Salina USD 305 Superintendent Linn Exline was in the 99KG studio to visit with Shane McClintock about the district's efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you missed it, you can listen here:

Salina USD 305 Superintendent Linn Exline was in the 99KG studio to visit with Shane McClintock about the district's efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you missed it, you can listen here:<div><iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/779653867&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe></div>

USD 305's Exline stops by the 99KG studio to discuss district efforts

Everything got different last week under the Dome.

After legislators spent weeks reading and listening to news about the coronavirus, or&nbsp; COVID-19 as it’s called by heath experts, they quietly and with whispers learned that a member of the Legislature who had been sneezing was tested for the sometimes-fatal disease. The lawmaker tested negative over the weekend–doesn’t have it.

The news doesn’t get much better than that in the culture that lives under the Dome and chats elbow-to-elbow at the third-floor Rail, and crowds into elevators and, well, generally lives in a building only slightly less crowded than a prison yard.

No COVID-19 here, that they know of…for now...

Look for legislators to want to quickly pass at least a preliminary budget bill for the rest of this fiscal year and next year that starts July 1 for state finance purposes. Then, if the Legislature should have to adjourn or take weeks off while the coronavirus hopefully wanes, there’s enough money to run the state and care for and test Kansans due to this health issue. That budget could, of course, be beefed up at the veto session which starts in late April for a final product.

But…that first budget which is very important becomes a vehicle for spending that lawmakers want for other reasons. If they get their amendments, they’ll vote for the bill, if enough don’t, well, their bargaining power increases dramatically. Everyone knows how that works, don’t we…?

The budget is, of course, No. 1. But what about, say, sports gambling, or a new highway plan, or job protection and equal rights for LGBTQ Kansans? Everything becomes a bargaining lever.

Fear that COVID-19 could shut down the Legislature, starving state government and the services the budget&nbsp;provides to Kansans, probably became more real last week.

The House last week passed a resolution recognizing the governor’s declaration of an emergency in the state. The Senate hasn’t considered it yet, but it would grant the governor unprecedented authority to act against the disease—and authority to move money within the budget as necessary for that protection of Kansans. That’s a lot of power for a Republican-heavy Legislature to hand to a Democrat governor.

The effect of COVID-19 on the economy of the state is also largely unknown. Will more people lose their jobs, will they need state-financed health care? Would expanding Medicaid, which is 90 percent federal/10 percent state-financed, provide more health care to ill Kansans and therefore make Kansas safer for all of us?

Lawmakers get their best look at the fiscal effect of the disease on April 20, when the state’s Consensus Revenue Estimate of just how much tax money the state is going to receive this year and next is released.

Until lawmakers get the best estimate available of the state’s tax receipts should lawmakers cut taxes? An election year is the politically best time to cut taxes because, well, who doesn’t want their taxes cut? But if the pandemic disease cuts state revenues, can the state afford politically attractive tax cuts? And for whom?

Just what lawmakers do in the next week or so may tell us a lot. They need to be confident that the state will operate and keep us safe from disease before they adjourn the session.

But remember, this is an election year and they’ll have to guess (or maybe poll) to find what concerns voters most.

Oh, and legislators also can’t accept most campaign contributions until sine die adjournment of the Legislature, which closes the session for the year.&nbsp; And yes, some are thinking about that, too…

Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver's Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hawvernews.com/" target="_blank">www.hawvernews.com</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573141234707.png" alt="Martin Hawver" />
 <figcaption>Martin Hawver</figcaption>
 </figure>By MARTIN HAWVEREverything got different last week under the Dome.After legislators spent weeks reading and listening to news about the coronavirus, or&nbsp; COVID-19 as it’s called by heath experts, they quietly and with whispers learned that a member of the Legislature who had been sneezing was tested for the sometimes-fatal disease. The lawmaker tested negative over the weekend–doesn’t have it.The news doesn’t get much better than that in the culture that lives under the Dome and chats elbow-to-elbow at the third-floor Rail, and crowds into elevators and, well, generally lives in a building only slightly less crowded than a prison yard.No COVID-19 here, that they know of…for now...So, what changes?Look for legislators to want to quickly pass at least a preliminary budget bill for the rest of this fiscal year and next year that starts July 1 for state finance purposes. Then, if the Legislature should have to adjourn or take weeks off while the coronavirus hopefully wanes, there’s enough money to run the state and care for and test Kansans due to this health issue. That budget could, of course, be beefed up at the veto session which starts in late April for a final product.But…that first budget which is very important becomes a vehicle for spending that lawmakers want for other reasons. If they get their amendments, they’ll vote for the bill, if enough don’t, well, their bargaining power increases dramatically. Everyone knows how that works, don’t we…?The budget is, of course, No. 1. But what about, say, sports gambling, or a new highway plan, or job protection and equal rights for LGBTQ Kansans? Everything becomes a bargaining lever.Fear that COVID-19 could shut down the Legislature, starving state government and the services the budget&nbsp;provides to Kansans, probably became more real last week.The House last week passed a resolution recognizing the governor’s declaration of an emergency in the state. The Senate hasn’t considered it yet, but it would grant the governor unprecedented authority to act against the disease—and authority to move money within the budget as necessary for that protection of Kansans. That’s a lot of power for a Republican-heavy Legislature to hand to a Democrat governor.The effect of COVID-19 on the economy of the state is also largely unknown. Will more people lose their jobs, will they need state-financed health care? Would expanding Medicaid, which is 90 percent federal/10 percent state-financed, provide more health care to ill Kansans and therefore make Kansas safer for all of us?Lawmakers get their best look at the fiscal effect of the disease on April 20, when the state’s Consensus Revenue Estimate of just how much tax money the state is going to receive this year and next is released.Until lawmakers get the best estimate available of the state’s tax receipts should lawmakers cut taxes? An election year is the politically best time to cut taxes because, well, who doesn’t want their taxes cut? But if the pandemic disease cuts state revenues, can the state afford politically attractive tax cuts? And for whom?***Just what lawmakers do in the next week or so may tell us a lot. They need to be confident that the state will operate and keep us safe from disease before they adjourn the session.But remember, this is an election year and they’ll have to guess (or maybe poll) to find what concerns voters most.Oh, and legislators also can’t accept most campaign contributions until sine die adjournment of the Legislature, which closes the session for the year.&nbsp; And yes, some are thinking about that, too…Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver's Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hawvernews.com/" target="_blank">www.hawvernews.com</a>

At the Rail: COVID-19 concerns have impact on legislature

BY MATTHEW LONG-MIDDLETON and CELISA CALACAL, <a href="https://www.kcur.org/post/meet-punch-throwing-attorney-general-who-inspired-kansas-open-its-saloons-1987#stream/0">Kansas News Service</a>

<a href="https://www.kcur.org/post/how-save-dying-language">Listen to this episode of A People's History Of Kansas City</a>, a new podcast from KCUR 89.3. For more stories like this one, subscribe on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-peoples-history-of-kansas-city/id1497165479">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0KfG7qlvetwL9ptu0goIsV?si=SUzUcs1uR2qIfaP8Pqa2Uw">Spotify</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/I4pgrm5hkl4wcavqbjfgx7a6esy">Google Play</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kcur-2/a-peoples-history-of-kansas-city">Stitcher</a>.

Kansas’s
 36th attorney general was infamous for popping out of trunks, inciting 
gunfights on buses, and going toe-to-toe with other lawmen and 
politicians. It was this unabashed, brash approach to law enforcement 
that earned Vern Miller the nickname "Lawman of the State."

“He 
was just kind of a cowboy who did things his way,” says Jim McLean, 
senior correspondent with KCUR’s Kansas News Service. “The narrative of 
the state of Kansas where you had these marshalls, sheriffs, of these 
Wild West communities, that would take matters in hand and clean up the 
town, right? Well, there's a certain amount of that to Vern Miller.”

But
 Vern Miller was not a Wild West sheriff. Miller wielded much of his 
power between the 1960s and the 70s, a socially and politically 
tumultuous time in Kansas and across the country.

Growing up in a hardscrabble community outside of Wichita, Miller worked at a dairy farm and got into a lot of fights as a kid.

“There was a lot of scrappin’ going on,” says Miller, now 91 and living in Phoenix. “Everybody scrapped at that age.”

After serving in Korea in the 1950s, Miller returned to become a road
 patrolman in the sheriff’s office. And he quickly became known for 
physical altercations.

One legend says that, as a traffic officer
 following a high-speed chase, Miller whipped a man in the face and 
dragged him through the car window.

As another story goes, Miller
 fought his boss — the sheriff — in the sheriff’s own home, ultimately 
costing him his job. In 1964, in a twist of irony, Miller won the race 
for sheriff of Sedgwick County, the state’s most populous county at the 
time.&nbsp;

Not shy about his new role, Miller traversed the county, 
busting folks for any and every possible infraction. He even went so far
 as to tell churches to suspend their cash bingo games.

“A lot of old ladies in town didn’t like that,” Miller remembers. “They like to play bingo.”

With
 a long history as a prohibition state, Kansas still had restrictive 
drinking laws at the time, which prevented the sale of liquor by the 
drink.

“Kansas for so long hadn’t had any laws enforced, along 
those areas,” Miller says. “I wanted them to know what the law was, and 
tell them they need to obey the law. And if they didn’t… then there’d be
 trouble about it.”

Besides bingo and drinking laws, Miller made 
headlines in the summer of 1968 for inciting a deadly gunfight on a bus 
in Wichita in order to nab two men suspected of murder in Missouri. And 
in 1967, he veered dangerously close to starting a mini-civil war in 
Kansas after making disparaging comments about officials in Leavenworth 
County. Miller was subpoenaed by the Leavenworth County prosecutor, who 
threatened to arrest him. In turn, Miller threatened to kill the men who
 came to arrest him. What resulted from that incident was the passing of
 Miller’s Law, which makes it illegal to resist an unlawful arrest.

Despite these controversies, or maybe because of them, Miller became a
 popular force during the social and political upheaval that dominated 
the 1960s, so much so that Democratic Gov. Bob Docking asked him to run 
as attorney general. It was Docking’s hope that Miller would turn out 
Democratic voters in populous Sedgwick County. Miller felt reluctant; a 
Democrat had not held the attorney general position in 80 years, and 
Miller had planned on going into private practice (he earned his law 
degree in Oklahoma by flying back-and-forth in a private plane).

“And I told ‘em, ‘I don’t know nothing about being attorney general,’” Miller recalls.

In 1970, he was elected attorney general of Kansas.

Traditionally,
 the attorney general is primarily concerned with managerial duties: 
ensuring that state laws are enforced through memos and deciding where 
to deploy investigative and prosecutorial resources. John Frieden, who 
was on his staff at the time, says Miller saw the job differently.

“The
 attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer in Kansas,” 
Frieden remembers Miller communicating. “And he was hands on.”

One of Miller’s campaign promises was to “land in the middle of the drug-ridden hippie commune at Lawrence with both feet."

Within
 his first few weeks in office, the newly-minted attorney general 
directed and personally executed raids at the University of Kansas in 
Lawrence.

Susan Hudgens, who now lives outside of Topeka, says 
she witnessed one of those raids when she cruised into Lawrence with her
 friends. They found themselves hanging out near one of the KU dorms 
when cars pulled up and Miller appeared.

“Sure enough, the trunk popped open and out comes this guy in a suit and a hat,” Hudgens says.

That was Miller with his signature move, and Hudgens remembered watching as he and his men converged on the dorm buildings.

“He
 acted more like the FBI guys chasing Bonnie and Clyde than a bureaucrat
 passing papers and writing reports, and that impression stuck,” Hudgens
 says.

Miller was especially keen on enforcing alcohol laws in Kansas. In 
the early 1970s, he made sure Greyhound and Trailways buses traveling 
through Kansas followed the state’s restrictions on selling liquor by 
the drink. And when Miller found out that Amtrak still sold liquor on 
trains passing through the state, Miller had a plan to enforce the law.

Here’s
 how he did it: An Amtrak train made a late-night stop in Newton, 
Kansas, Miller showed up, unannounced, and proceeded to storm the train 
with officers by his side. Together, they confiscated all of the alcohol
 on the train, threw the conductor in jail, and left the passengers 
stranded in Newton all night.

“So the train sat all night there in Newton, Kansas,” Miller says. “A little podunk town.”

The
 incident resulted in a lawsuit that Amtrak took all the way to the 
Supreme Court, which ruled that the Constitution gives states the power 
to regulate alcohol consumption.

Miller says lawyers for airline companies began asking how he would enforce the state’s alcohol laws on airplanes.

“And
 I said, ‘Well, fellas, I believe we’re under the same law and I believe
 you’re subject to it, so if you stop I won’t be raiding the plane,’” 
Miller recalls. “So they said, ‘Oh, it'll stop.’ So they stopped serving
 liquor over Kansas for a couple years.”

Although these actions 
drew ridicule from late-night talk show hosts, Miller’s popularity 
skyrocketed. In 1972, he won every county in Kansas during his 
reelection campaign. Two years later, as Kansas Gov. Bob Docking decided
 to run for U.S. Senate, Democrats looked to Miller to run for Governor.

“There
 was a poll run right before he ran for governor. In that particular 
poll, he had the support of 85% of people of Kansas.” says Democratic 
campaigner John Frieden. “I have never seen a poll that favorable to a 
candidate.”

Regardless of the polls, Miller lost the governor’s 
seat to Republican Robert Bennett by only 3,677 votes. And one place 
that came out against him was Douglas County, home of the “drug-ridden 
hippie commune” of Lawrence.

After leaving public office, Miller 
continued to practice law in Wichita, and eventually retired to Phoenix.
 Miller also received an honor from the Kansas Bar Association.

Meanwhile,
 Kansans voted in a referendum in 1986 to change the state constitution 
to allow liquor sales by the drink, paving the way for bars and 
restaurants to openly serve alcohol in the state.

Looking back at
 Miller’s legacy as a law enforcement officer, his aggression on the job
 would be scrutinized through a new lens: one that, in recent years, has
 become critical of police brutality and violence against civilians. 
That Miller largely sailed through his political career without much 
public criticism is perhaps more a reflection of the times than the man 
himself.

Still, John Frieden says it was Vern Miller’s pugnacious ways that led to his most lasting contribution to the state.

“And
 I think anybody who looks back at those times, the laws that he 
enforced that people were kind of uncomfortable with, they changed the 
laws,” Frieden says. “The laws were changed because of that and we came 
back into the 20th century.”

Celisa Calacal is a freelance contributor at KCUR 89.3. Matthew Long-Middleton is part of the <a href="https://www.kcur.org/term/america-amplified#stream/0">America Amplified</a> team based at KCUR 89.3. Connect with him at <a href="http://twitter.com/mlmindustries">@mlmindustries</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1583774132434.png" alt=" kansasmemory.org / Kansas State Historical Society, Copy and Reuse Restrictions Apply " />
 <figcaption> kansasmemory.org / Kansas State Historical Society, Copy and Reuse Restrictions Apply </figcaption>
 </figure>BY MATTHEW LONG-MIDDLETON and CELISA CALACAL, <a href="https://www.kcur.org/post/meet-punch-throwing-attorney-general-who-inspired-kansas-open-its-saloons-1987#stream/0">Kansas News Service</a><a href="https://www.kcur.org/post/how-save-dying-language">Listen to this episode of A People's History Of Kansas City</a>, a new podcast from KCUR 89.3. For more stories like this one, subscribe on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-peoples-history-of-kansas-city/id1497165479">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0KfG7qlvetwL9ptu0goIsV?si=SUzUcs1uR2qIfaP8Pqa2Uw">Spotify</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/I4pgrm5hkl4wcavqbjfgx7a6esy">Google Play</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kcur-2/a-peoples-history-of-kansas-city">Stitcher</a>.Kansas’s
 36th attorney general was infamous for popping out of trunks, inciting 
gunfights on buses, and going toe-to-toe with other lawmen and 
politicians. It was this unabashed, brash approach to law enforcement 
that earned Vern Miller the nickname "Lawman of the State."“He 
was just kind of a cowboy who did things his way,” says Jim McLean, 
senior correspondent with KCUR’s Kansas News Service. “The narrative of 
the state of Kansas where you had these marshalls, sheriffs, of these 
Wild West communities, that would take matters in hand and clean up the 
town, right? Well, there's a certain amount of that to Vern Miller.”But
 Vern Miller was not a Wild West sheriff. Miller wielded much of his 
power between the 1960s and the 70s, a socially and politically 
tumultuous time in Kansas and across the country.Growing up in a hardscrabble community outside of Wichita, Miller worked at a dairy farm and got into a lot of fights as a kid.“There was a lot of scrappin’ going on,” says Miller, now 91 and living in Phoenix. “Everybody scrapped at that age.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1583774171292.png" alt=" Vern Miller served as attorney general of the state of Kansas between 1971 and 1975. Credit kansasmemory.org / Kansas State Historical Society, Copy and Reuse Restrictions Apply" />
 <figcaption> Vern Miller served as attorney general of the state of Kansas between 1971 and 1975. Credit kansasmemory.org / Kansas State Historical Society, Copy and Reuse Restrictions Apply</figcaption>
 </figure>After serving in Korea in the 1950s, Miller returned to become a road
 patrolman in the sheriff’s office. And he quickly became known for 
physical altercations.One legend says that, as a traffic officer
 following a high-speed chase, Miller whipped a man in the face and 
dragged him through the car window.As another story goes, Miller
 fought his boss — the sheriff — in the sheriff’s own home, ultimately 
costing him his job. In 1964, in a twist of irony, Miller won the race 
for sheriff of Sedgwick County, the state’s most populous county at the 
time.&nbsp;Not shy about his new role, Miller traversed the county, 
busting folks for any and every possible infraction. He even went so far
 as to tell churches to suspend their cash bingo games.“A lot of old ladies in town didn’t like that,” Miller remembers. “They like to play bingo.”With
 a long history as a prohibition state, Kansas still had restrictive 
drinking laws at the time, which prevented the sale of liquor by the 
drink.“Kansas for so long hadn’t had any laws enforced, along 
those areas,” Miller says. “I wanted them to know what the law was, and 
tell them they need to obey the law. And if they didn’t… then there’d be
 trouble about it.”Besides bingo and drinking laws, Miller made 
headlines in the summer of 1968 for inciting a deadly gunfight on a bus 
in Wichita in order to nab two men suspected of murder in Missouri. And 
in 1967, he veered dangerously close to starting a mini-civil war in 
Kansas after making disparaging comments about officials in Leavenworth 
County. Miller was subpoenaed by the Leavenworth County prosecutor, who 
threatened to arrest him. In turn, Miller threatened to kill the men who
 came to arrest him. What resulted from that incident was the passing of
 Miller’s Law, which makes it illegal to resist an unlawful arrest.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1583774198201.png" alt=" Kansas delegates attended a prohibition meeting in Michigan. Prohibition in Kansas took effect in 1881, which made it illegal to make or sell liquor. Credit Kenneth Spencer Research Library / University of Kansas" />
 <figcaption> Kansas delegates attended a prohibition meeting in Michigan. Prohibition in Kansas took effect in 1881, which made it illegal to make or sell liquor. Credit Kenneth Spencer Research Library / University of Kansas</figcaption>
 </figure>Despite these controversies, or maybe because of them, Miller became a
 popular force during the social and political upheaval that dominated 
the 1960s, so much so that Democratic Gov. Bob Docking asked him to run 
as attorney general. It was Docking’s hope that Miller would turn out 
Democratic voters in populous Sedgwick County. Miller felt reluctant; a 
Democrat had not held the attorney general position in 80 years, and 
Miller had planned on going into private practice (he earned his law 
degree in Oklahoma by flying back-and-forth in a private plane).“And I told ‘em, ‘I don’t know nothing about being attorney general,’” Miller recalls.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1583774226800.png" alt=" Vern Miller was convinced to run for Kansas attorney general in 1970. Credit kansasmemory.org / Kansas State Historical Society, Copy and Reuse Restrictions Apply" />
 <figcaption> Vern Miller was convinced to run for Kansas attorney general in 1970. Credit kansasmemory.org / Kansas State Historical Society, Copy and Reuse Restrictions Apply</figcaption>
 </figure>In 1970, he was elected attorney general of Kansas.Traditionally,
 the attorney general is primarily concerned with managerial duties: 
ensuring that state laws are enforced through memos and deciding where 
to deploy investigative and prosecutorial resources. John Frieden, who 
was on his staff at the time, says Miller saw the job differently.“The
 attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer in Kansas,” 
Frieden remembers Miller communicating. “And he was hands on.”One of Miller’s campaign promises was to “land in the middle of the drug-ridden hippie commune at Lawrence with both feet."Within
 his first few weeks in office, the newly-minted attorney general 
directed and personally executed raids at the University of Kansas in 
Lawrence.Susan Hudgens, who now lives outside of Topeka, says 
she witnessed one of those raids when she cruised into Lawrence with her
 friends. They found themselves hanging out near one of the KU dorms 
when cars pulled up and Miller appeared.“Sure enough, the trunk popped open and out comes this guy in a suit and a hat,” Hudgens says.That was Miller with his signature move, and Hudgens remembered watching as he and his men converged on the dorm buildings.“He
 acted more like the FBI guys chasing Bonnie and Clyde than a bureaucrat
 passing papers and writing reports, and that impression stuck,” Hudgens
 says.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1583774259484.png" alt=" Miller takes inventory of confiscated alcohol during his time as Sedgwick County sheriff in 1970. Credit kansasmemory.org / Kansas State Historical Society, Copy and Reuse Restrictions Apply" />
 <figcaption> Miller takes inventory of confiscated alcohol during his time as Sedgwick County sheriff in 1970. Credit kansasmemory.org / Kansas State Historical Society, Copy and Reuse Restrictions Apply</figcaption>
 </figure>Miller was especially keen on enforcing alcohol laws in Kansas. In 
the early 1970s, he made sure Greyhound and Trailways buses traveling 
through Kansas followed the state’s restrictions on selling liquor by 
the drink. And when Miller found out that Amtrak still sold liquor on 
trains passing through the state, Miller had a plan to enforce the law.Here’s
 how he did it: An Amtrak train made a late-night stop in Newton, 
Kansas, Miller showed up, unannounced, and proceeded to storm the train 
with officers by his side. Together, they confiscated all of the alcohol
 on the train, threw the conductor in jail, and left the passengers 
stranded in Newton all night.“So the train sat all night there in Newton, Kansas,” Miller says. “A little podunk town.”The
 incident resulted in a lawsuit that Amtrak took all the way to the 
Supreme Court, which ruled that the Constitution gives states the power 
to regulate alcohol consumption.Miller says lawyers for airline companies began asking how he would enforce the state’s alcohol laws on airplanes.“And
 I said, ‘Well, fellas, I believe we’re under the same law and I believe
 you’re subject to it, so if you stop I won’t be raiding the plane,’” 
Miller recalls. “So they said, ‘Oh, it'll stop.’ So they stopped serving
 liquor over Kansas for a couple years.”Although these actions 
drew ridicule from late-night talk show hosts, Miller’s popularity 
skyrocketed. In 1972, he won every county in Kansas during his 
reelection campaign. Two years later, as Kansas Gov. Bob Docking decided
 to run for U.S. Senate, Democrats looked to Miller to run for Governor.“There
 was a poll run right before he ran for governor. In that particular 
poll, he had the support of 85% of people of Kansas.” says Democratic 
campaigner John Frieden. “I have never seen a poll that favorable to a 
candidate.”Regardless of the polls, Miller lost the governor’s 
seat to Republican Robert Bennett by only 3,677 votes. And one place 
that came out against him was Douglas County, home of the “drug-ridden 
hippie commune” of Lawrence.After leaving public office, Miller 
continued to practice law in Wichita, and eventually retired to Phoenix.
 Miller also received an honor from the Kansas Bar Association.Meanwhile,
 Kansans voted in a referendum in 1986 to change the state constitution 
to allow liquor sales by the drink, paving the way for bars and 
restaurants to openly serve alcohol in the state.Looking back at
 Miller’s legacy as a law enforcement officer, his aggression on the job
 would be scrutinized through a new lens: one that, in recent years, has
 become critical of police brutality and violence against civilians. 
That Miller largely sailed through his political career without much 
public criticism is perhaps more a reflection of the times than the man 
himself.Still, John Frieden says it was Vern Miller’s pugnacious ways that led to his most lasting contribution to the state.“And
 I think anybody who looks back at those times, the laws that he 
enforced that people were kind of uncomfortable with, they changed the 
laws,” Frieden says. “The laws were changed because of that and we came 
back into the 20th century.”Celisa Calacal is a freelance contributor at KCUR 89.3. Matthew Long-Middleton is part of the <a href="https://www.kcur.org/term/america-amplified#stream/0">America Amplified</a> team based at KCUR 89.3. Connect with him at <a href="http://twitter.com/mlmindustries">@mlmindustries</a>.

Meet the punch-throwing AG who inspired Kansas to open its saloons

Let’s add one more list to the various check-offs from the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, employers and others on how to
 deal with COVID-19: Tools and tips for getting good information about 
dealing with the virus from sources you trust.

In times of crisis, from natural disasters to 9/11 and more, a free 
press has consistently delivered the goods, saving lives and asking the 
necessary and often inevitable challenging questions of the public 
officials on whom we depend for safety and security.

Put aside for now the blather about “fake news” — so politicized as 
to have no real meaning any longer. Discount President Trump’s claim 
that it’s the news media that’s leading the world’s stock markets into 
“yo-yo Dow” days. And pay less attention to the cable TV punditry and 
focus on the news reports from reporters with sources who appear by name
 in print, online or on TV.

The virus and its threat to our health is real. The market is down — 
and up and down — regardless of what’s causing it. Look for facts. Don’t
 be too accepting of information from any source, particularly on social
 media. Blog posts, tweets and public forums provide valued means of 
sharing individual information and experiences, as well as provide 
real-time data of how well government services are performing.

In the first such major crisis in which social media tools were more 
widely available, during 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, the then-fledgling 
online efforts by the web alternative to New Orleans’ Times-Picayune
 newspaper provided essential information on what was happening “now.” 
Even police and Coast Guard rescuers said they had monitored <a href="https://www.nola.com/" target="_blank">NOLA.com</a>, at times sending in teams to help those posting that they were in danger. NOLA.com later won a Pulitzer Prize for its efforts.

While some are upset that what they are hearing from the 
administration and what they are reading or viewing seem to differ, a 
free press response to that situation is: “So what’s new?” Nearly 100 
years ago, President Herbert Hoover’s administration first responded to 
the 1929 stock market crash by calling it a market reset or passing 
adjustment — or at worst, part of a passing recession that would soon be
 over. Understandable perhaps as an effort to stave off worse news. But 
it’s Variety’s headline a day after “Black Tuesday” — the huge,
 one-day drop in the Dow — that let Americans know what really happened:
 “Wall Street Lays an Egg!”

From the Vietnam War — with its infamous “credibility gap” between 
what journalists saw in combat and what military leaders were saying, to
 what we now know about out-of-proportion government surveillance 
programs across decades of our nation’s history, it’s a free press that 
over time gives us the facts we need.

My colleague Barbara McCormack, who oversees the 
Freedom Forum’s Newseum Education initiative, has this advice on turning
 to a free press for information and avoiding disinformation: “Break out
 of your content bubble and make sure you’re engaging with diverse 
ideas. That includes ideas you disagree with. With a nearly infinite 
supply of information at our fingertips, it can be all too easy to start
 gravitating to sources that reinforce our beliefs and make us feel 
validated, but the less likely we are to spot propaganda that is trying 
to exploit our beliefs and biases.”

Her advice: Break out of your media rut. Try this: Create a list of 
five news sources to consult on a regular basis — not necessarily every 
day, but every week or so.

The CDC has its basic instructions on handwashing. Here’s something 
similar for getting good information you can use about COVID-19:

McCormack’s advice: “It’s OK for your sources to display a bias in 
their coverage, but make sure that all five are real, fact-based news 
and opinion organizations. If you’re not sure, you can use a resource 
like the Freedom Forum’s <a href="https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/first-amendment-center/newstrition/" target="_blank">Newstrition</a>® or the website <a href="https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news" target="_blank">AllSides</a>
 to evaluate your sources. Check them on a regular basis to help you see
 the world in all its complexity, not just from a single vantage point.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Seattle Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Tampa Bay Times and others have removed paywalls for information about the virus crisis, or placed critical information outside their pay sites. USA TODAY, The Washington Post, The New York Times,
 CNN and the broadcast networks and many other major news outlets are 
offering COVID-19&nbsp; newsletters and medical tips on a daily basis.

A part of responding to any crisis is having enough good information 
on which to make decisions — whether you are making those for yourself 
or others. And in such times, throughout our nation’s history, a free 
press — if we care to use it — has been there on our behalf to obtain 
and report the facts we need.

For more information:&nbsp;<a href="https://newseumed.org/fact-finder-guide" target="_blank">https://newseumed.org/fact-finder-guide</a>.

Gene Policinski is president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute. He can be reached at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:gpolicinski@freedomforum.org" target="_blank">gpolicinski@freedomforum.org</a>, or follow him on Twitter at&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/@genefac" target="_blank">@genefac</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573872297806.png" alt="Gene Policinski is president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute." />
 <figcaption>Gene Policinski is president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute.</figcaption>
 </figure>Let’s add one more list to the various check-offs from the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, employers and others on how to
 deal with COVID-19: Tools and tips for getting good information about 
dealing with the virus from sources you trust.In times of crisis, from natural disasters to 9/11 and more, a free 
press has consistently delivered the goods, saving lives and asking the 
necessary and often inevitable challenging questions of the public 
officials on whom we depend for safety and security.Put aside for now the blather about “fake news” — so politicized as 
to have no real meaning any longer. Discount President Trump’s claim 
that it’s the news media that’s leading the world’s stock markets into 
“yo-yo Dow” days. And pay less attention to the cable TV punditry and 
focus on the news reports from reporters with sources who appear by name
 in print, online or on TV.The virus and its threat to our health is real. The market is down — 
and up and down — regardless of what’s causing it. Look for facts. Don’t
 be too accepting of information from any source, particularly on social
 media. Blog posts, tweets and public forums provide valued means of 
sharing individual information and experiences, as well as provide 
real-time data of how well government services are performing.In the first such major crisis in which social media tools were more 
widely available, during 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, the then-fledgling 
online efforts by the web alternative to New Orleans’ Times-Picayune
 newspaper provided essential information on what was happening “now.” 
Even police and Coast Guard rescuers said they had monitored <a href="https://www.nola.com/" target="_blank">NOLA.com</a>, at times sending in teams to help those posting that they were in danger. NOLA.com later won a Pulitzer Prize for its efforts.While some are upset that what they are hearing from the 
administration and what they are reading or viewing seem to differ, a 
free press response to that situation is: “So what’s new?” Nearly 100 
years ago, President Herbert Hoover’s administration first responded to 
the 1929 stock market crash by calling it a market reset or passing 
adjustment — or at worst, part of a passing recession that would soon be
 over. Understandable perhaps as an effort to stave off worse news. But 
it’s Variety’s headline a day after “Black Tuesday” — the huge,
 one-day drop in the Dow — that let Americans know what really happened:
 “Wall Street Lays an Egg!”From the Vietnam War — with its infamous “credibility gap” between 
what journalists saw in combat and what military leaders were saying, to
 what we now know about out-of-proportion government surveillance 
programs across decades of our nation’s history, it’s a free press that 
over time gives us the facts we need.My colleague Barbara McCormack, who oversees the 
Freedom Forum’s Newseum Education initiative, has this advice on turning
 to a free press for information and avoiding disinformation: “Break out
 of your content bubble and make sure you’re engaging with diverse 
ideas. That includes ideas you disagree with. With a nearly infinite 
supply of information at our fingertips, it can be all too easy to start
 gravitating to sources that reinforce our beliefs and make us feel 
validated, but the less likely we are to spot propaganda that is trying 
to exploit our beliefs and biases.”Her advice: Break out of your media rut. Try this: Create a list of 
five news sources to consult on a regular basis — not necessarily every 
day, but every week or so.The CDC has its basic instructions on handwashing. Here’s something 
similar for getting good information you can use about COVID-19:<ol>
 <li>Identify two general news sources you already look at on a regular basis and usually agree with;</li><li>Find two general news sources you don’t usually agree with;</li><li>Find one source that covers news from a specific perspective, such 
as the views of a particular demographic, religious group or profession;</li><li>Read and listen to each of them.</li>
 </ol>McCormack’s advice: “It’s OK for your sources to display a bias in 
their coverage, but make sure that all five are real, fact-based news 
and opinion organizations. If you’re not sure, you can use a resource 
like the Freedom Forum’s <a href="https://www.freedomforuminstitute.org/first-amendment-center/newstrition/" target="_blank">Newstrition</a>® or the website <a href="https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news" target="_blank">AllSides</a>
 to evaluate your sources. Check them on a regular basis to help you see
 the world in all its complexity, not just from a single vantage point.”The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Seattle Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Tampa Bay Times and others have removed paywalls for information about the virus crisis, or placed critical information outside their pay sites. USA TODAY, The Washington Post, The New York Times,
 CNN and the broadcast networks and many other major news outlets are 
offering COVID-19&nbsp; newsletters and medical tips on a daily basis.A part of responding to any crisis is having enough good information 
on which to make decisions — whether you are making those for yourself 
or others. And in such times, throughout our nation’s history, a free 
press — if we care to use it — has been there on our behalf to obtain 
and report the facts we need.For more information:&nbsp;<a href="https://newseumed.org/fact-finder-guide" target="_blank">https://newseumed.org/fact-finder-guide</a>.Gene Policinski is president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute. He can be reached at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:gpolicinski@freedomforum.org" target="_blank">gpolicinski@freedomforum.org</a>, or follow him on Twitter at&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/@genefac" target="_blank">@genefac</a>.

FIRST FIVE: Getting good information as virus crisis unfolds

The Saline County Citizens Group for Jail Reform, for the past many months, has been encouraging community involvement in efforts to reduce incarceration rates in the county and to expand jail programming to address inmate mental health and addiction issues in any new jail project. A new jail development proposal will soon face the voters, and this Citizens’ Group has decided to host three separate Community Forums designed to encourage and deepen the conversations on the new jail proposals that have been presented at recent County Town Halls.

The first of those Forums will be held in the Prescott Room of the Salina Library on Monday, March 16th at 6 p.m. Michael Hill, Program Director of the new Reno County Jail Facility, will speak at this meeting about their new Hutchinson facility and the success of the programs they have incorporated into that project. A former Reno County inmate who has benefited from that programming is planning to speak that night as well.

The second Forum will be April 2 at 6 p.m. at the Church of the Cross, 1600 Rush St., and the third Forum will be April 9 at 7 p.m. at St. Johns Missionary Baptist Church, 215 S. Chicago in Salina.

Everyone is invited to these forums as part of public interest in generating an informed vote on the new jail proposal that will come before the county in the very near future. Come to one, or all, of these forums to listen and to share your views.

Gerald Gillespie, Citizens Group member, Salina

The Saline County Citizens Group for Jail Reform, for the past many months, has been encouraging community involvement in efforts to reduce incarceration rates in the county and to expand jail programming to address inmate mental health and addiction issues in any new jail project. A new jail development proposal will soon face the voters, and this Citizens’ Group has decided to host three separate Community Forums designed to encourage and deepen the conversations on the new jail proposals that have been presented at recent County Town Halls.The first of those Forums will be held in the Prescott Room of the Salina Library on Monday, March 16th at 6 p.m. Michael Hill, Program Director of the new Reno County Jail Facility, will speak at this meeting about their new Hutchinson facility and the success of the programs they have incorporated into that project. A former Reno County inmate who has benefited from that programming is planning to speak that night as well.The second Forum will be April 2 at 6 p.m. at the Church of the Cross, 1600 Rush St., and the third Forum will be April 9 at 7 p.m. at St. Johns Missionary Baptist Church, 215 S. Chicago in Salina.Everyone is invited to these forums as part of public interest in generating an informed vote on the new jail proposal that will come before the county in the very near future. Come to one, or all, of these forums to listen and to share your views.Gerald Gillespie, Citizens Group member, Salina

LETTER: Jail reform group sponsors forums

By DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN FHSU University Relations and Marketing



HAYS – Lilly Duncan and Ethan Couture are two of several current college students who have benefitted from participating in field camps through Fort Hays State University’s&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;Museum of Natural History since 2014.

The renowned museum in Western Kansas this year is adding another step to keep students connected to the earth and life sciences during high school and beyond.

The list of nine&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;camps for high school students now includes two sessions on comparative vertebrate anatomy, which is a two-week intensive short course for students interested in biology. The first of two sessions will be held at&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;Museum and FHSU beginning June 21, and the other at the University of Oregon, set to begin on July 26.

Sternberg&nbsp;administrators hope this camp draws some students to Fort Hays State as one did for Duncan. She grew up near Wilson State Park and spent a lot of time outdoors as a youngster. She said she was interested in FHSU during high school, but “it sealed the deal” after she attended a&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;field camp. A freshman biology major, Duncan works for&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;and will be a teaching assistant for the Prairie Natural middle school camps this summer.

Couture also is a freshman biology major, at the University of Maine, near where his family now lives. He attended a variety of&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;camps since he was in middle school in Junction City when his father was in the military and stationed at Fort Riley. He will be back in Kansas this summer as a counselor for the comparative vertebrate anatomy camp at the FHSU site and is looking forward to learning right along with the students.

“Sternberg&nbsp;camps make you think and go beyond what’s given to you, so what I learned at camp really helped me in high school,” Couture said. “It’s definitely given me an edge in college, and I’m excited to be a part of this particular camp in its first year.”

Couture stressed that students also take away other valuable lessons from&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;camps. He was the only person he knew while growing up who was interested in paleontology or science in general. Attending Sternerg camps helped boost his confidence to continue following his interests.

“I no longer felt alone in my passion,” he said. “To this day, the friendships I made at the camps are some of my best.”

David Levering, camp director, listened to past participants who asked for an anatomy camp. He selected third-year camp instructor Catherine Sartin, a faculty member in biological sciences at FHSU, as the instructor for the comparative vertebrate anatomy camps, which have 10 slots available for each session.

The camp is open to students interested in a variety of life science fields, ranging from paleontology to&nbsp;human and veterinary medicine. Students will learn&nbsp;how to apply natural history concepts to other medical fields, how structures work together in humans as well as animals and how they are similar but different at the same time, and how natural history concepts can inform medical science.

“I’m not limited in scope by sticking to a strict biology box,” Sartin said. “Being a paleontologist, I find that the basis for understanding an animal and anything that it does can be found in its skeleton. The sooner we start learning those basic building blocks, the easier it is to build the rest of the knowledge around that.”

With a background in medical biology from Johns Hopkins University, Sarti is excited to introduce students to the full extent of vertebrate organs and structures.

Students&nbsp;will learn about the body tissues of the animals, how bone structures evolved and even a little about geology in the fossil record of modern vertebrates.

“Part of our mission is to teach that these areas of science aren’t islands,” Levering said. “They interface with others. This is a great way to&nbsp;apply natural history concepts to other biomedical fields.”

Because of the rigor of anatomy and physiology courses, Levering thinks any prior exposure to that content before college is beneficial. At camp, this prior exposure is also made actively engaging and fun.

“We are creating opportunities for students to explore the field and lab sciences when students still have time to choose what they want to study in college,” said Dr. Reese Barrick, director of the museum.

“These camps create opportunities students wouldn’t get until well into their college careers,” he said. “It’s a huge thing to hold their interest in science during that transitional period, and we are able to ground their interest in science through&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;programs.”

To enroll or learn more about all&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;camps visit&nbsp;<a href="http://sternberg.fhsu.edu">sternberg.fhsu.edu</a> online and scroll down to Museum Science Camps. Scholarships are available to help defray the cost of the camp.

--<a href="http://fhsu.edu">FHSU</a>--

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1583169835265.jpeg" alt="Past Sternberg Museum field camp participants Katie Gatlin from Oklahoma and Zac Turner from California study bones that make up the skull of an ancient ray-finned fish. Photo courtesy FHSU" />
 <figcaption>Past Sternberg Museum field camp participants Katie Gatlin from Oklahoma and Zac Turner from California study bones that make up the skull of an ancient ray-finned fish. Photo courtesy FHSU</figcaption>
 </figure>By DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN FHSU University Relations and Marketing

HAYS – Lilly Duncan and Ethan Couture are two of several current college students who have benefitted from participating in field camps through Fort Hays State University’s&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;Museum of Natural History since 2014.The renowned museum in Western Kansas this year is adding another step to keep students connected to the earth and life sciences during high school and beyond.The list of nine&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;camps for high school students now includes two sessions on comparative vertebrate anatomy, which is a two-week intensive short course for students interested in biology. The first of two sessions will be held at&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;Museum and FHSU beginning June 21, and the other at the University of Oregon, set to begin on July 26.Sternberg&nbsp;administrators hope this camp draws some students to Fort Hays State as one did for Duncan. She grew up near Wilson State Park and spent a lot of time outdoors as a youngster. She said she was interested in FHSU during high school, but “it sealed the deal” after she attended a&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;field camp. A freshman biology major, Duncan works for&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;and will be a teaching assistant for the Prairie Natural middle school camps this summer.Couture also is a freshman biology major, at the University of Maine, near where his family now lives. He attended a variety of&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;camps since he was in middle school in Junction City when his father was in the military and stationed at Fort Riley. He will be back in Kansas this summer as a counselor for the comparative vertebrate anatomy camp at the FHSU site and is looking forward to learning right along with the students.“Sternberg&nbsp;camps make you think and go beyond what’s given to you, so what I learned at camp really helped me in high school,” Couture said. “It’s definitely given me an edge in college, and I’m excited to be a part of this particular camp in its first year.”Couture stressed that students also take away other valuable lessons from&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;camps. He was the only person he knew while growing up who was interested in paleontology or science in general. Attending Sternerg camps helped boost his confidence to continue following his interests.“I no longer felt alone in my passion,” he said. “To this day, the friendships I made at the camps are some of my best.”David Levering, camp director, listened to past participants who asked for an anatomy camp. He selected third-year camp instructor Catherine Sartin, a faculty member in biological sciences at FHSU, as the instructor for the comparative vertebrate anatomy camps, which have 10 slots available for each session.The camp is open to students interested in a variety of life science fields, ranging from paleontology to&nbsp;human and veterinary medicine. Students will learn&nbsp;how to apply natural history concepts to other medical fields, how structures work together in humans as well as animals and how they are similar but different at the same time, and how natural history concepts can inform medical science.“I’m not limited in scope by sticking to a strict biology box,” Sartin said. “Being a paleontologist, I find that the basis for understanding an animal and anything that it does can be found in its skeleton. The sooner we start learning those basic building blocks, the easier it is to build the rest of the knowledge around that.”With a background in medical biology from Johns Hopkins University, Sarti is excited to introduce students to the full extent of vertebrate organs and structures.Students&nbsp;will learn about the body tissues of the animals, how bone structures evolved and even a little about geology in the fossil record of modern vertebrates.“Part of our mission is to teach that these areas of science aren’t islands,” Levering said. “They interface with others. This is a great way to&nbsp;apply natural history concepts to other biomedical fields.”Because of the rigor of anatomy and physiology courses, Levering thinks any prior exposure to that content before college is beneficial. At camp, this prior exposure is also made actively engaging and fun.“We are creating opportunities for students to explore the field and lab sciences when students still have time to choose what they want to study in college,” said Dr. Reese Barrick, director of the museum.“These camps create opportunities students wouldn’t get until well into their college careers,” he said. “It’s a huge thing to hold their interest in science during that transitional period, and we are able to ground their interest in science through&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;programs.”To enroll or learn more about all&nbsp;Sternberg&nbsp;camps visit&nbsp;<a href="http://sternberg.fhsu.edu">sternberg.fhsu.edu</a> online and scroll down to Museum Science Camps. Scholarships are available to help defray the cost of the camp.

--<a href="http://fhsu.edu">FHSU</a>--

Sternberg adds comparative vertebrate anatomy camp

Armando David Mascote, age 20, of Council Grove, Kansas, passed away on March 1, 2020.&nbsp; He was born December 1, 1999, to Armando and Maricela Mascote at KU Med in Kansas City, Kansas.

He graduated from Council Grove High School and was a sophomore at the University of Kansas. His plans were to graduate from KU with a major in Biology, attending KU Med and becoming a doctor.

Armando was a member of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, FBLA, and was the Student Body President for two consecutive years. His activities were Cross Country, Football, Wrestling and Track &amp; Field. He also attended KU Student Senate meetings.

Armando was a very respectable, kindhearted individual, whom was loved by his family and friends. He enjoyed so many things…..finding new things to cook, teaching his friends to cook,&nbsp; listening to Kid Cudi, playing with his siblings, he loved his truck, pan dulce (sweet bread, his Sperry’s, dressing up and having a good time with friends. He was extremely proud of having the opportunity to attend the University of Kansas and being a Jayhawk. &nbsp;Armando’s family was very dear to him and he loved spending time with them.&nbsp; He also enjoyed spending time with his grandparents in Mexico.

Armando is survived by his parents Armando and Maricela Mascote; siblings Elizabeth, George and David Mascote; grandparents Agustin Mascote, Isabel Reyes, Juvenal Arroyo and Benita Alvarado; uncles Vicente Mascote, Manuel Mascote, Agustin Mascote, Concepcion Mascote, Nicolas Mascote, and Nemorio Arroyo; aunts Carmen Mascote, Guadalupe Mascote, Rosario Mascote, Daisy Mascote, Isabel Mascote, Catalina Mascote, Carmen Arroyo, and Alejandra Arroyo; and a host of friends. Armando will be sadly missed by all that knew him.

Memorial contributions may be made to Armando Mascote Memorial Fund.

A Vigil will begin at 6:00pm, Wednesday, March 11th, at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, with visitation at 7:00, at the Parish Hall. Funeral Mass will be at 11:00am, Thursday, March 12th, also at St. Rose. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1583552576085.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Armando David Mascote, age 20, of Council Grove, Kansas, passed away on March 1, 2020.&nbsp; He was born December 1, 1999, to Armando and Maricela Mascote at KU Med in Kansas City, Kansas.He graduated from Council Grove High School and was a sophomore at the University of Kansas. His plans were to graduate from KU with a major in Biology, attending KU Med and becoming a doctor.Armando was a member of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, FBLA, and was the Student Body President for two consecutive years. His activities were Cross Country, Football, Wrestling and Track &amp; Field. He also attended KU Student Senate meetings.Armando was a very respectable, kindhearted individual, whom was loved by his family and friends. He enjoyed so many things…..finding new things to cook, teaching his friends to cook,&nbsp; listening to Kid Cudi, playing with his siblings, he loved his truck, pan dulce (sweet bread, his Sperry’s, dressing up and having a good time with friends. He was extremely proud of having the opportunity to attend the University of Kansas and being a Jayhawk. &nbsp;Armando’s family was very dear to him and he loved spending time with them.&nbsp; He also enjoyed spending time with his grandparents in Mexico.Armando is survived by his parents Armando and Maricela Mascote; siblings Elizabeth, George and David Mascote; grandparents Agustin Mascote, Isabel Reyes, Juvenal Arroyo and Benita Alvarado; uncles Vicente Mascote, Manuel Mascote, Agustin Mascote, Concepcion Mascote, Nicolas Mascote, and Nemorio Arroyo; aunts Carmen Mascote, Guadalupe Mascote, Rosario Mascote, Daisy Mascote, Isabel Mascote, Catalina Mascote, Carmen Arroyo, and Alejandra Arroyo; and a host of friends. Armando will be sadly missed by all that knew him.Memorial contributions may be made to Armando Mascote Memorial Fund.A Vigil will begin at 6:00pm, Wednesday, March 11th, at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, with visitation at 7:00, at the Parish Hall. Funeral Mass will be at 11:00am, Thursday, March 12th, also at St. Rose. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery.

Armando David Mascote

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- A Kansas State University specialist in adult development and aging says that discussions about safe sex aren’t limited to young adults.

Erin Yelland has studied the topic of sexual intimacy in America’s long-term care facilities. Speaking recently on the&nbsp;<a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/dig-deep-ksu/DigDeep-Yelland-PODCASTFINAL.mp3" target="_blank">K-State Research and Extension podcast “Dig Deep,</a>” Yelland said there was a time when the purpose of sex was predominantly viewed as procreation. Now, it’s much more.

“It’s part of our personal wellness, our ‘relationship wellness,’ and research consistently shows how important intimate and sexual relationships are, well into older adulthood,” she said.

She notes that as some adults of the Baby Boom generation begin their migration into long-term care facilities, they will bring with them the morals and mores of the Sexual Revolution they led 60 years ago.

“This is the generation that first had access to the birth control pill from a young age,” Yelland said. “They've often been more permissive and more open-minded in their attitudes than many other generations before them."

Yelland points to data indicating that among all adults ages 45 and older, rates of sexually transmitted diseases and sexually transmitted infections have slowly been rising for the past decade. In 2016, the American Association of Retired Persons&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2017/std-exposure-rises-older-adults-fd.html" target="_blank">reported rising exposure rates</a>&nbsp;among older populations, especially in retirement communities and skilled-nursing facilities (commonly known as nursing homes).

One of Yelland’s key areas of expertise is sexual wellness among older adults, including policy development within long-term care. She said that as a whole, the elder-care industry is still lagging behind its clientele.“Many facilities simply don’t have any policy in place to guide staff, residents and family members in navigating the muddied waters of sexual expression among residents,” she said. “Because there’s no policy and little to no training on the topic, staff and administrators are often left to bumble through these socially uncomfortable situations with little to no direction. Many staff members may have never learned what normal sexual development looks like for older adults, and it’s a challenge to navigate something that you don’t even recognize.”

Yelland said the lack of consistent policy introduces confusion; in response, health care staff may rely on their own personal values and ideas about what a sexual or intimate relationship should be like. This is where age comes into play. Yelland said that adults in their 70s often define “physical intimacy” differently than adults in their 20s or 30s.

“Many older adults may not have the physical capacity to engage in traditional intercourse anymore,” she said. “They may not have the physical stamina, or there may be other health issues that prevent them from engaging in more physically strenuous behaviors.”

“This doesn’t mean that people aren’t having traditional intercourse, though. But, we do know that as people get older, the way that they express their sexual desires will change. We might see more cuddling, hand-holding, hugging, smooching and these types of things. So it’s not always the more traditional sexual behaviors that we’re addressing.”

The&nbsp;<a href="https://metoomvmt.org/" target="_blank">#MeToo</a>&nbsp;movement that came to prominence in 2017 pulled the issue of consent into the brightest spotlight it’s ever had. Yelland said consent needs to be continuously scrutinized in long-term care facilities as well because loss of cognitive capacity (such as a dementia or Alzheimer’s diagnosis) is becoming more common.

“When talking about sexual expression in long-term care, consent is a huge priority, particularly if there’s a question on cognitive capacity,” Yelland said. “How do we consistently ensure that all people are protected in such a complex, ever-changing environment?

However, she adds, “we still want to protect those freedoms and one’s basic human right to sexual expression, with policies in place to protect everyone involved – policies that balance protection, privacy and freedom.”

Bodies may change. Living conditions may change. But people are still people, Yelland said, with the same basic needs they had 50 or 60 years earlier in their lives.“They are still sexual beings, and regardless of what kind of behavior they want to engage in – hand holding, cuddling, intercourse – we need to realize that these are adults with a sexual history and sexual interests,” she said. “We need to figure out the balance of protecting residents and staff from unwanted behavior and advances, while ensuring that residents can express what they desire in meaningful ways.“This also includes protecting our health care staff: doctors, nurses, home care providers, and administrators.”

Listen to the full interview with Erin Yelland on the&nbsp;<a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/dig-deep-ksu/DigDeep-Yelland-PODCASTFINAL.mp3" target="_blank">K-State Research and Extension podcast, “Dig Deep</a>.”

What is a sexual advance directive?

Statistically, 50% of adults age 85 and older will struggle with some form of dementia – Alzheimer’s disease is overwhelmingly the most common.

As the legal community continues to furnish clients with wills, durable powers of attorney, and advance directives, a new document has the potential to appear: the sexual advance directive. This idea first gained widespread attention in 2016, through&nbsp;<a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2813431" target="_blank">a research paper authored by Alexander Boni-Saenz</a>, an associate professor with the Chicago-Kent School of Law.

During the summer of 2019, Yelland led a group of students in researching the emerging concept of a&nbsp;sexual&nbsp;advance directive – a document that reads and functions much like its medical parent, but which addresses quality of life rather than its termination. Some of their findings were presented at a conference in January.“We basically described what a sexual advance directive could be; that you are allowing someone to put their sexual wishes in writing, so that long-term care administrators, family members, friends and other decision-makers could understand your preferences,” Yelland said.

“More than half of our adult respondents – about 65% – thought this was a great idea, and that such a document should be an option, and that the document should be active if they were to develop some form of dementia in the future.”

There are still plenty of details to be worked out. The language of such a document needs to be clarified and standardized. The sexual advance directive needs to be accepted by the legal community as a whole, and recognized as a binding contract. And perhaps last of all, the sexual advance directive will eventually have to be upheld in a court of law, and possibly within a criminal trial.

Yelland is taking her research a step further, delving into the more specific details of the document. “What specific activities and behaviors should a sexual advance directive address? Who should the ultimate decision-making authority be? We’re doing research to further our understanding of what this could potentially look like, more from the family science and gerontology side. And then in the legal world, they’re having similar conversations.”

“The concept of the sexual advance directive is very much in its infancy, but I don’t think it’s going to take very long for this ‘infant thought’ to grow up,” Yelland said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1583379077066.jpeg" alt="Intimacy in later years is 'part of our personal wellness,' says Erin Yelland, a K-State specialist in adult development and aging. Photo courtesy KSRE" />
 <figcaption>Intimacy in later years is 'part of our personal wellness,' says Erin Yelland, a K-State specialist in adult development and aging. Photo courtesy KSRE</figcaption>
 </figure>MANHATTAN, Kan. -- A Kansas State University specialist in adult development and aging says that discussions about safe sex aren’t limited to young adults.Erin Yelland has studied the topic of sexual intimacy in America’s long-term care facilities. Speaking recently on the&nbsp;<a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/dig-deep-ksu/DigDeep-Yelland-PODCASTFINAL.mp3" target="_blank">K-State Research and Extension podcast “Dig Deep,</a>” Yelland said there was a time when the purpose of sex was predominantly viewed as procreation. Now, it’s much more.“It’s part of our personal wellness, our ‘relationship wellness,’ and research consistently shows how important intimate and sexual relationships are, well into older adulthood,” she said.She notes that as some adults of the Baby Boom generation begin their migration into long-term care facilities, they will bring with them the morals and mores of the Sexual Revolution they led 60 years ago.“This is the generation that first had access to the birth control pill from a young age,” Yelland said. “They've often been more permissive and more open-minded in their attitudes than many other generations before them."Yelland points to data indicating that among all adults ages 45 and older, rates of sexually transmitted diseases and sexually transmitted infections have slowly been rising for the past decade. In 2016, the American Association of Retired Persons&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2017/std-exposure-rises-older-adults-fd.html" target="_blank">reported rising exposure rates</a>&nbsp;among older populations, especially in retirement communities and skilled-nursing facilities (commonly known as nursing homes).One of Yelland’s key areas of expertise is sexual wellness among older adults, including policy development within long-term care. She said that as a whole, the elder-care industry is still lagging behind its clientele.“Many facilities simply don’t have any policy in place to guide staff, residents and family members in navigating the muddied waters of sexual expression among residents,” she said. “Because there’s no policy and little to no training on the topic, staff and administrators are often left to bumble through these socially uncomfortable situations with little to no direction. Many staff members may have never learned what normal sexual development looks like for older adults, and it’s a challenge to navigate something that you don’t even recognize.”Yelland said the lack of consistent policy introduces confusion; in response, health care staff may rely on their own personal values and ideas about what a sexual or intimate relationship should be like. This is where age comes into play. Yelland said that adults in their 70s often define “physical intimacy” differently than adults in their 20s or 30s.“Many older adults may not have the physical capacity to engage in traditional intercourse anymore,” she said. “They may not have the physical stamina, or there may be other health issues that prevent them from engaging in more physically strenuous behaviors.”“This doesn’t mean that people aren’t having traditional intercourse, though. But, we do know that as people get older, the way that they express their sexual desires will change. We might see more cuddling, hand-holding, hugging, smooching and these types of things. So it’s not always the more traditional sexual behaviors that we’re addressing.”The&nbsp;<a href="https://metoomvmt.org/" target="_blank">#MeToo</a>&nbsp;movement that came to prominence in 2017 pulled the issue of consent into the brightest spotlight it’s ever had. Yelland said consent needs to be continuously scrutinized in long-term care facilities as well because loss of cognitive capacity (such as a dementia or Alzheimer’s diagnosis) is becoming more common.“When talking about sexual expression in long-term care, consent is a huge priority, particularly if there’s a question on cognitive capacity,” Yelland said. “How do we consistently ensure that all people are protected in such a complex, ever-changing environment?However, she adds, “we still want to protect those freedoms and one’s basic human right to sexual expression, with policies in place to protect everyone involved – policies that balance protection, privacy and freedom.”Bodies may change. Living conditions may change. But people are still people, Yelland said, with the same basic needs they had 50 or 60 years earlier in their lives.“They are still sexual beings, and regardless of what kind of behavior they want to engage in – hand holding, cuddling, intercourse – we need to realize that these are adults with a sexual history and sexual interests,” she said. “We need to figure out the balance of protecting residents and staff from unwanted behavior and advances, while ensuring that residents can express what they desire in meaningful ways.“This also includes protecting our health care staff: doctors, nurses, home care providers, and administrators.”Listen to the full interview with Erin Yelland on the&nbsp;<a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/dig-deep-ksu/DigDeep-Yelland-PODCASTFINAL.mp3" target="_blank">K-State Research and Extension podcast, “Dig Deep</a>.”What is a sexual advance directive?Statistically, 50% of adults age 85 and older will struggle with some form of dementia – Alzheimer’s disease is overwhelmingly the most common.As the legal community continues to furnish clients with wills, durable powers of attorney, and advance directives, a new document has the potential to appear: the sexual advance directive. This idea first gained widespread attention in 2016, through&nbsp;<a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2813431" target="_blank">a research paper authored by Alexander Boni-Saenz</a>, an associate professor with the Chicago-Kent School of Law.During the summer of 2019, Yelland led a group of students in researching the emerging concept of a&nbsp;sexual&nbsp;advance directive – a document that reads and functions much like its medical parent, but which addresses quality of life rather than its termination. Some of their findings were presented at a conference in January.“We basically described what a sexual advance directive could be; that you are allowing someone to put their sexual wishes in writing, so that long-term care administrators, family members, friends and other decision-makers could understand your preferences,” Yelland said.“More than half of our adult respondents – about 65% – thought this was a great idea, and that such a document should be an option, and that the document should be active if they were to develop some form of dementia in the future.”There are still plenty of details to be worked out. The language of such a document needs to be clarified and standardized. The sexual advance directive needs to be accepted by the legal community as a whole, and recognized as a binding contract. And perhaps last of all, the sexual advance directive will eventually have to be upheld in a court of law, and possibly within a criminal trial.Yelland is taking her research a step further, delving into the more specific details of the document. “What specific activities and behaviors should a sexual advance directive address? Who should the ultimate decision-making authority be? We’re doing research to further our understanding of what this could potentially look like, more from the family science and gerontology side. And then in the legal world, they’re having similar conversations.”“The concept of the sexual advance directive is very much in its infancy, but I don’t think it’s going to take very long for this ‘infant thought’ to grow up,” Yelland said.

K-State specialist studies safe sex between older adults

HAYS -- Grow Hays this week announced the establishment of a partnership between Grow Hays and Fort Hays State University in conducting the Faulkner Challenge.

The Faulkner Challenge is a free entrepreneurship contest sponsored by FHSU alumnus Kevin Faulkner. The event includes a written business plan as well as a 10-minute oral presentation in front of 5 judges who then conduct a Q&amp;A and provide feedback. Faulkner contributes $10,000 in prize money for the event.

"Grow Hays is thrilled to be a part of the Faulkner Challenge. Entrepreneurship is a high priority for us so the opportunity to be involved with an event like this fits perfectly with what we are already doing in the area of entrepreneurship. We also feel expanding the territory of the event to cover participants from 56 counties in Western Kansas gives us the opportunity to truly make a regional impact" said Doug Williams, Executive Director of Grow Hays.

Dr. Melissa Hunsicker Walburn, Interim Dean, Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship at Fort Hays State University said "We're pleased to bring our entrepreneurship activities into the community and region through our partnership with Grow Hays and BriefSpace. We hope that events like the Faulkner Challenge can continue to bring together entrepreneurs of various backgrounds, with differing levels of experience, with wide­ranging ideas to move ideas to ventures."

The written business plans must be submitted by March 20. Submitted plans will be judged and six finalists will be notified no later than March 23. The finals of the competition will be April 4 at BriefSpace in downtown Hays at 219 West 10th Street. The event is open to the public.

Dr. Hunsicker Walburn invites the public "to attend, network and listen to the final presentations. We look forward to this event being not only a competition, but also an opportunity to develop your network and connections."

A complete list of guidelines and rules can be found at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fhsu.edu/cob/faulkner-challenge/">https://www.fhsu.edu/cob/faulkner-challenge/</a>

--<a href="http://growhays.com">Grow Hays</a>--

<div><iframe title="FHSU and Grow Hays team up for the 2020 Faulkner Challenge" height="122" width="100%" style="border: none;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/crq9p-d50781?from=yiiadmin&download=1&version=1&skin=3&btn-skin=101&auto=1&share=1&fonts=Helvetica&download=1&rtl=0&pbad=1"></iframe></div>HAYS -- Grow Hays this week announced the establishment of a partnership between Grow Hays and Fort Hays State University in conducting the Faulkner Challenge.The Faulkner Challenge is a free entrepreneurship contest sponsored by FHSU alumnus Kevin Faulkner. The event includes a written business plan as well as a 10-minute oral presentation in front of 5 judges who then conduct a Q&amp;A and provide feedback. Faulkner contributes $10,000 in prize money for the event.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1583188250710.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>"Grow Hays is thrilled to be a part of the Faulkner Challenge. Entrepreneurship is a high priority for us so the opportunity to be involved with an event like this fits perfectly with what we are already doing in the area of entrepreneurship. We also feel expanding the territory of the event to cover participants from 56 counties in Western Kansas gives us the opportunity to truly make a regional impact" said Doug Williams, Executive Director of Grow Hays.Dr. Melissa Hunsicker Walburn, Interim Dean, Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship at Fort Hays State University said "We're pleased to bring our entrepreneurship activities into the community and region through our partnership with Grow Hays and BriefSpace. We hope that events like the Faulkner Challenge can continue to bring together entrepreneurs of various backgrounds, with differing levels of experience, with wide­ranging ideas to move ideas to ventures."The written business plans must be submitted by March 20. Submitted plans will be judged and six finalists will be notified no later than March 23. The finals of the competition will be April 4 at BriefSpace in downtown Hays at 219 West 10th Street. The event is open to the public.Dr. Hunsicker Walburn invites the public "to attend, network and listen to the final presentations. We look forward to this event being not only a competition, but also an opportunity to develop your network and connections."A complete list of guidelines and rules can be found at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fhsu.edu/cob/faulkner-challenge/">https://www.fhsu.edu/cob/faulkner-challenge/</a><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1583188056843.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>--<a href="http://growhays.com">Grow Hays</a>--

Grow Hays partners with FHSU for the 2020 Faulkner Challenge

WICHITA —Governor Laura Kelly and Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning held two public events in Wichita Monday to discuss their bipartisan compromise to expand the state's Medicaid program, KanCare, according to a media release from the governor.

"Medicaid expansion would make healthcare accessible to 150,000 more Kansans," Kelly said. "It is imperative we get this done. We cannot delay expansion any longer."

The compromise (Senate Bill 252, was introduced in January of this year and would provide healthcare to 150,000 working Kansans, has stalled in the legislature despite being favored by the majority of legislators.

"We should not be playing political games when lives are on the line. We have a moral obligation to make sure Kansans are receiving access to affordable healthcare," Kelly said.

In addition to expansion, the compromise also includes a reinsurance program and authorizes an IMD Exclusion Wavier.

"Not only does the compromise expand access to healthcare to those without insurance, it is also designed to lower the cost of private insurance and expand mental health services across the state," Denning said.

Kelly and Denning first met with healthcare leaders from across the Southcentral region of Kansas, who discussed the positive impact expansion would have on their communities during a roundtable hosted by Ascension Via Christi, a Catholic healthcare organization based in Wichita.

"Medicaid expansion will provide needed support to some of the state's most vulnerable people, potentially making the difference between debilitating illness and a healthy future,"&nbsp;said&nbsp;Kevin Strecker, Hospital President and Chief Operating Officer of Ascension Via Christi, a Catholic healthcare organization.

While meeting with leaders from various faith communities across the state, Governor Kelly highlighted the broad and diverse support for expansion. "Access to health care is a moral issue," Kelly said. "Just last week, over 75 Catholic nuns from across the state sent a letter to Legislature calling for KanCare expansion."

The&nbsp;<a href="https://gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnetworklobby.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F02%2FKansasMedicaidExpansionLetter2020.pdf&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C61a64c457edf455ac3be08d7bef11a95%7Cdcae8101c92d480cbc43c6761ccccc5a%7C0%7C0%7C637187815042608417&amp;sdata=4YNAXZXOSf1sggbYMKHWzSBGo%2Bw7jD5qm0JJptz8vEE%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">letter</a>, penned by the Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, called expanding KanCare "a life saving measure," and said, "it is deeply immoral for anyone in our country to go without medical care."

The Legislature reconvenes on Wednesday, March 4th&nbsp;for the remainder of the 2020 regular legislative session.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1583185678515.png" alt="Governor Laura Kelly and Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning listen during Monday's meetings on the expansion of KanCare.-photo office of Kan. governor" />
 <figcaption>Governor Laura Kelly and Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning listen during Monday's meetings on the expansion of KanCare.-photo office of Kan. governor</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA —Governor Laura Kelly and Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning held two public events in Wichita Monday to discuss their bipartisan compromise to expand the state's Medicaid program, KanCare, according to a media release from the governor."Medicaid expansion would make healthcare accessible to 150,000 more Kansans," Kelly said. "It is imperative we get this done. We cannot delay expansion any longer."The compromise (Senate Bill 252, was introduced in January of this year and would provide healthcare to 150,000 working Kansans, has stalled in the legislature despite being favored by the majority of legislators."We should not be playing political games when lives are on the line. We have a moral obligation to make sure Kansans are receiving access to affordable healthcare," Kelly said.In addition to expansion, the compromise also includes a reinsurance program and authorizes an IMD Exclusion Wavier."Not only does the compromise expand access to healthcare to those without insurance, it is also designed to lower the cost of private insurance and expand mental health services across the state," Denning said.Kelly and Denning first met with healthcare leaders from across the Southcentral region of Kansas, who discussed the positive impact expansion would have on their communities during a roundtable hosted by Ascension Via Christi, a Catholic healthcare organization based in Wichita."Medicaid expansion will provide needed support to some of the state's most vulnerable people, potentially making the difference between debilitating illness and a healthy future,"&nbsp;said&nbsp;Kevin Strecker, Hospital President and Chief Operating Officer of Ascension Via Christi, a Catholic healthcare organization.While meeting with leaders from various faith communities across the state, Governor Kelly highlighted the broad and diverse support for expansion. "Access to health care is a moral issue," Kelly said. "Just last week, over 75 Catholic nuns from across the state sent a letter to Legislature calling for KanCare expansion."The&nbsp;<a href="https://gcc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnetworklobby.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F02%2FKansasMedicaidExpansionLetter2020.pdf&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C61a64c457edf455ac3be08d7bef11a95%7Cdcae8101c92d480cbc43c6761ccccc5a%7C0%7C0%7C637187815042608417&amp;sdata=4YNAXZXOSf1sggbYMKHWzSBGo%2Bw7jD5qm0JJptz8vEE%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">letter</a>, penned by the Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, called expanding KanCare "a life saving measure," and said, "it is deeply immoral for anyone in our country to go without medical care."The Legislature reconvenes on Wednesday, March 4th&nbsp;for the remainder of the 2020 regular legislative session.&nbsp;

Kan. Governor, Senate Leader hold meetings on Medicaid expansion 

You still have time to share your views with Salina USD 305.

The next listening session about what the community wants for Salina USD 305 students and what will be emphasized is scheduled for 5:30-6:45 p.m. Tuesday in the Oakdale Elementary Multipurpose Room. Free, on-site childcare is available.

The final listening session is scheduled for 10-11:15 a.m. March 21 in the Salina South High School Commons. Free, on-site childcare is available.

For those unable to attend a meeting, an online survey is available at usd305.com.

By the end of January, more than 450 people, including students, parents, community members, and staff members, had shared their opinions, according to information from the district. 

Feedback provided by participants is to be posted on the district's website by late spring, according to the district. The information will be used by the board of education to set the district's long-range goals, the district information noted.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1578755070487.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>You still have time to share your views with Salina USD 305.The next listening session about what the community wants for Salina USD 305 students and what will be emphasized is scheduled for 5:30-6:45 p.m. Tuesday in the Oakdale Elementary Multipurpose Room. Free, on-site childcare is available.The final listening session is scheduled for 10-11:15 a.m. March 21 in the Salina South High School Commons. Free, on-site childcare is available.For those unable to attend a meeting, an online survey is available at usd305.com.By the end of January, more than 450 people, including students, parents, community members, and staff members, had shared their opinions, according to information from the district. Feedback provided by participants is to be posted on the district's website by late spring, according to the district. The information will be used by the board of education to set the district's long-range goals, the district information noted.

Next USD 305 listening session set for Tuesday

Podcasts of various local KINA shows are now available.

You can listen at your leisure to Saturday's with Bill and Dave, the Dr. Kempton Show, and Coffee Talk. Here's what you need to do:

Click on the KINA logo at the top of <a href="http://SalinaPost.com">SalinaPost.com</a>.

When the new page opens, click on the arrow in the upper left and select podcasts.

Podcasts of various local KINA shows are now available.You can listen at your leisure to Saturday's with Bill and Dave, the Dr. Kempton Show, and Coffee Talk. Here's what you need to do:Click on the KINA logo at the top of <a href="http://SalinaPost.com">SalinaPost.com</a>.When the new page opens, click on the arrow in the upper left and select podcasts.Select the podcast you want to hear.

Podcasts of local KINA shows available

The First Amendment protects your right to express yourself freely. While you can do a lot of different things with that freedom, its highest purpose, and the reason that&nbsp;the Constitution’s framers wanted you to have it, is to express yourself politically.

All five of the rights named in the First Amendment work in concert to allow you to do just that. Your freedom of religion gives you an array of protections, including the right to follow your own conscience and develop your own values. Your freedom of speech protects your right to express those values, even if that expression is critical of the government. Freedom of the press guarantees your right to uncensored information about the world around you and especially information about what your government is doing. And if you don’t like what the government is doing — if its actions contradict the values you cherish — you have the freedom of petition, which is the freedom to ask for the changes you want and the freedom to assemble a group of like-minded people to give that request some political heft.

But what if, after all that, your representatives just won’t listen to you? Theoretically,&nbsp;you have the power to vote them out of office. But that right is much less secure than your right to express your displeasure in the first place. Depending on where you live and what your political views are, the government may be able to render your vote almost meaningless.

In most states, state legislatures are responsible for drawing up the state’s congressional and legislative maps. Practically speaking, that means that the politicians in power can, and often do, draw district boundaries in a manner that will help themselves or their party. As Vox’s&nbsp;Andrew Prokop&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/8/5/17991934/gerrymandering-explained" target="_blank">explains</a>, “Packing as many of the other party’s voters as possible into just a few districts they’ll win overwhelmingly, while ensuring your own party’s voters get smaller but solid advantages in more districts overall, is the classic way to gerrymander. But it can be immensely frustrating to voters, and make them feel their voices aren’t being heard.”&nbsp;(It also leads to some truly&nbsp;bizarre looking district maps.)

Last year, the Supreme Court heard two cases challenging extreme partisan gerrymandering, one brought by North Carolina plaintiffs claiming that the state’s districting plan discriminated against Democrats and the other, brought by Maryland plaintiffs claiming that their state’s plan discriminated against Republicans. In both cases, the plaintiffs alleged that their First Amendment rights had been violated, because the government had penalized them for their political views by reducing their ability to elect the candidates of their choice. The court,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf/18-422_9ol1.pdf" target="_blank">in an opinion</a>&nbsp;written by&nbsp;Chief Justice John Roberts, dismissed this idea, writing that there were, “no restrictions on speech, association, or any other First Amendment activities in the districting plans at issue. The plaintiffs are free to engage in those activities no matter what the effect of a plan may be on their district.” He went on to say that federal courts were ill-suited to decide whether partisan gerrymandering “goes too far,” leaving reform in the hands of state voters and lawmakers.

The voters of Michigan&nbsp;rose to the challenge and overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative to create an independent redistricting commission made up of four Republicans, four Democrats and five unaffiliated voters. The commission would exclude certain people who might have conflicts of interest, such as elected officials, candidates, party leaders and lobbyists. Despite the bipartisan support for the initiative, the Michigan Republican Party has filed a lawsuit challenging it — ironically, on First Amendment grounds.&nbsp;<a href="https://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/michigan-complaint.pdf" target="_blank">Their complaint</a>&nbsp;alleges that the eligibility rules for commissioners exclude people “based on their exercise of one or more of their constitutionally protected interests, i.e., freedom of speech (e.g., by the exclusion of candidates for partisan office, right of association (e.g., by the exclusion of members of a governing body of a political party, and/or the right to petition (e.g., by the exclusion of registered lobbyists).”

The case has yet to be decided, but there’s something mind boggling about the idea that a redistricting commission structure that discriminates against those with political party ties would violate the First Amendment while a redistricting plan that discriminates against those with specific political beliefs does not. But all of this serves to highlight the strange relationship between First Amendment rights and voting rights. The First Amendment protects so many activities that are adjacent to voting — spending money to influence voters, expressing political views near polling stations, signing petitions to put initiatives on a ballot — but stops short of voting itself. As prominent civil rights lawyer&nbsp;Armand Derfner&nbsp;<a href="https://ylpr.yale.edu/voting-speech" target="_blank">has written</a>, “It seems like an obvious proposition that a citizen registering to vote or casting a ballot is engaging in free speech, a fundamental right entitled to full protection under the First Amendment… But the current Supreme Court rarely scrutinizes voting regulations as it does other speech regulations.” The right to express your political opinion is incredibly valuable and deserving of the utmost protection. But it’s strange that the same protection doesn’t extend to your ability to actually enact political change.

Lata Nott is chief content officer of the Freedom Forum.&nbsp;Contact her via email at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:lnott@freedomforum.org" target="_blank">lnott@freedomforum.org</a>, or follow her on Twitter at&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/latanott" target="_blank">@LataNott</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/10/1572283561997.png" alt="Lata Nott" />
 <figcaption>Lata Nott</figcaption>
 </figure>By LATA NOTTThe First Amendment protects your right to express yourself freely. While you can do a lot of different things with that freedom, its highest purpose, and the reason that&nbsp;the Constitution’s framers wanted you to have it, is to express yourself politically.All five of the rights named in the First Amendment work in concert to allow you to do just that. Your freedom of religion gives you an array of protections, including the right to follow your own conscience and develop your own values. Your freedom of speech protects your right to express those values, even if that expression is critical of the government. Freedom of the press guarantees your right to uncensored information about the world around you and especially information about what your government is doing. And if you don’t like what the government is doing — if its actions contradict the values you cherish — you have the freedom of petition, which is the freedom to ask for the changes you want and the freedom to assemble a group of like-minded people to give that request some political heft.But what if, after all that, your representatives just won’t listen to you? Theoretically,&nbsp;you have the power to vote them out of office. But that right is much less secure than your right to express your displeasure in the first place. Depending on where you live and what your political views are, the government may be able to render your vote almost meaningless.In most states, state legislatures are responsible for drawing up the state’s congressional and legislative maps. Practically speaking, that means that the politicians in power can, and often do, draw district boundaries in a manner that will help themselves or their party. As Vox’s&nbsp;Andrew Prokop&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/8/5/17991934/gerrymandering-explained" target="_blank">explains</a>, “Packing as many of the other party’s voters as possible into just a few districts they’ll win overwhelmingly, while ensuring your own party’s voters get smaller but solid advantages in more districts overall, is the classic way to gerrymander. But it can be immensely frustrating to voters, and make them feel their voices aren’t being heard.”&nbsp;(It also leads to some truly&nbsp;bizarre looking district maps.)Last year, the Supreme Court heard two cases challenging extreme partisan gerrymandering, one brought by North Carolina plaintiffs claiming that the state’s districting plan discriminated against Democrats and the other, brought by Maryland plaintiffs claiming that their state’s plan discriminated against Republicans. In both cases, the plaintiffs alleged that their First Amendment rights had been violated, because the government had penalized them for their political views by reducing their ability to elect the candidates of their choice. The court,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf/18-422_9ol1.pdf" target="_blank">in an opinion</a>&nbsp;written by&nbsp;Chief Justice John Roberts, dismissed this idea, writing that there were, “no restrictions on speech, association, or any other First Amendment activities in the districting plans at issue. The plaintiffs are free to engage in those activities no matter what the effect of a plan may be on their district.” He went on to say that federal courts were ill-suited to decide whether partisan gerrymandering “goes too far,” leaving reform in the hands of state voters and lawmakers.The voters of Michigan&nbsp;rose to the challenge and overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative to create an independent redistricting commission made up of four Republicans, four Democrats and five unaffiliated voters. The commission would exclude certain people who might have conflicts of interest, such as elected officials, candidates, party leaders and lobbyists. Despite the bipartisan support for the initiative, the Michigan Republican Party has filed a lawsuit challenging it — ironically, on First Amendment grounds.&nbsp;<a href="https://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/michigan-complaint.pdf" target="_blank">Their complaint</a>&nbsp;alleges that the eligibility rules for commissioners exclude people “based on their exercise of one or more of their constitutionally protected interests, i.e., freedom of speech (e.g., by the exclusion of candidates for partisan office, right of association (e.g., by the exclusion of members of a governing body of a political party, and/or the right to petition (e.g., by the exclusion of registered lobbyists).”The case has yet to be decided, but there’s something mind boggling about the idea that a redistricting commission structure that discriminates against those with political party ties would violate the First Amendment while a redistricting plan that discriminates against those with specific political beliefs does not. But all of this serves to highlight the strange relationship between First Amendment rights and voting rights. The First Amendment protects so many activities that are adjacent to voting — spending money to influence voters, expressing political views near polling stations, signing petitions to put initiatives on a ballot — but stops short of voting itself. As prominent civil rights lawyer&nbsp;Armand Derfner&nbsp;<a href="https://ylpr.yale.edu/voting-speech" target="_blank">has written</a>, “It seems like an obvious proposition that a citizen registering to vote or casting a ballot is engaging in free speech, a fundamental right entitled to full protection under the First Amendment… But the current Supreme Court rarely scrutinizes voting regulations as it does other speech regulations.” The right to express your political opinion is incredibly valuable and deserving of the utmost protection. But it’s strange that the same protection doesn’t extend to your ability to actually enact political change.Lata Nott is chief content officer of the Freedom Forum.&nbsp;Contact her via email at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:lnott@freedomforum.org" target="_blank">lnott@freedomforum.org</a>, or follow her on Twitter at&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/latanott" target="_blank">@LataNott</a>.

First 5: First Amendment protects activities adjacent to voting

Two local teachers recently were recognized by the USD 305 Board of Education with the district's Horizon Award.

Kelsey Plummer, a kindergarten teacher at Cottonwood Elementary School and Kristen Hanks, an Algebra 1 teacher at Salina South High School, are the 2020 Horizon Award winners.

The following information was provided by USD 305.

2020 Elementary Horizon Award – Kelsey Plummer, Kindergarten Teacher

Plummer is into her second year as kindergarten teacher at Cottonwood Elementary School where she serves on the building leadership team and as English Language Arts representative for her teacher team.

Plummer became a teacher to empower students to reach their potential and knowing the responsibility that accompanies a profession where lives are impacted every day. Her devotion to her craft shines through in all she does for her students.

Kindergarten students come to school with preschool experience ranging from none to two years. Plummer strategically incorporates a gradual release of responsibility into her classroom that allows her students to develop confidence as well as independence in their learning. Students enjoy cooperative learning strategies such as “Think-Pair-Share” or “Turn and Talk” as they learn to work together. Her communication savvy influences all her relationships, from students to parents and colleagues.

Plummer spends countless hours finding ways to build relationships with her students and their families so she can make a difference in their lives. She knows parents and guardians are active participants in their child’s education, building warm and effective relationships through visits, phone calls, emails, and notes home.

Kyle Griffitts, Cottonwood principal, said, “When you walk into her room it is evident that her students love her and she loves them. Last year, a parent stated how much their child loves Kelsey and that she is the kindest teacher he has ever met.”

2020 Secondary Horizon Award – Kristen Hanks, Algebra 1 Teacher

Two local teachers recently were recognized by the USD 305 Board of Education with the district's Horizon Award.Kelsey Plummer, a kindergarten teacher at Cottonwood Elementary School and Kristen Hanks, an Algebra 1 teacher at Salina South High School, are the 2020 Horizon Award winners.The following information was provided by USD 305.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/2/1582860778483.jpeg" alt="Kelsey Plummer. Photos courtesy USD 305" />
 <figcaption>Kelsey Plummer. Photos courtesy USD 305</figcaption>
 </figure>2020 Elementary Horizon Award – Kelsey Plummer, Kindergarten Teacher Plummer is into her second year as kindergarten teacher at Cottonwood Elementary School where she serves on the building leadership team and as English Language Arts representative for her teacher team.Plummer became a teacher to empower students to reach their potential and knowing the responsibility that accompanies a profession where lives are impacted every day. Her devotion to her craft shines through in all she does for her students.Kindergarten students come to school with preschool experience ranging from none to two years. Plummer strategically incorporates a gradual release of responsibility into her classroom that allows her students to develop confidence as well as independence in their learning. Students enjoy cooperative learning strategies such as “Think-Pair-Share” or “Turn and Talk” as they learn to work together. Her communication savvy influences all her relationships, from students to parents and colleagues.Plummer spends countless hours finding ways to build relationships with her students and their families so she can make a difference in their lives. She knows parents and guardians are active participants in their child’s education, building warm and effective relationships through visits, phone calls, emails, and notes home.Kyle Griffitts, Cottonwood principal, said, “When you walk into her room it is evident that her students love her and she loves them. Last year, a parent stated how much their child loves Kelsey and that she is the kindest teacher he has ever met.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/2/1582860941383.jpeg" alt="Kristen Hanks." />
 <figcaption>Kristen Hanks.</figcaption>
 </figure>2020 Secondary Horizon Award – Kristen Hanks, Algebra 1 TeacherHanks is in her second year as algebra teacher at South High School where her classroom is known as an inclusive place for students to feel respected and welcomed. In a way that is all her own, Hanks makes learning meaningful and makes connections with each of her students. She promotes risk-taking when students learn challenging concepts and builds a safe place that supports the vulnerability when classmates share findings.Charlie Todd, fellow math teacher at South High School and 2020 USD 305 Teacher of the Year, explains, “Every part of Kristen’s classroom walls has something on it to support student learning, whether it has to do with growth mindset messaging or with new vocabulary that students are learning.”South High School uses circles to build students’ social-emotional skills during the advisory period. Hanks uses the concept in math class to build community and teach mathematical concepts. When learning direct and inverse variation, her students share and explain an example of each without repeating anything already said. Not only do students learn about the two concepts, they practice active listening and strengthen their creativity.Dr. Curtis Stevens, South High School principal, concluded, “On numerous occasions parents have called me and praised Miss Hanks for her patience and willingness to put forth extra effort to support their struggling student. She is a distinguished teacher because of her remarkable skills to communicate, educate and collaborate so her students find academic success.”