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Spirited contests seen in 36th Kansas House District

by Murrel Bland

It is rather unusual during a Wyandotte County Primary Election season to see two candidates, each on the Democrat and Republican tickets in the 36th District, for the Kansas House of Representatives. The incumbent Democrat, Kathy Wolfe Moore, is retiring.

And among Republicans, there is controversy.

The Republican candidates are Kevin Braun, a former appointed state senator, and Mark David Snelson, a retired Wyandotte County deputy sheriff.

Snelson’s campaign treasurer and political adviser is John Altevogt, a former chairman of the Wyandotte County Republican Central Committee. Altevogt is not known as one who shies away from controversy. He has accused Braun of denying Snelson of having the “sidekick” software that is used in door-to-door campaigns. However, Snelson did eventually receive the software from the state Republican organization after a media inquiry, according to Altevogt.

Altevogt also has alleged that Braun pushed out the vice chairperson of the Wyandotte County Central Republican Committee, Stephanie Cashion. Cashion made headlines after she filed a battery report with the Bonner Springs Police Department alleging sexual battery against Fabian Shepard on Aug. 20, 2021. Shepard subsequently resigned as chairman of the Johnson County Central Republican Committee.

The Democrat candidates

JoAnne Gilstrap is a pharmacist at the WalMart store in Village West. She is seeking the 36th District House of Representatives seat. Several attempts to reach her for biographical information were unsuccessful. She is a Democrat who has been a Republican. Her husband is Mark Gilstrap, who was a state senator.

Also seeking the 36th District seat as a Democrat is Lynn Melton. She recently retired from a job as an assistant to Mayor David Alvey. She said she is running so she can find ways that the state of Kansas can benefit the 36th District. She said she is concerned about adequate funding for public education and tax relief for the elderly.

The Republican candidates

Several attempts to reach Kevin Braun, who is seeking the 36th District seat, for comments were unsuccessful. Information about him was gathered from various public sources. He was appointed to serve as a state senator after Steve Fitzgerald resigned. The district covers part of western Wyandotte County and part of southern Leavenworth County. Braun, a Republican, lost in his bid to be elected to the Senate. While in the Senate from 2018 until 2020, Braun served on various committees, including Veterans and Ways and Means.

Mark David Snelson is a Republican seeking the 36th District House seat. He was unsuccessful in a bid for the House in 2018. He is a third generation law enforcement officer, having served as a Wyandotte County deputy sheriff. He was a license tag enforcement officer, a jailer and a road patrol officer. He said his main concern is obtaining adequate state funding for mental health.

The Primary Election is Tuesday, Aug. 2.

Murrel Bland is a former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press.

Kansas doctors warn of lax approach to coronavirus variants

by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Doctors with the University of Kansas Health System warn of a lack of preparation surrounding a COVID-19 subvariant driving rising case numbers.

The BA.5 variant has led health care providers in eastern Kansas to report levels similar to surges seen with Delta and Omicron. Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer for the University of Kansas Health System, said the loosening of disease prevention protocols could be setting communities up for failure.

“Knowing that we are seeing a lack of boosters going into arms, and Paxlovid isn’t quite working as well, and the monoclonal antibodies aren’t quite what they were before, I just wonder, are we setting ourselves up for some problems this fall?” Dr. Stites said.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 7,519 new COVID-19 cases and five new deaths in the past week.

Without full vaccination and booster shots, variants will continue to spread, said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control for the KU Health System. In Kansas, 62.8% of the total population is fully vaccinated, and 45.6% has at least one booster shot. For Kansas adults, the vaccination rate is 73.7%.

“There’s just so much spread, but the other thing is that we know that there are animal spillovers that can occur and then occur back to humans as well,” Dr. Hawkinson said. “You’re just going to have so many opportunities for this virus to be selected out, for any one variant to be self-selected out. So think we are in for a long road as far as watching and monitoring for variants.”

KU Health System doctors said wastewater testing confirmed COVID-19 is on the rise in the region. Numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show hospitalization is on the rise across the country, including in Kansas.

Dr. Joseph LeMaster, medical director and health officer for Johnson County, said assumptions based on national data that the pandemic was over led to a return to old practices. He said the wastewater testing indicates actual infections may be much higher than reported numbers.

LeMaster said he was unsure if the board of commissioners would require masks in Johnson County schools.

“We’ve continued to recommend the strong use of masks and all the other mitigation efforts and have never really changed our recommendations, but the mandates in the schools last year were predominantly due to the lack of availability of vaccines for the youngest populations,” he said.

Patrick Sallee, president and CEO of Vibrant Health in Wyandotte County, said the public was set to repeat the same things experienced at the beginning of the pandemic. The brunt of this, he said, would be felt by under-resourced communities.

Carlton Abner, associate provost of Campus Health and Wellness at Kansas City University, said convincing people to get vaccinated necessitates restoring trust in underserved communities.

“It most likely is going to be establishing that trust, one person or small group at a time,” Abner said. “It’s going to probably require very intimate contact within those communities and conversations that are extended over a period of time to just get people across the line.”

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/07/27/kansas-doctors-warn-of-lax-approach-to-coronavirus-variants/

Mega Millions jackpot climbs to over $1 billion

The Mega Millions jackpot for the Friday, July 29, drawing has surpassed the $1 billion mark for only the third time in the game’s history. The estimated jackpot for the upcoming drawing currently sits at $1.025 billion, with a cash option of $602,500,000.

There was a $10,000 winning Mega Millions ticket sold in the Northeast Kansas region in the Tuesday, July 26, drawing, with a total number of 35,828 winning tickets sold in Kansas for that drawing alone.

Mega Millions may be absorbing a lot of attention, but tonight there are three games offering Kansas Lottery players a chance to win big prizes as well.

Powerball draws tonight, with a current estimated jackpot of $145 million. Lotto America is in the middle of a long roll as well, with a current estimated jackpot of $17.36 million, the third highest since the game was launched in 2017. And finally, Super Kansas Cash, a Kansas-only game where players get 2 plays for $1, is up to $985,000 for tonight’s drawing as well.

Players are invited to submit all their winning and non-winning tickets in the Kansas Lottery PlayOn® Players Loyalty program to earn points for drawing entries and a chance to win cash and other prizes. PlayOn® is a registered trademark of Pollard Banknote Limited used under license.