Month: June 2016

Wyandotte County students named to KU honor roll

Wyandotte County students were among about 5,200 undergraduate students at the University of Kansas who were named to the honor roll for the spring 2016 semester.

The students were from KU’s Lawrence campus and the schools of Health Professions and Nursing in Kansas City, Kan.

Students on the honor rolls met the requirements of their colleges. Some schools honored the top 10 percent of students enrolled; some established a minimum grade-point average; and others raised the minimum GPA for each year students are in school. Students must complete a minimum number of credit hours to be considered for the honor roll.

Students from Wyandotte County on the honor roll include:

Sandy Arjon, Bonner Springs, School of Pharmacy
Peter Beatty, Bonner Springs, School of Journalism
Kyle Chadwick, Bonner Springs, School of Nursing
Allison Crist, Bonner Springs, School of Journalism
Bridget Davis, Bonner Springs, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Christine Hashman, Bonner Springs, School of Pharmacy
Morgan Kleoppel, Bonner Springs, School of Business
Shelby Ney, Bonner Springs, School of Pharmacy
Christopher Stahl, Bonner Springs, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Chad Uhl, Bonner Springs, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Mario Vlasic, Bonner Springs, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and School of Business
Cortney Wise, Bonner Springs, School of the Arts

Silvia Argudo, Edwardsville, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Suhaib Bajwa, Edwardsville, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Sierra Seacat, Edwardsville, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Courtney Wheeler, Edwardsville, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Daiane Aizen Grill, Kansas City, Kan., School of Engineering
Mousa Hussain Alabbad, Kansas City, Kan., School of Health Professions
Tamara Arndt, Kansas City, Kan., School of Social Welfare
Ashley Arnett, Kansas City, Kan., School of the Arts
Ibrahima Bah, Kansas City, Kan., School of Business
Brittany Baumli, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Victoria Bogner, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Keyana Branch, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Cheyenne Brown, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Kiana Brown, Kansas City, Kan., School of Education
Rachel Carver, Kansas City, Kan., School of the Arts
Mollie Chapin-Patch, Kansas City, Kan., School of Education
Elizabeth Diaz-Amaro, Kansas City, Kan., School of Nursing
Conner Emberlin, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Alexandra English, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Haydee Fewell, Kansas City, Kan., School of Nursing
Melissa Fewell, Kansas City, Kan., School of Education
Alex Flores, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Margaret Gadd-Nelson, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Elizabeth Gilbert, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Huntre Graham, Kansas City, Kan., School of Nursing
Daniel Gum, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Clarissa Harvey, Kansas City, Kan., School of Education
Jonathan Heaver, Kansas City, Kan., School of Music
Luntea Her, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Richard Hernandez Jr, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Theresa Horne, Kansas City, Kan., School of Pharmacy
Carolina Jimenez-Garcia, Kansas City, Kan., School of Business
John Klapper, Kansas City, Kan., School of Engineering
Grace Lamberton, Kansas City, Kan., School of Social Welfare
Bau Lau, Kansas City, Kan., School of Health Professions
Sang Lau, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Cesar Leyva, Kansas City, Kan., School of Architecture, Design and Planning
Alva Raniece Locke, Kansas City, Kan., School of Health Professions
Daniel Murga, Kansas City, Kan., School of Engineering
Emma Murrugarra, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Isaac Nevarez, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Ricardo Ortiz, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Dandre Parks, Kansas City, Kan., School of Business
Peyton Peaches, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Sarah Pestock, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Elizabeth Reynolds, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Marcus Robinson, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Maria Rodriguez, Kansas City, Kan., School of Business
Zakk Roy, Kansas City, Kan., School of Engineering
John Russell, Kansas City, Kan., School of Engineering
Gina Schlecta, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Tadd Schneider, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Julianne Seaver, Kansas City, Kan., School of Pharmacy
Gordon Sheldon, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Shelby Slater-Marksbury, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Krista Sturm, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Carlie Thomas, Kansas City, Kan., School of Education
Samara Tortolero, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Candice Townsend, Kansas City, Kan., School of Journalism
Sandy Vue, Kansas City, Kan., School of Health Professions
Christian Wagner, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Jill Wiehe, Kansas City, Kan., School of Nursing
Brooke Wietharn, Kansas City, Kan., College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Justin Williams, Kansas City, Kan., School of Nursing
Nicholas Yu, Kansas City, Kan., School of Health Professions
Ethan Zolotor, Kansas City, Kan., School of Engineering.

Car on its way to KCK allegedly contained 34 pounds of meth

A Mexican man was indicted Wednesday on charges that he was stopped in Shawnee County, Kan., with 34 pounds of methamphetamine in his car, acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said. The car was on its way to Kansas City, Kan., when it was stopped June 18, federal authorities said.

Luis Manuel Mojarro-Lopez, 33, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. An affidavit filed in the case alleges that on June 18 the defendant was driving a 2007 Ford Mustang when a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper pulled him over for running a stop sign on the I-70 eastbound exit ramp at Wanamaker.

A search of the vehicle turned up 34 pounds of methamphetamine hidden in a false compartment behind the rear seat. Investigators learned Mojarro-Lopez was being paid $2,000 to drive the vehicle from Los Angeles to Kansas City, Kan., according to the indictment. He was told to call his contact for further directions after he arrived in Kansas City, Kan.

If convicted, he faces a penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million. The Kansas Highway Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Skip Jacobs is prosecuting.

Legislative update from Rep. Pam Curtis, D-32nd Dist.

Rep. Pam Curtis
Rep. Pam Curtis

The Kansas Legislature convened last week for a special session, after the Kansas Supreme Court issued a ruling that the state was not funding all schools in Kansas equally.

The session lasted only two days, and ended when a bipartisan compromise passed late Friday. While the bill is not perfect, it is a step in the right direction, and most importantly – allocates $38 million in new money and prevents our schools from closing.

Democrats led the effort

A plan to resolve the school finance crisis surrounding equity passed the House of Representatives on a vote of 116-6 and the Senate on a vote of 38-1 late Friday evening. All Democrats voted in favor of the bill.

A special session was needed because the governor and his GOP allies in the legislature did not appropriately address the equity issue during the regular session.

Democrats were committed to working to find a fair solution that would not harm our schools. We were the first to call for a special session and the first to release a school finance plan, which provided a blueprint for the bill that passed.

Initially, the GOP leadership in the House and Senate proposed a bill that would actually cut classroom funding before providing additional funds to schools. Such a plan would have done more harm than good and most likely would not have been approved by the court.

The plan that did pass increased funding for our schools by $38 million and used the following funding sources:

Funding Source Amount
Virtual School Funding $2.8 million
Extraordinary Needs Fund $7.2 million
TANF Idle Funds $4.1 million
Kansas Bioscience Authority $13 million
Tobacco Settlement Funds $16 million
Total $38 million

1. Freeze virtual school funding: Will hold the funding for virtual schools steady for the current year and not increase them as was already approved. This proposal uses $2.8 million.

2. Extraordinary Needs Fund: Will use $7.2 million from the Extraordinary Needs Fund that was established within the Block Grant bill in 2014. Plus, an additional $5 million will be moved to the Extraordinary Needs Fund from a Department of Motor Vehicles Modernization Fund.

3. TANF idle funds: Will use $4.1 million from unused TANF funds. TANF typically funds programs meant to help needy families achieve self-sufficiency. The bill utilizes existing unused funds and does not cut any existing programs.

4. Sale of the Kansas Bioscience Authority: Will use up to $13 million from the proceeds of the sale of the Kansas Bioscience Authority that are in excess of $25 million. The Bioscience Authority is a former quasi state agency that was already scheduled to be sold off.

5. Unused tobacco settlement funds: In the 1990s, Kansas joined several other states in filing a lawsuit against tobacco companies claiming tobacco was a health risk that increased health care costs for the states. Due to a settlement of that lawsuit, Kansas receives annual payments from the tobacco companies. Typically, these funds are used to finance children programs. Due to a veto by Gov. Brownback, up to $16 million was not being used on these programs and was idle.

Thankfully as a result of this special session our schools will open this fall. I am proud of my Democratic colleagues for standing together with Kansas students, teachers, schools, and administrators to find a solution that puts more money into education. Moving forward, I will continue fighting for adequate and equitable funding for our schools.

Keep in touch
It is a special honor to serve as your state representative. I value and need your input on issues facing state government. Please feel free to contact me with your comments and questions. You can reach me at 913-626-0404 or by email at [email protected].