Month: April 2018

Highway patrol to join multi-state 4/20 enforcement

The Kansas Highway Patrol has announced it will join a multi-state enforcement effort from Friday, April 20, through Sunday, April 22.

The high-visibility enforcement will target drug and alcohol-impaired driving, according to a news release from the Kansas Highway Patrol.

Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma also are joining in the enforcement effort.

According to the news release, there were 462 fatalities on the roadways in Kansas last year, with 20 percent of them involving a drug-impaired driver.

The news release stated that the Journal of American Medical Association cited a 12 percent increase in the relative risk of a fatal crash after 4:20 p.m. on April 20, compared to the same time intervals on other days.

The highway patrol’s Drug Recognition Experts and Breath Alcohol Unit will assist with enforcement across the state. Citations may be issued to individuals who refuse to obey the laws, including impaired driving, speeding and seat belt violations, and other violations. For those who refuse to submit to a blood test, a search warrant may be obtained for their blood, according to the KHP news release.

New Jersey man banned from doing business in Kansas

A New Jersey man is permanently banned from doing business in Kansas after falsely billing several Kansas school districts for textbooks, Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.

Robert Armstrong, of Franklinville, N.J., is permanently enjoined from doing business in the state of Kansas , including but not limited to submitting any claims for approval, engaging in consumer transactions, engaging in door-to-door sales; and from violating the Kansas Charitable Organizations Act.

The consent judgment, approved last week by Shawnee County District Judge Franklin Theis, resolves a lawsuit filed by Schmidt in 2015. Armstrong was recently released from federal prison, allowing Kansas to resume its civil case against Armstrong.

An investigation by the attorney general’s consumer protection division stemmed from multiple complaints received from school districts across Kansas that received false invoices from Armstrong’s business, Scholastic School Supply, between September and December 2014. None of the 317 Kansas public schools that received the invoices had actually ordered textbooks from the company.

At the time the invoices were being sent to Kansas, Schmidt’s office worked with the Kansas Department of Education to notify school districts statewide of the problem before they paid the invoices. Neither Armstrong nor his business are affiliated with Scholastic Inc., a well-known children’s book publisher.

The attorney general’s office alleged that Armstrong’s practices violated the Kansas False Claims Act, which gives the attorney general authority to file suit against individuals or entities that submit false or fraudulent claims for payment to a state agency or local government.

A copy of the consent judgment is available at http://bit.ly/2H6Ys1p.

Today’s forecast: Sunny, high in mid-50s

Today’s weather will be fairly quiet – sunny with a high near 56, according to the National Weather Service.

The next chance of precipitation, according to the forecast, is a 20 percent chance of showers on Saturday.

Tonight’s low will be around 36 with an east wind of 3 to 8 mph, according to the weather service.

Friday, expect a high near 62 with sunny skies and an east southeast wind of 5 to 10 mph, the weather service said.

Friday night, the low will be around 44 with an east southeast wind of around 9 mph, according to the weather service.

Saturday, there is a 20 percent chance of showers with a high near 57 and an east southeast wind of 7 to 9 mph, the weather service said.

Saturday night, there is a 20 percent chance of showers before 1 a.m., with a low of 44, according to the weather service.

Sunday, the high will be near 61 with mostly cloudy skies, the weather service said.

Sunday night, skies will be partly cloudy with a low of 45, according to the weather service.

Monday, the high will be near 67 with mostly sunny skies, the weather service said.

Monday night, the low will be near 47 with partly cloudy skies, according to the weather service.

Tuesday, the high will be near 66 with partly sunny skies, the weather service said.

Tuesday night, the low will be around 43 with mostly cloudy skies, according to the weather service.

Wednesday, the high will be near 63 with mostly sunny skies, the weather service said.