Month: September 2014

Wolfe Moore receives Outstanding Public Official Award

State Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore, D-36th Dist., was presented with the Outstanding Public Official Award by Kyle Kessler, executive director of the Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas Inc.., on Tuesday, Sept. 17, for her support of the public mental health system in Kansas. (Submitted photo)
State Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore, D-36th Dist., was presented with the Outstanding Public Official Award by Kyle Kessler, executive director of the Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas Inc.., on Tuesday, Sept. 17, for her support of the public mental health system in Kansas. (Submitted photo)

State Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore, D-36th Dist., was presented with the Outstanding Public Official Award on Tuesday, Sept. 17, for her support of the public mental health system in Kansas.

The award was presented to Rep. Wolfe Moore by the Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas, Inc., at its 36th annual conference in Overland Park, Kan.

“Representative Wolfe Moore was instrumental in helping to ensure treatment and care to Kansans with mental illness while containing costs to the state’s budget this year,” stated Michael Garrett, executive director of Horizons Mental Health Center in Hutchinson, Kan., and president of the association.

Garrett joined Kyle Kessler, the association executive director, in presenting the award to Rep. Wolfe Moore at the annual Conference of the Association on Sept. 17.
Garrett said Rep. Wolfe Moore deserves to be recognized for her leadership in developing sound public policy.

Conference planned Oct. 9 on abolishing death penalty

A regional conference about abolishing the death penalty will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 9 at the Rainbow Mennonite Church, 1444 Southwest Blvd., Kansas City, Kan.

The Kansas City Regional Abolition Conference will include appearances by former death row inmates. Ray Krone, who was freed after DNA testing cleared him, will be on a panel discussion. Before his arrest, Krone had no previous criminal record, had been honorably discharged from the military, and had worked in the postal service for seven years.

Krone was the 100th former death row inmate freed since the reinstatement of capital punishment in 1976, according to the Kansas Coalition against the Death Penalty.

The conference will include two panel discussions. The first panel discussion is with Krone and Reggie Griffin, the 143rd person who has been exonerated since 1973, after spending 30 years in prison in Missouri. Also on this panel will be Darryl Burton, who spent 24 years in a Missouri prison for a murder he did not commit.
In a legislative and legal panel discussion, Donna Schneweis, KCADP board chair; and Ron Wurtz, former federal death penalty defender and KCADP vie board chair; will share their knowledge about the death penalty from their years of experience in the abolition movement.

The conference is free and open to the public. To make a reservation for the conference or for more information, contact Mike Fonkert, KCADP KC area community coordinator at mike@ksabolition.org or at 913-230-6643.

Today’s temperatures to reach 72 degrees

Fog this morning is giving way to dry conditions for the rest of the day, according to the National Weather Service.

Showers and storms will be possible overnight across east-central Kansas and western Missouri.

A cold front will move south across the region beginning Saturday, accompanied by showers and storms. Severe weather is not expected.

Today’s high will be 72 degrees, with an east wind of 7 to 10 mph.

Tonight, there will be a 20 percent of showers after 1 a.m. The low will be 64.

On Friday, skies will be partly sunny, with a high near 85. Winds will be from 9 to 14 mph from the south, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

On Saturday, expect a 30 percent chance of showers, and a high near 84.

Sunday, skies will be sunny and temperatures will reach 79.