross) at physically and – it’s hard to be gone that long and just kind of jump right back in. We’ll just have to see where he’s at.”Q: Regarding the offsides call on Kadarius Toney, how do you address this with him?REID:&nbsp;“Listen, normally he (Kadarius Toney) looks over to the sideline and just gets an okay and on that one he just happened not to, so that would be the coaching point. Make sure you check with the guy on the side just to see if you’re aligned. He’s not lining up offsides on purpose. Listen he was two inches away from or an inch away from being legal so you can always – like I said, you can argue both sides for both teams. There were things that happened where people – it happens like that. I guess the league is trying to clean that up from what I heard by one of the broadcasters last nights but whatever.”Q: Are you getting to a point where you think Kadarius Toney needs a little more coaching before he gets more playing time?REID:&nbsp;“Well, the thing I know is he (Kadarius Toney) makes plays. He makes plays when the ball is in his hands, and that’s the important part. He’s a young guy. I mean, he’s not coming to us with a ton of experience, but I think he’s getting better every week. This is one of those things. I don’t see that as being a negative. I look at the things he produced on too.”Q:&nbsp;Have you heard through any other avenues that offensive offsides is a point of emphasis for the officials this season?REID:&nbsp;“I guess maybe they mentioned it to us somewhere – this was one of the officials saying it on the broadcast. I’m sure that they probably mentioned it somewhere.”Q:&nbsp;Was offensive offsides not a point you got in training camp and went over with the team?REID:&nbsp;“The officials give us everything. Everything has been covered.”Q:&nbsp;Patrick Mahomes was frustrated after the game, how much of that frustration do you think is carry over from how the team has played in the past several weeks?REID:&nbsp;“I think what he said was pretty accurate – and you know this – we put so much time and effort into it, both physical and mental effort. You don’t want it to come down to that. That ends up being the frustration. It’s not what happened before, you know what you’ve heard before and you put that in the memory bank on how things are normally handled. When something changes like that in that type of situation with two really good football teams playing against each other and you’re down to a minute and a half or a minute and 50 seconds, all of a sudden, you’re right there and have a big play. I think anyone would say that’s a little bit frustrating. You just spent a whole week in preparation for an hour game, you put hours into this thing for it to come down to that inch. Do we need to line up right? Yeah, we do, yeah we do. We’ve got to take care of that and not put it in the officials’ hands, that part we have to do. The frustration comes in with the other part that you spend so much time doing that thing. I don’t see it as a thing that has happened in the past and this or that. It has been the past couple of weeks but it’s one of those things. I don’t think that’s where the frustration was at that time though.”Q:&nbsp;How is the mood of the locker room?REID:&nbsp;“It’s week-to-week in the league. I think our players understand that. They’re together, if that’s what you’re asking. They know what they need to do. We just have to get it done. We know we are playing a good opponent this week; we talked about that after the game. They know they have to be focused in and ready to go. In this league it’s a matter of getting those things straightened out, and when you do, and you’re in a good position health wise, you giddy up and you go. That’s how I think they’re thinking.”Q:&nbsp;How frustrating is it that it’s minor things that are hurting you and how do you fix those things?REID:&nbsp;“We’ve got to take care of that business there of the penalties and the detailed things. It’s getting done 90% of the time, but you have to keep it right the whole time at this level. That’s what we’re working on. I get paid to teach, so I’m going to continue to teach, the players are going to continue to work and we have to get ourselves ready to go up and play in New England.”Q:&nbsp;With your post-game comments did you feel you needed to send a message to the team or anyone else?REID:&nbsp;“I was just speaking what I thought was the truth. My intention was – I’ve been doing this a long time, I think I have a good relationship with the officials, and I had no communication, that’s all. That’s really where I was coming from, I was disappointed in that part. I know again how much time and effort goes into it. I know how much I have to sit in front of the media. I know how much our players have to sit in front of the media and answer these questions. We try to make it the right way, try to do it the right way. That’s where I was with it, I was just speaking what I thought was the truth.”

Chiefs Quotes: Andy Reid (12-11-23)

Chiefs Kingdom Show&nbsp;&nbsp;7pm&nbsp;&nbsp; (Listen on KINA and&nbsp;<a href="http://910kina.com/" target="_blank">910kina.com</a>)

Southeast of Saline Trojans Basketball Pregame Show&nbsp;&nbsp;5:40pm&nbsp; (Listen on KINA and&nbsp;<a href="http://910kina.com/" target="_blank">910kina.com</a>)

Southeast of Saline Lady Trojans VS Abilene Cowgirls Basketball&nbsp;&nbsp;6pm&nbsp; at Abilene High School, Abilene, Ks.&nbsp; (Listen on KINA and&nbsp;<a href="http://910kina.com/" target="_blank">910kina.com</a>&nbsp;and video coverage on Salina Post)

Southeast of Saline Trojans VS Abilene Cowboys Basketball&nbsp;&nbsp;7:30pm&nbsp; at Abilene High School, Abilene, Ks.&nbsp; (Listen on KINA and&nbsp;<a href="http://910kina.com/" target="_blank">910kina.com</a>&nbsp;and video coverage on Salina Post)

Sacred Heart Lady Knights VS Berean Academy Lady Warriors Basketball&nbsp;6pm&nbsp; at Berean Academy, Elbing, Ks.&nbsp; (Audio and Video Coverage on Salina Post)

Sacred Heart Knights VS Berean Academy Warriors Basketball&nbsp;7:30pm&nbsp; at Berean Academy, Elbing, Ks.&nbsp; (Audio and Video Coverage on Salina Post)

Ellsworth Lady Bearcats VS Minneapolis Lady Lions&nbsp;6pm&nbsp; at Ellsworth High School, Ellsworth, Ks. (Audio and Video Coverage on Salina Post)

Ellsworth Bearcats VS Minneapolis Lions&nbsp;7:30pm&nbsp; at Ellsworth High School, Ellsworth, Ks.&nbsp; (Audio and Video Coverage on Salina Post)

Southeast of Saline Trojans Pregame Show&nbsp;&nbsp;5:40pm&nbsp; (Listen on KINA and&nbsp;<a href="http://910kina.com/" target="_blank">910kina.com</a>)

Southeast of Saline Lady Trojans VS Hillsboro Lady Trojans Basketball&nbsp;&nbsp;6pm&nbsp;at Southeast of Saline High School, Gypsum, Ks&nbsp; (Listen on KINA and&nbsp;<a href="http://910kina.com/" target="_blank">910kina.com</a>&nbsp;and video coverage on Salina Post)

Southeast of Saline Trojans VS Hillsboro Trojans Basketball&nbsp;&nbsp;7:30pm&nbsp; at Southeast of Saline High School, Gypsum Ks&nbsp; (Listen on KINA and&nbsp;<a href="http://910kina.com/" target="_blank">910kina.com</a>&nbsp;and video coverage on Salina Post)

MRN &nbsp;Nascar Live &nbsp;8am. &nbsp; (Listen on KINA and&nbsp;<a href="http://910kina.com/" target="_blank">910kina.com</a>)&nbsp;&nbsp;

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Kansas City Chiefs VS New England Patriots&nbsp;&nbsp;11am&nbsp; at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Ma&nbsp; (Listen Live on KINA and KSKG)

MondayChiefs Kingdom Show&nbsp;&nbsp;7pm&nbsp;&nbsp; (Listen on KINA and&nbsp;<a href="http://910kina.com/" target="_blank">910kina.com</a>)TuesdaySoutheast of Saline Trojans Basketball Pregame Show&nbsp;&nbsp;5:40pm&nbsp; (Listen on KINA and&nbsp;<a href="http://910kina.com/" target="_blank">910kina.com</a>)Southeast of Saline Lady Trojans VS Abilene Cowgirls Basketball&nbsp;&nbsp;6pm&nbsp; at Abilene High School, Abilene, Ks.&nbsp; (Listen on KINA and&nbsp;<a href="http://910kina.com/" target="_blank">910kina.com</a>&nbsp;and video coverage on Salina Post)Southeast of Saline Trojans VS Abilene Cowboys Basketball&nbsp;&nbsp;7:30pm&nbsp; at Abilene High School, Abilene, Ks.&nbsp; (Listen on KINA and&nbsp;<a href="http://910kina.com/" target="_blank">910kina.com</a>&nbsp;and video coverage on Salina Post)Sacred Heart Lady Knights VS Berean Academy Lady Warriors Basketball&nbsp;6pm&nbsp; at Berean Academy, Elbing, Ks.&nbsp; (Audio and Video Coverage on Salina Post)Sacred Heart Knights VS Berean Academy Warriors Basketball&nbsp;7:30pm&nbsp; at Berean Academy, Elbing, Ks.&nbsp; (Audio and Video Coverage on Salina Post)Ellsworth Lady Bearcats VS Minneapolis Lady Lions&nbsp;6pm&nbsp; at Ellsworth High School, Ellsworth, Ks. (Audio and Video Coverage on Salina Post)Ellsworth Bearcats VS Minneapolis Lions&nbsp;7:30pm&nbsp; at Ellsworth High School, Ellsworth, Ks.&nbsp; (Audio and Video Coverage on Salina Post)Friday&nbsp;&nbsp;Southeast of Saline Trojans Pregame Show&nbsp;&nbsp;5:40pm&nbsp; (Listen on KINA and&nbsp;<a href="http://910kina.com/" target="_blank">910kina.com</a>)Southeast of Saline Lady Trojans VS Hillsboro Lady Trojans Basketball&nbsp;&nbsp;6pm&nbsp;at Southeast of Saline High School, Gypsum, Ks&nbsp; (Listen on KINA and&nbsp;<a href="http://910kina.com/" target="_blank">910kina.com</a>&nbsp;and video coverage on Salina Post)Southeast of Saline Trojans VS Hillsboro Trojans Basketball&nbsp;&nbsp;7:30pm&nbsp; at Southeast of Saline High School, Gypsum Ks&nbsp; (Listen on KINA and&nbsp;<a href="http://910kina.com/" target="_blank">910kina.com</a>&nbsp;and video coverage on Salina Post)Saturday&nbsp;&nbsp;MRN &nbsp;Nascar Live &nbsp;8am. &nbsp; (Listen on KINA and&nbsp;<a href="http://910kina.com/" target="_blank">910kina.com</a>)&nbsp;&nbsp;SundayPRN&nbsp; The Pit Reporters&nbsp;&nbsp;9am&nbsp; (Listen on KINA 910AM/107.5FM and&nbsp;<a href="http://910kiina.com/" target="_blank">910KIINA.COM</a>)Kansas City Chiefs VS New England Patriots&nbsp;&nbsp;11am&nbsp; at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Ma&nbsp; (Listen Live on KINA and KSKG)

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Freedom from Religion Foundation says Goddard school district ended unconstitutional practice after receiving letter

By&nbsp;RACHEL MIPRO&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — A south-central Kansas public school choir teacher taught middle school students Christian worship songs centering around loving Jesus, such as “Praise His Holy Name,” and made students listen to Bible lessons, according to a national watchdog group’s report.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation, a national nonprofit geared toward the separation of state and church, urged the district to stop the practice in late November after a concerned district parent reached out to them.

“It’s not a teacher’s job to convert a student to their religion, no matter what tools they use to do so,” said FRF co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor in a news release.

The parent told the FRF that a teacher at Challenger Intermediate School in the Goddard school district had been teaching sixth-graders religious songs since late October, including “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel.”

Lyrics of the song “Praise His Holy Name” has such lines as “Jesus, Jesus, how I love Thee! Shout Hallelujah!” and “There’s a cross for ev’ryone and there’s a cross for me.”&nbsp;

“Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel” is a song encouraging people to pray for salvation. The song includes such lines as “The wind blows east and the wind blows west / It blows like the judgment day / And ev’ry poor soul that never did pray / Will be glad to pray that day.”

The teacher allegedly also taught lessons on the biblical story of Daniel, a story that is meant to encourage belief and worship of the Abrahamic God.

FRF legal fellow Samantha Lawrence sent district superintendent Justin Henry&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://ffrf.org/uploads/legal/GoddardUSD265KS-ReligiousMusic.pdf">a letter</a>&nbsp;warning of these constitutional violations on Nov. 29.

“There is no need for a public intermediate school choral program to select religious worship music for students, and it is plainly unconstitutional for a public school choir teacher to teach students Bible lessons,” Lawrence wrote.

“By coercing sixth-grade students to sing overtly Christian worship music in its choral program, the district demonstrates favoritism towards religion over nonreligion, and Christianity over all other faiths,” she added. “This favoritism towards Christianity needlessly alienates all students and families, such as our complainant and their child, who do not subscribe to Christianity.”

Henry’s response to the letter, as reported by the FRF, was to inform the teacher of constitutional rights and violations.

“Since receiving your email on Nov. 29, we have had the opportunity to provide (the teacher) this information and will be planning a meeting with all district choir instructors to ensure they understand the information,” Henry said.

A spokesman for the district didn’t immediately answer questions from Kansas Reflector.

<h2>Freedom from Religion Foundation says Goddard school district ended unconstitutional practice after receiving letter</h2>By&nbsp;RACHEL MIPRO&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — A south-central Kansas public school choir teacher taught middle school students Christian worship songs centering around loving Jesus, such as “Praise His Holy Name,” and made students listen to Bible lessons, according to a national watchdog group’s report.The Freedom from Religion Foundation, a national nonprofit geared toward the separation of state and church, urged the district to stop the practice in late November after a concerned district parent reached out to them.“It’s not a teacher’s job to convert a student to their religion, no matter what tools they use to do so,” said FRF co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor in a news release.The parent told the FRF that a teacher at Challenger Intermediate School in the Goddard school district had been teaching sixth-graders religious songs since late October, including “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel.”Lyrics of the song “Praise His Holy Name” has such lines as “Jesus, Jesus, how I love Thee! Shout Hallelujah!” and “There’s a cross for ev’ryone and there’s a cross for me.”&nbsp;“Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel” is a song encouraging people to pray for salvation. The song includes such lines as “The wind blows east and the wind blows west / It blows like the judgment day / And ev’ry poor soul that never did pray / Will be glad to pray that day.”The teacher allegedly also taught lessons on the biblical story of Daniel, a story that is meant to encourage belief and worship of the Abrahamic God.FRF legal fellow Samantha Lawrence sent district superintendent Justin Henry&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://ffrf.org/uploads/legal/GoddardUSD265KS-ReligiousMusic.pdf">a letter</a>&nbsp;warning of these constitutional violations on Nov. 29.“There is no need for a public intermediate school choral program to select religious worship music for students, and it is plainly unconstitutional for a public school choir teacher to teach students Bible lessons,” Lawrence wrote.“By coercing sixth-grade students to sing overtly Christian worship music in its choral program, the district demonstrates favoritism towards religion over nonreligion, and Christianity over all other faiths,” she added. “This favoritism towards Christianity needlessly alienates all students and families, such as our complainant and their child, who do not subscribe to Christianity.”Henry’s response to the letter, as reported by the FRF, was to inform the teacher of constitutional rights and violations.“Since receiving your email on Nov. 29, we have had the opportunity to provide (the teacher) this information and will be planning a meeting with all district choir instructors to ensure they understand the information,” Henry said.A spokesman for the district didn’t immediately answer questions from Kansas Reflector.

Kansas public school district warned about Bible lessons, worship songs

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A judge sentenced a Michigan teenager to life in prison Friday for killing four students and terrorizing others at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/oxford-high-school-shooting">Oxford High School</a>, after listening to hours of gripping anguish from parents and wounded survivors.

Judge Kwame Rowe rejected pleas from defense lawyers for a shorter sentence and ensured that Ethan Crumbley, 17, will not get an opportunity for parole.

“My actions were what I chose to do. I could not stop myself. ... I am a really bad person. I’ve done terrible things,” Crumbley, who was 15 when he attacked his school in 2021, said before the sentence was announced.

He said he was sorry and pledged to change while behind bars.

Life sentences for teenagers are rare in Michigan since the U.S. Supreme Court and the state’s highest court said the violent acts of minors must be viewed differently than the crimes of adults. But the Oakland County prosecutor said a no-parole term fits Crumbley's case.

Rowe’s decision followed deeply emotional remarks by families of the deceased and survivors who spoke about how the tragedy has affected them.

“Your statements,” Rowe said, “do not fall on deaf ears.”

Crumbley pleaded guilty to 24 charges, including first-degree murder and terrorism.

“We are miserable. We miss Tate,” said Buck Myre, the father of Tate Myre. “Our family has a permanent hole in it that can never be fixed — ever.”

Nicole Beausoleil recalled seeing the body of her daughter, Madisyn Baldwin, at the medical examiner's office, her hand with blue-painted fingernails sticking out from a covering.

“I looked though the glass. My scream should have shattered it,” Beausoleil said.

Jill Soave, the mother of Justin Shilling, told the shooter that he executed a boy who could have helped him navigate awkward teenage years.

“If you were that lonely, that miserable and lost, and you really needed a friend, Justin would have been your friend — if only you had asked,” Soave said.

Crumbley looked down as Soave and others spoke. He also will have an opportunity to address the judge and possibly explain why he believes he should be spared a life sentence.

Kylie Ossege explained how she had urged Hana St. Juliana a “thousand times” to keep breathing while they waited for help on a blood-soaked carpet. Her classmate died.

Ossege, now a college student, was shot and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/michigan-oxford-high-school-shooting-ossege-crumbley-450cc3cdd74058649740aa4cc3a7de8c">continues to struggle with daily pain</a>&nbsp;from spinal injuries.

“Being able to swing a leg over my horse is my therapy. It is pure joy,” she said of Blaze. “I have not been able to do it for two years.”

Defense attorney Paulette Michel Loftin has argued Crumbley deserves an opportunity for parole after his “sick brain” is fixed through counseling and rehabilitation.

But St. Juliana's father scoffed at that possibility.

"There can be no rehabilitation,” Steve St. Juliana told the judge. “There is absolutely nothing the defendant can do to earn my forgiveness. His age plays no part.”

In a journal, the shooter wrote about his desire to watch students suffer and the likelihood that he would spend his life in prison. He made a video on the eve of the shooting, declaring what he would do the next day.

More than 20 people gave victim-impact statements by early Friday afternoon. Some wore shirts honoring the fallen students. The judge briefly allowed a framed photo of Myre to be placed near him.

Speakers recalled the day and its aftermath in details large and small. One woman said she's still anxious simply pulling into Meijer, a big-box store where families reunited immediately after the shooting.

Linda Watson said her son, Aiden, who was shot in the leg, still doesn't go to school for a full day. She recalled the family staying in a hotel because a nail gun being used in her neighborhood sounded like a real gun to him.

“Aiden will be dealing with this for the rest of his life. ... This shooter — this monster — should have to feel everything hard and painful for the rest of his life," Watson said.

Like their son, Jennifer and James Crumbley are locked up in the county jail. They are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oxford-school-shooting-michigan-ethan-crumbley-654c839914eb3a36ae43a7bc8dd9bacd">awaiting trial on involuntary manslaughter charges</a>, accused of making a gun accessible at home and neglecting the shooter's mental health.

Crumbley and his parents met with school staff on the day of the shooting after a teacher noticed violent drawings. But no one checked his backpack for a gun and he was allowed to stay.

The shooting happened in Oxford Township, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) north of Detroit. Besides&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-football-michigan-77eb45f22f5d9dab802e4378608ca307">the four students</a>&nbsp;who were killed, six more students and a teacher also were wounded.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1638551635768.png" alt="Ethan Crumbley as shown in the original booking photo in 2021-photo Oakland County Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Ethan Crumbley as shown in the original booking photo in 2021-photo Oakland County Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A judge sentenced a Michigan teenager to life in prison Friday for killing four students and terrorizing others at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/oxford-high-school-shooting">Oxford High School</a>, after listening to hours of gripping anguish from parents and wounded survivors.Judge Kwame Rowe rejected pleas from defense lawyers for a shorter sentence and ensured that Ethan Crumbley, 17, will not get an opportunity for parole.“My actions were what I chose to do. I could not stop myself. ... I am a really bad person. I’ve done terrible things,” Crumbley, who was 15 when he attacked his school in 2021, said before the sentence was announced.He said he was sorry and pledged to change while behind bars.Life sentences for teenagers are rare in Michigan since the U.S. Supreme Court and the state’s highest court said the violent acts of minors must be viewed differently than the crimes of adults. But the Oakland County prosecutor said a no-parole term fits Crumbley's case.Rowe’s decision followed deeply emotional remarks by families of the deceased and survivors who spoke about how the tragedy has affected them.“Your statements,” Rowe said, “do not fall on deaf ears.”Crumbley pleaded guilty to 24 charges, including first-degree murder and terrorism.“We are miserable. We miss Tate,” said Buck Myre, the father of Tate Myre. “Our family has a permanent hole in it that can never be fixed — ever.”Nicole Beausoleil recalled seeing the body of her daughter, Madisyn Baldwin, at the medical examiner's office, her hand with blue-painted fingernails sticking out from a covering.“I looked though the glass. My scream should have shattered it,” Beausoleil said.Jill Soave, the mother of Justin Shilling, told the shooter that he executed a boy who could have helped him navigate awkward teenage years.“If you were that lonely, that miserable and lost, and you really needed a friend, Justin would have been your friend — if only you had asked,” Soave said.Crumbley looked down as Soave and others spoke. He also will have an opportunity to address the judge and possibly explain why he believes he should be spared a life sentence.Kylie Ossege explained how she had urged Hana St. Juliana a “thousand times” to keep breathing while they waited for help on a blood-soaked carpet. Her classmate died.Ossege, now a college student, was shot and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/michigan-oxford-high-school-shooting-ossege-crumbley-450cc3cdd74058649740aa4cc3a7de8c">continues to struggle with daily pain</a>&nbsp;from spinal injuries.“Being able to swing a leg over my horse is my therapy. It is pure joy,” she said of Blaze. “I have not been able to do it for two years.”Defense attorney Paulette Michel Loftin has argued Crumbley deserves an opportunity for parole after his “sick brain” is fixed through counseling and rehabilitation.But St. Juliana's father scoffed at that possibility."There can be no rehabilitation,” Steve St. Juliana told the judge. “There is absolutely nothing the defendant can do to earn my forgiveness. His age plays no part.”In a journal, the shooter wrote about his desire to watch students suffer and the likelihood that he would spend his life in prison. He made a video on the eve of the shooting, declaring what he would do the next day.More than 20 people gave victim-impact statements by early Friday afternoon. Some wore shirts honoring the fallen students. The judge briefly allowed a framed photo of Myre to be placed near him.Speakers recalled the day and its aftermath in details large and small. One woman said she's still anxious simply pulling into Meijer, a big-box store where families reunited immediately after the shooting.Linda Watson said her son, Aiden, who was shot in the leg, still doesn't go to school for a full day. She recalled the family staying in a hotel because a nail gun being used in her neighborhood sounded like a real gun to him.“Aiden will be dealing with this for the rest of his life. ... This shooter — this monster — should have to feel everything hard and painful for the rest of his life," Watson said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1638621694054.png" alt="Jennifeer Crumbley Oakland Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Jennifeer Crumbley Oakland Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>Like their son, Jennifer and James Crumbley are locked up in the county jail. They are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/oxford-school-shooting-michigan-ethan-crumbley-654c839914eb3a36ae43a7bc8dd9bacd">awaiting trial on involuntary manslaughter charges</a>, accused of making a gun accessible at home and neglecting the shooter's mental health.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1638621716369.png" alt="James Crumbley-photo Oakland Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>James Crumbley-photo Oakland Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>Crumbley and his parents met with school staff on the day of the shooting after a teacher noticed violent drawings. But no one checked his backpack for a gun and he was allowed to stay.The shooting happened in Oxford Township, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) north of Detroit. Besides&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-football-michigan-77eb45f22f5d9dab802e4378608ca307">the four students</a>&nbsp;who were killed, six more students and a teacher also were wounded.The Oxford school district hired an outside group to conduct an independent investigation.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/investigation-crumbley-oxford-high-shooting-school-899e59fdce25d92d7307dd0b1ddcea18">A report released</a>&nbsp;in October said “missteps at each level” — school board, administrators, staff — contributed to the tragedy.Crumbley's behavior in class, including looking at a shooting video and gun ammunition on his phone, should have identified him as a “potential threat of violence,” the report said.