BARTON COUNTY —A Kansas teen was injured in an accident just after 1a.m. Saturday in Barton County.

A 2001 Ford Expedition driven by a 17-year-old from Ellinwood was southbound in the 300 Block of Northeast 110 Avenue just north of Ellinwood, according to Sheriff Brian Bellendir.

The SUV entered the east ditch struck a farm drive and came back onto the roadway, slid sideways in the road and rolled into the west ditch. First responders found the driver approximately 35 feet beyond where the vehicle came to rest in a wheat field.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The driver was unresponsive at the scene, according to Bellendir. EMS transported him to Ellinwood District Hospital and later he was airlifted to St. Francis Medical Center in Wichita.&nbsp; The sheriff did not release the driver's name.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624246911135.jpeg" alt="First responders found the teen driver approximately 35 feet beyond where the vehicle came to rest in a wheat field.&nbsp;&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>First responders found the teen driver approximately 35 feet beyond where the vehicle came to rest in a wheat field.&nbsp;&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>BARTON COUNTY —A Kansas teen was injured in an accident just after 1a.m. Saturday in Barton County.A 2001 Ford Expedition driven by a 17-year-old from Ellinwood was southbound in the 300 Block of Northeast 110 Avenue just north of Ellinwood, according to Sheriff Brian Bellendir.The SUV entered the east ditch struck a farm drive and came back onto the roadway, slid sideways in the road and rolled into the west ditch. First responders found the driver approximately 35 feet beyond where the vehicle came to rest in a wheat field.&nbsp;&nbsp;The driver was unresponsive at the scene, according to Bellendir. EMS transported him to Ellinwood District Hospital and later he was airlifted to St. Francis Medical Center in Wichita.&nbsp; The sheriff did not release the driver's name.

Sheriff: Kan. teen thrown 35-feet from SUV in rollover accident

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Newly released court records say surveillance video has captured a suburban Kansas City day care worker abusing babies more than 170 times, including by shaking and slapping them. 

Twenty-four-year-old Rachel Beth Schrader is on house arrest after she was charged earlier this month in Johnson County District Court with four counts of child abuse. 

The affidavit describes her kicking a child square in the chest in one instance, causing him to fall backward and smack his head. In a police interview, Schrader acknowledged “losing her patience” on Mar. 26, but said that was the only time. Her attorney didn’t immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press on Saturday seeking comment.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624041740593.png" alt="Schrader photo Johnson Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Schrader photo Johnson Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Newly released court records say surveillance video has captured a suburban Kansas City day care worker abusing babies more than 170 times, including by shaking and slapping them. Twenty-four-year-old Rachel Beth Schrader is on house arrest after she was charged earlier this month in Johnson County District Court with four counts of child abuse. The affidavit describes her kicking a child square in the chest in one instance, causing him to fall backward and smack his head. In a police interview, Schrader acknowledged “losing her patience” on Mar. 26, but said that was the only time. Her attorney didn’t immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press on Saturday seeking comment.

Surveillance video: Kan. woman abused kids at daycare

WICHITA– A Kansas man was sentenced to 210 months in prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance, a Class A Felony, according to the United State's Attorney.

According to court documents, Michael A. Arjona, 40, Wichita, admitted that over several months in 2018 he conspired with other individuals to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. 

Arjona confessed to a plan to sell the methamphetamine to customers in the Wichita area. Three other people entered guilty pleas to charges related to the drug trafficking ring that Arjona ran. 

Nicholas Brandt, 21, of Wichita was sentenced to 96 months after pleading guilty to Use of a Communication Device to Facilitate a Drug Offense. Cody J. Cobal, 25, of Wichita pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. Matthew A. McMillan, 20, pleaded guilty to Use of a Communication Device to Facilitate a Drug Offense. Cobal and McMillan are awaiting sentencing.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1623962953981.png" alt="Arjona is being held in Butler Co." />
 <figcaption>Arjona is being held in Butler Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA– A Kansas man was sentenced to 210 months in prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance, a Class A Felony, according to the United State's Attorney.According to court documents, Michael A. Arjona, 40, Wichita, admitted that over several months in 2018 he conspired with other individuals to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine. Arjona confessed to a plan to sell the methamphetamine to customers in the Wichita area. Three other people entered guilty pleas to charges related to the drug trafficking ring that Arjona ran. Nicholas Brandt, 21, of Wichita was sentenced to 96 months after pleading guilty to Use of a Communication Device to Facilitate a Drug Offense. Cody J. Cobal, 25, of Wichita pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. Matthew A. McMillan, 20, pleaded guilty to Use of a Communication Device to Facilitate a Drug Offense. Cobal and McMillan are awaiting sentencing.

Man who ran Kansas drug ring sentenced to prison

SEATTLE (AP) — Leroy Pascubillo missed his daughter’s first step, her first word and countless other precious milestones. After being born addicted to heroin, she had been placed with a foster family, and he anxiously counted the days between their visits as he tried to regain custody. But because of the pandemic, the visits dwindled and went virtual, and all he could do was watch his daughter — too young to engage via computer — try to crawl through the screen.

They are among thousands of families across the country whose reunifications have been snarled in the foster care system as courts delayed cases, went virtual or temporarily shut down, according to an Associated Press analysis of child welfare data from 34 states.

The decrease in children leaving foster care means families are lingering longer in a system intended to be temporary, as critical services were shuttered or limited. Vulnerable families are suffering long-term and perhaps irreversible damage, experts say, which could leave parents with weakened bonds with their children.

The AP’s analysis found at least 8,700 fewer reunifications during the early months of the pandemic compared with the March-to-December period the year before -- a decrease of 16%. Adoptions, too, dropped — by 23%, according to the analysis. Overall, at least 22,600 fewer children left foster care compared with 2019.

“Everybody needed extra help, and nobody was getting extra help,” said Shawn Powell, a Parents for Parents advocacy program coordinator in King County, Washington.

For months, King County, like many parts of the country, suspended nearly all hearings except emergency orders, which led to prioritizing child removals -- sparked by child welfare reports or other red flags -- over family reunifications. Adoptions slowed to a trickle. Services needed for reunification — psychiatric evaluations, random drug testing, group therapy, mental health counseling, housing assistance, and the public transportation to access these services — also were limited.

For foster care children, even doctor’s appointments must be approved by a judge, and frustrated lawyers say matters as routine as that were affected.

During the period examined in AP’s analysis, the total foster care population dropped 2% overall -- likely a result of the significant decrease in child abuse and neglect reports, where the process to remove a child from a home typically begins.

National data show that the average stay in foster care is about 20 months, which means the children most affected during the early months of the pandemic were those in the foster care system long before the pandemic.

Those in foster care are disproportionately children of color and from poor families, national data also show. Those groups tend to have more contact with social service agencies that are mandated to report potential abuse and neglect, which means the pandemic has amplified not just the challenges of poor parenting but of parenting while poor.

“The systemic problems around racism and poverty in COVID and how people are treated in the child welfare system may be compounding,” said Sharon Vandivere of the national think tank group Child Trends, who noted that longer stays in foster care are inherently traumatic and make reunifications less likely. “It was bad before, and it’s probably made it even worse.”

For D.Y., a Black teenager living at a Seattle-area group home, the pandemic has magnified the loneliness and isolation of being in the care of child protective services. He’s been out of his mother’s custody since 2016, after an abuse report found she physically disciplined her children. He had visits with her in the years following, and lawyers expected his mom would regain custody and D.Y. could go home in the fall of 2020. Then the pandemic rocked his case and life.

Because of new COVID-19 protocols and staffing shortages, already-limited privileges at the institutional group home were scaled back or revoked. In-person visits with his mom ended. Group activities all but disappeared. Inside, he resented wearing a mask and washing his hands constantly. With each exposure scare in the living facility, he and others had to quarantine.

When he resumed in-person school, he hoped officials would find it safe to see his mom again, too — but that didn't happen for months. He watched helplessly as his sister - who was placed with relatives and had a case further along in the system when the pandemic began - was returned home to their mom last summer. D.Y. was happy for them, but he wants the same: to taste his mom's cooking, to make eggs in his own kitchen, to sit on the couch with his family with no masks.

“I still want her to baby me,” the 13-year-old boy said of his mother, who declined to comment for this story while the cases of D.Y. and her third child remain active. “I can tell she has high faith of when I’ll come home. I don’t know if it’s going to happen anymore.”

The AP is not naming D.Y., instead referring to him by the initials used in his lawsuit against the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families. The lawsuit accuses the state of providing inadequate care as D.Y. was bounced through 50 placements before the pandemic, some days housing him in a motel or the agency’s office building. The state declined to comment on his case and lawsuit.

But Frank Ordway, chief of staff at the state's child welfare agency, blamed the court system's closures for the drop in reunifications and implored those that still haven't fully reopened to prioritize cases like D.Y.'s.

“When those systems aren’t working, those families and those children are left in limbo," Ordway said. “Our job as an agency is to help keep those families together and to get them together. Not being able to do so because of the pandemic was a wrenching experience."

King County Superior Court Commissioner Nicole Wagner, a presiding judge in the family court system, said court staff, attorneys, social workers and counselors did their best, but that no one knew how to address unprecedented issues in the pandemic. For example, she said, she wanted in-person visits for children but couldn't order social workers with underlying conditions to monitor them when required by law.

Wagner said she hopes lessons from the pandemic will help redefine how the system supports already struggling families in the process of reunification.

“It's scary, it’s overwhelming, it’s frightening. And it’s about the most important things in your life: your children,” Wagner said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the pandemic absolutely, 100% has disproportionately impacted the more vulnerable populations.”

Illinois&nbsp;was the only state that saw an increase in foster care exits. Others in AP's analysis acknowledged a significant drop but said that each foster care case has unique circumstances beneath the numbers.

Many states, for example, extended support to those on the cusp of aging out of state care during the pandemic. This policy change effectively protected foster care youths from being kicked out of their living arrangements if they still needed a place to stay, but it also affected the number of foster care exits.

<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/connecticut">Connecticut</a>&nbsp;— which had one of the largest drops in exits, at 36% — waited until May 2021 to fully return to in-person visits, which serve as a key metric to judge whether parents are prepared to regain care and custody of their children.

The state "never stopped serving children and families, and we found that conducting some of our work virtually is both more efficient and, in some cases, preferred by our clients,” a Connecticut Department of Children and Families spokesman said in a statement.

Leroy Pascubillo, now 51, had used drugs over the course of four decades, but said he started working toward sobriety immediately after his daughter’s birth in February 2019.

The court put him in the only drug rehab center in the Seattle area that allows children to stay on site with their fathers. He had a few in-person visits with his daughter each week, and he was told that if he got through the initial stages of the program, she could join him there in March 2020 while he completed treatment. The pandemic upended that plan.

“You start building that relationship, and then it’s taken away and you try to start it all over again,” he said. All the more painful was that he knew his daughter, now 2, also had no contact with her mother. Pascubillo said she hasn’t participated in the custody case, and she couldn't be reached by the AP.

Once courts began to hear existing cases again, Pascubillo was able to reunite with his daughter, complete rehab and land a Seattle apartment with the help of state and nonprofit services. He wants to work as a parent advocate to help other fathers find their way back to their kids. He still weeps over the time he's lost and the four-month delay in reuniting with his daughter.

“It felt like 40 years. I figured she would have forgotten me. But as soon as I looked at her and sang ‘baby, baby, baby,’ she started kicking like she was in the womb," Pascubillo said. "We have this bond.”

By SALLY HO and CAMILLE FASSETTSEATTLE (AP) — Leroy Pascubillo missed his daughter’s first step, her first word and countless other precious milestones. After being born addicted to heroin, she had been placed with a foster family, and he anxiously counted the days between their visits as he tried to regain custody. But because of the pandemic, the visits dwindled and went virtual, and all he could do was watch his daughter — too young to engage via computer — try to crawl through the screen.They are among thousands of families across the country whose reunifications have been snarled in the foster care system as courts delayed cases, went virtual or temporarily shut down, according to an Associated Press analysis of child welfare data from 34 states.The decrease in children leaving foster care means families are lingering longer in a system intended to be temporary, as critical services were shuttered or limited. Vulnerable families are suffering long-term and perhaps irreversible damage, experts say, which could leave parents with weakened bonds with their children.The AP’s analysis found at least 8,700 fewer reunifications during the early months of the pandemic compared with the March-to-December period the year before -- a decrease of 16%. Adoptions, too, dropped — by 23%, according to the analysis. Overall, at least 22,600 fewer children left foster care compared with 2019.“Everybody needed extra help, and nobody was getting extra help,” said Shawn Powell, a Parents for Parents advocacy program coordinator in King County, Washington.For months, King County, like many parts of the country, suspended nearly all hearings except emergency orders, which led to prioritizing child removals -- sparked by child welfare reports or other red flags -- over family reunifications. Adoptions slowed to a trickle. Services needed for reunification — psychiatric evaluations, random drug testing, group therapy, mental health counseling, housing assistance, and the public transportation to access these services — also were limited.For foster care children, even doctor’s appointments must be approved by a judge, and frustrated lawyers say matters as routine as that were affected.During the period examined in AP’s analysis, the total foster care population dropped 2% overall -- likely a result of the significant decrease in child abuse and neglect reports, where the process to remove a child from a home typically begins.National data show that the average stay in foster care is about 20 months, which means the children most affected during the early months of the pandemic were those in the foster care system long before the pandemic.Those in foster care are disproportionately children of color and from poor families, national data also show. Those groups tend to have more contact with social service agencies that are mandated to report potential abuse and neglect, which means the pandemic has amplified not just the challenges of poor parenting but of parenting while poor.“The systemic problems around racism and poverty in COVID and how people are treated in the child welfare system may be compounding,” said Sharon Vandivere of the national think tank group Child Trends, who noted that longer stays in foster care are inherently traumatic and make reunifications less likely. “It was bad before, and it’s probably made it even worse.”For D.Y., a Black teenager living at a Seattle-area group home, the pandemic has magnified the loneliness and isolation of being in the care of child protective services. He’s been out of his mother’s custody since 2016, after an abuse report found she physically disciplined her children. He had visits with her in the years following, and lawyers expected his mom would regain custody and D.Y. could go home in the fall of 2020. Then the pandemic rocked his case and life.Because of new COVID-19 protocols and staffing shortages, already-limited privileges at the institutional group home were scaled back or revoked. In-person visits with his mom ended. Group activities all but disappeared. Inside, he resented wearing a mask and washing his hands constantly. With each exposure scare in the living facility, he and others had to quarantine.When he resumed in-person school, he hoped officials would find it safe to see his mom again, too — but that didn't happen for months. He watched helplessly as his sister - who was placed with relatives and had a case further along in the system when the pandemic began - was returned home to their mom last summer. D.Y. was happy for them, but he wants the same: to taste his mom's cooking, to make eggs in his own kitchen, to sit on the couch with his family with no masks.“I still want her to baby me,” the 13-year-old boy said of his mother, who declined to comment for this story while the cases of D.Y. and her third child remain active. “I can tell she has high faith of when I’ll come home. I don’t know if it’s going to happen anymore.”The AP is not naming D.Y., instead referring to him by the initials used in his lawsuit against the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families. The lawsuit accuses the state of providing inadequate care as D.Y. was bounced through 50 placements before the pandemic, some days housing him in a motel or the agency’s office building. The state declined to comment on his case and lawsuit.But Frank Ordway, chief of staff at the state's child welfare agency, blamed the court system's closures for the drop in reunifications and implored those that still haven't fully reopened to prioritize cases like D.Y.'s.“When those systems aren’t working, those families and those children are left in limbo," Ordway said. “Our job as an agency is to help keep those families together and to get them together. Not being able to do so because of the pandemic was a wrenching experience."King County Superior Court Commissioner Nicole Wagner, a presiding judge in the family court system, said court staff, attorneys, social workers and counselors did their best, but that no one knew how to address unprecedented issues in the pandemic. For example, she said, she wanted in-person visits for children but couldn't order social workers with underlying conditions to monitor them when required by law.Wagner said she hopes lessons from the pandemic will help redefine how the system supports already struggling families in the process of reunification.“It's scary, it’s overwhelming, it’s frightening. And it’s about the most important things in your life: your children,” Wagner said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the pandemic absolutely, 100% has disproportionately impacted the more vulnerable populations.”Illinois&nbsp;was the only state that saw an increase in foster care exits. Others in AP's analysis acknowledged a significant drop but said that each foster care case has unique circumstances beneath the numbers.Many states, for example, extended support to those on the cusp of aging out of state care during the pandemic. This policy change effectively protected foster care youths from being kicked out of their living arrangements if they still needed a place to stay, but it also affected the number of foster care exits.<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/connecticut">Connecticut</a>&nbsp;— which had one of the largest drops in exits, at 36% — waited until May 2021 to fully return to in-person visits, which serve as a key metric to judge whether parents are prepared to regain care and custody of their children.The state "never stopped serving children and families, and we found that conducting some of our work virtually is both more efficient and, in some cases, preferred by our clients,” a Connecticut Department of Children and Families spokesman said in a statement.Leroy Pascubillo, now 51, had used drugs over the course of four decades, but said he started working toward sobriety immediately after his daughter’s birth in February 2019.The court put him in the only drug rehab center in the Seattle area that allows children to stay on site with their fathers. He had a few in-person visits with his daughter each week, and he was told that if he got through the initial stages of the program, she could join him there in March 2020 while he completed treatment. The pandemic upended that plan.“You start building that relationship, and then it’s taken away and you try to start it all over again,” he said. All the more painful was that he knew his daughter, now 2, also had no contact with her mother. Pascubillo said she hasn’t participated in the custody case, and she couldn't be reached by the AP.Once courts began to hear existing cases again, Pascubillo was able to reunite with his daughter, complete rehab and land a Seattle apartment with the help of state and nonprofit services. He wants to work as a parent advocate to help other fathers find their way back to their kids. He still weeps over the time he's lost and the four-month delay in reuniting with his daughter.“It felt like 40 years. I figured she would have forgotten me. But as soon as I looked at her and sang ‘baby, baby, baby,’ she started kicking like she was in the womb," Pascubillo said. "We have this bond.”

Report: COVID prolonged foster care stays for thousands

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man on multiple charges after an incident involving a gun.

Shortly after 4:30 p.m. June 16, the Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call about a shooting that just occurred in the 2300 block of NE 82nd Street. The caller advised that he and a teenager were threatened with a firearm by a known suspect later identified as 44-year-old Stephen L. Pittman of Topeka.

Deputies arrived on scene and an investigation over the incident ensued with detectives.

Deputies then arrested Pittman&nbsp; and booked him into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated endangering a child.

Sheriff Brian Hill reminded&nbsp; citizens that violence is never the answer and to always handle firearms safely and responsibly. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1623976456812.png" alt="Pittman photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Pittman photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man on multiple charges after an incident involving a gun.Shortly after 4:30 p.m. June 16, the Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call about a shooting that just occurred in the 2300 block of NE 82nd Street. The caller advised that he and a teenager were threatened with a firearm by a known suspect later identified as 44-year-old Stephen L. Pittman of Topeka.Deputies arrived on scene and an investigation over the incident ensued with detectives.Deputies then arrested Pittman&nbsp; and booked him into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated endangering a child.Sheriff Brian Hill reminded&nbsp; citizens that violence is never the answer and to always handle firearms safely and responsibly.

Kan. man accused of threatening teen with gun

‘I’m farmer to the bone. My nose is tough. This is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced’

By ALLISON KITE <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/06/14/as-massive-livestock-operations-move-in-fighting-them-gets-harder-for-rural-neighbors/">Kansas Reflector</a>

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jeff 
Jones has lived on his family’s land east of Columbia, Missouri, his 
entire life. Some of the family’s farms are more than 150 years old.

And Jones, who raises cattle and grows row crops, has no intentions of going anywhere.&nbsp;

But
 after years of fighting, his community is home to a concentrated animal
 feeding operation, or CAFO, that can raise as many as 10,000 hogs at 
any given time. The facility, which opened in 2019, houses the animals 
in barns built over concrete pits to store manure for months at a time.&nbsp;

Jones
 and CAFO critics consider them a health hazard — or at least a 
nuisance. One of the most common complaints is the stench from hog 
manure and dead animals.&nbsp;

“I’m
 farmer to the bone. My nose is tough. This is unlike anything I’ve ever
 experienced,” Jones said of the Callaway Farrowing CAFO. “This is like 
breathing straight ammonia. It’ll make your eyes water.”

Jones
 is part of Friends of Responsible Agriculture and said he fought the 
Callaway CAFO “tooth and nail.” But the CAFO permit went all the way up 
to the Western District Court of Appeals, where it was upheld.&nbsp;

Some
 rural communities in northwest Missouri have successfully fought off 
CAFOs. One facility proposed for Livingston County withdrew its permit 
request earlier this year after opposition and a lawsuit from neighbors.
 In 2019, the Valley Oaks Steak Company southeast of Kansas City, 
announced it would close its doors after an earlier attempt to expand.&nbsp;

But in Jones’ view, it’s getting harder for local communities to stop industrial hog farms.&nbsp;

“They’re
 passing laws out of the benefit of money instead of out of the benefit 
of people, so the people’s voice is becoming less instead of more,” 
Jones said.&nbsp;

In
 2019, Missouri had more than 500 CAFOs, according to the Missouri 
Coalition for the Environment — far less than the thousands in Iowa, the
 largest pork producing state in the United States.&nbsp;

The
 Missouri Department of Natural Resources did not provide data on the 
number of permitted CAFOs each year, but according to its website, it 
has issued permits for about 20 more since 2019.&nbsp;

An
 attorney representing several communities fighting CAFOs in their 
backyards said the number seemed to be on the uptick. But an attorney 
for the industry said the number of the largest CAFOs — permitted to 
house 17,500 swine or more than 7,000 cattle —&nbsp;was stagnant.&nbsp;

Neighboring Kansas has about 435 CAFOs and more than 2,400 smaller livestock operations.&nbsp;

Craig Volland, of the Kansas Chapter of the Sierra Club, said the number had grown steadily.

One CAFO in <a href="https://www.hutchnews.com/article/20160414/News/304149916">Greeley County in far Western Kansas has 180 hog barns</a> and was looking in 2014 to expand to become the second largest in the country.&nbsp;

Volland
 said right-to-farm rules in Kansas have made the state more friendly to
 CAFOs. But until recent years, regulators stuck close to federal CAFO 
rules in issuing permits.&nbsp;

Over
 the past several years, Missouri has passed several pieces of 
legislation to make way for CAFOs. About 10 years ago, the Missouri 
General Assembly <a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/file/SC/Opinion_SC93816.pdf">eliminated citizens’ ability to make nuisance complaints for non-economic damages</a> against CAFOs. As of 2019, local and county health departments can’t issue <a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/19info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=3780907">ordinances governing CAFOs that are any stricter than state rules</a>. That rule is currently tied up in court.&nbsp;

Opponents say the 2019 law undermines local communities’ ability to protect residents and their natural resources.&nbsp;

Robert
 Brundage, an attorney who represents several agricultural 
organizations, said the legislation, known as Senate Bill 391, put local
 communities and the state on “equal footing.”&nbsp;

“Senate
 Bill 391 has prevented counties from imposing arbitrary siting 
restrictions on CAFOs that were never based in sound science,” Brundage 
said. “They were only enacted to prevent the siting of virtually any new
 livestock operation in the county, so the legislature has returned some
 more common sense approach to siting CAFOs in the state that’s based on
 science.”&nbsp;

This year, the <a href="https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB574&amp;year=2021&amp;code=R">Legislature limited who can inspect agricultural facilities</a>
 to state and federal agriculture and environmental officials and law 
enforcement in an apparent effort to bar local health departments from 
viewing the facilities.&nbsp;

Gov.
 Mike Parson signed the legislation into law Thursday, saying it 
“protects producers and supports Missouri’s agriculture industry.”

Kansas, too, has been criticized for tipping the scales in favor of CAFOs.&nbsp;

Officials
 with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment have been 
negotiating with large hog farmers to amend state regulations and allow 
producers to divide their herds into distinct business operations on one
 piece of property, essentially allowing them to double the size of 
their CAFO without moving it any farther from the closest body of water,
 homes, churches or schools.&nbsp;

“They
 seem to be trying to accommodate the livestock industry at the expense,
 in our opinion, of the environment,” Volland said.&nbsp;

KDHE said the regulations weren’t in conflict with state law and didn’t represent a shift in policy.

A CAFO, Jones said, is “not something anybody wants to live next to.”&nbsp;

When the wind blows right, he can smell the hog waste from inside his farmhouse. He said it gets in his clothes.&nbsp;

But in recent years, neighbors have steadily lost their opportunities for recourse.&nbsp;

In 2016, lawmakers changed the makeup of the Clean Water Commission, which signs off on CAFO permits. <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article101824332.html">Critics argued that the change made the commission</a>
 more friendly to agricultural interests. The chairwoman, Ashley 
McCarty, is executive director of Missouri Farmers Care, which advocates
 for farming and agricultural interests and certifies counties with 
favorable rules as “agri-ready.”&nbsp;

McCarty didn’t return multiple requests for comment.&nbsp;

Stephen
 Jeffery, an attorney who helped Jones and neighbors try to fight off 
the CAFO in Callaway County, said neighbors often voice concerns about 
CAFO permits but are rarely heard.&nbsp;

By 2016, more than two dozen counties had adopted CAFO regulations, according to the <a href="https://extension.missouri.edu/media/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/Pro/ManureManagement/Docs/cho/county_ordinance.pdf">University of Missouri Extension</a>. Then the General Assembly prohibited such rules.&nbsp;

Jeffery
 represented plaintiffs who are fighting to get the rule reversed. In a 
lawsuit filed in 2020, they said the legislation “hinders (counties’) 
ability to effectively protect the public health of their county 
residents,” noting one county had prohibited construction of manure pits
 in areas where the soil is prone to shrinking and swelling and could 
cause leaks in the manure.&nbsp;

“Under
 the current Missouri law and regulations, the local community doesn’t 
really get that much input,” Jeffery said. “They’re able to provide 
comments on a proposed permit, but 99.9% of the time, the requests that 
they make for changes or revisions, unfortunately, are not implemented.”

Supporters
 contend the county health ordinances allow local communities to set 
rules that are appropriate for them. Such a rule existed in Livingston 
County, where opponents successfully fought off a 10,500-hog CAFO near 
the Poosey Conservation Area.&nbsp;

But
 while the neighbors in Livingston County celebrated the CAFO operator’s
 decision to withdraw its permit application, the Clean Water Commission
 <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2021/05/18/missouri-eases-rules-for-building-cafos-despite-outcry-about-potential-pollution/">eased groundwater restrictions that would have applied to the CAFO</a>, making it easier for future operators to build in areas where environmentalists say they might threaten the groundwater.

While
 Jeffery has represented several communities attempting to battle back 
CAFOs, he noted the bulk of permit applications don’t garner the kind of
 attention the one in Livingston County did.

“What
 that tells me,” he said, “is that most CAFO operators are responsible 
enough that they site these facilities … far enough away that they’re 
not going to adversely affect their neighbors.”

Allison Kite is a data reporter for The Missouri Independent and Kansas Reflector, with a focus on the environment and agriculture.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1623693654857.png" alt="Jeff Jones, of Callaway County, runs his family's 100-year-old farm right next to a concentrated animal feeding operation. (Submitted)" />
 <figcaption>Jeff Jones, of Callaway County, runs his family's 100-year-old farm right next to a concentrated animal feeding operation. (Submitted)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>‘I’m farmer to the bone. My nose is tough. This is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced’</h2>By ALLISON KITE <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/06/14/as-massive-livestock-operations-move-in-fighting-them-gets-harder-for-rural-neighbors/">Kansas Reflector</a>KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jeff 
Jones has lived on his family’s land east of Columbia, Missouri, his 
entire life. Some of the family’s farms are more than 150 years old.And Jones, who raises cattle and grows row crops, has no intentions of going anywhere.&nbsp;But
 after years of fighting, his community is home to a concentrated animal
 feeding operation, or CAFO, that can raise as many as 10,000 hogs at 
any given time. The facility, which opened in 2019, houses the animals 
in barns built over concrete pits to store manure for months at a time.&nbsp;Jones
 and CAFO critics consider them a health hazard — or at least a 
nuisance. One of the most common complaints is the stench from hog 
manure and dead animals.&nbsp;“I’m
 farmer to the bone. My nose is tough. This is unlike anything I’ve ever
 experienced,” Jones said of the Callaway Farrowing CAFO. “This is like 
breathing straight ammonia. It’ll make your eyes water.”Jones
 is part of Friends of Responsible Agriculture and said he fought the 
Callaway CAFO “tooth and nail.” But the CAFO permit went all the way up 
to the Western District Court of Appeals, where it was upheld.&nbsp;Some
 rural communities in northwest Missouri have successfully fought off 
CAFOs. One facility proposed for Livingston County withdrew its permit 
request earlier this year after opposition and a lawsuit from neighbors.
 In 2019, the Valley Oaks Steak Company southeast of Kansas City, 
announced it would close its doors after an earlier attempt to expand.&nbsp;But in Jones’ view, it’s getting harder for local communities to stop industrial hog farms.&nbsp;“They’re
 passing laws out of the benefit of money instead of out of the benefit 
of people, so the people’s voice is becoming less instead of more,” 
Jones said.&nbsp;In
 2019, Missouri had more than 500 CAFOs, according to the Missouri 
Coalition for the Environment — far less than the thousands in Iowa, the
 largest pork producing state in the United States.&nbsp;The
 Missouri Department of Natural Resources did not provide data on the 
number of permitted CAFOs each year, but according to its website, it 
has issued permits for about 20 more since 2019.&nbsp;An
 attorney representing several communities fighting CAFOs in their 
backyards said the number seemed to be on the uptick. But an attorney 
for the industry said the number of the largest CAFOs — permitted to 
house 17,500 swine or more than 7,000 cattle —&nbsp;was stagnant.&nbsp;Neighboring Kansas has about 435 CAFOs and more than 2,400 smaller livestock operations.&nbsp;Craig Volland, of the Kansas Chapter of the Sierra Club, said the number had grown steadily.One CAFO in <a href="https://www.hutchnews.com/article/20160414/News/304149916">Greeley County in far Western Kansas has 180 hog barns</a> and was looking in 2014 to expand to become the second largest in the country.&nbsp;Volland
 said right-to-farm rules in Kansas have made the state more friendly to
 CAFOs. But until recent years, regulators stuck close to federal CAFO 
rules in issuing permits.&nbsp;Over
 the past several years, Missouri has passed several pieces of 
legislation to make way for CAFOs. About 10 years ago, the Missouri 
General Assembly <a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/file/SC/Opinion_SC93816.pdf">eliminated citizens’ ability to make nuisance complaints for non-economic damages</a> against CAFOs. As of 2019, local and county health departments can’t issue <a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/19info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=3780907">ordinances governing CAFOs that are any stricter than state rules</a>. That rule is currently tied up in court.&nbsp;Opponents say the 2019 law undermines local communities’ ability to protect residents and their natural resources.&nbsp;Robert
 Brundage, an attorney who represents several agricultural 
organizations, said the legislation, known as Senate Bill 391, put local
 communities and the state on “equal footing.”&nbsp;“Senate
 Bill 391 has prevented counties from imposing arbitrary siting 
restrictions on CAFOs that were never based in sound science,” Brundage 
said. “They were only enacted to prevent the siting of virtually any new
 livestock operation in the county, so the legislature has returned some
 more common sense approach to siting CAFOs in the state that’s based on
 science.”&nbsp;This year, the <a href="https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB574&amp;year=2021&amp;code=R">Legislature limited who can inspect agricultural facilities</a>
 to state and federal agriculture and environmental officials and law 
enforcement in an apparent effort to bar local health departments from 
viewing the facilities.&nbsp;Gov.
 Mike Parson signed the legislation into law Thursday, saying it 
“protects producers and supports Missouri’s agriculture industry.”Kansas, too, has been criticized for tipping the scales in favor of CAFOs.&nbsp;Officials
 with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment have been 
negotiating with large hog farmers to amend state regulations and allow 
producers to divide their herds into distinct business operations on one
 piece of property, essentially allowing them to double the size of 
their CAFO without moving it any farther from the closest body of water,
 homes, churches or schools.&nbsp;“They
 seem to be trying to accommodate the livestock industry at the expense,
 in our opinion, of the environment,” Volland said.&nbsp;KDHE said the regulations weren’t in conflict with state law and didn’t represent a shift in policy.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1623693729704.jpeg" alt="Jeff Jones, of Callaway County, runs his family’s 100-year-old farm right next to a concentrated animal feeding operation. (Submitted)" />
 <figcaption>Jeff Jones, of Callaway County, runs his family’s 100-year-old farm right next to a concentrated animal feeding operation. (Submitted)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>CAFOs abound</h2>A CAFO, Jones said, is “not something anybody wants to live next to.”&nbsp;When the wind blows right, he can smell the hog waste from inside his farmhouse. He said it gets in his clothes.&nbsp;But in recent years, neighbors have steadily lost their opportunities for recourse.&nbsp;In 2016, lawmakers changed the makeup of the Clean Water Commission, which signs off on CAFO permits. <a href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article101824332.html">Critics argued that the change made the commission</a>
 more friendly to agricultural interests. The chairwoman, Ashley 
McCarty, is executive director of Missouri Farmers Care, which advocates
 for farming and agricultural interests and certifies counties with 
favorable rules as “agri-ready.”&nbsp;McCarty didn’t return multiple requests for comment.&nbsp;Stephen
 Jeffery, an attorney who helped Jones and neighbors try to fight off 
the CAFO in Callaway County, said neighbors often voice concerns about 
CAFO permits but are rarely heard.&nbsp;By 2016, more than two dozen counties had adopted CAFO regulations, according to the <a href="https://extension.missouri.edu/media/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/Pro/ManureManagement/Docs/cho/county_ordinance.pdf">University of Missouri Extension</a>. Then the General Assembly prohibited such rules.&nbsp;Jeffery
 represented plaintiffs who are fighting to get the rule reversed. In a 
lawsuit filed in 2020, they said the legislation “hinders (counties’) 
ability to effectively protect the public health of their county 
residents,” noting one county had prohibited construction of manure pits
 in areas where the soil is prone to shrinking and swelling and could 
cause leaks in the manure.&nbsp;“Under
 the current Missouri law and regulations, the local community doesn’t 
really get that much input,” Jeffery said. “They’re able to provide 
comments on a proposed permit, but 99.9% of the time, the requests that 
they make for changes or revisions, unfortunately, are not implemented.”Supporters
 contend the county health ordinances allow local communities to set 
rules that are appropriate for them. Such a rule existed in Livingston 
County, where opponents successfully fought off a 10,500-hog CAFO near 
the Poosey Conservation Area.&nbsp;But
 while the neighbors in Livingston County celebrated the CAFO operator’s
 decision to withdraw its permit application, the Clean Water Commission
 <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2021/05/18/missouri-eases-rules-for-building-cafos-despite-outcry-about-potential-pollution/">eased groundwater restrictions that would have applied to the CAFO</a>, making it easier for future operators to build in areas where environmentalists say they might threaten the groundwater.While
 Jeffery has represented several communities attempting to battle back 
CAFOs, he noted the bulk of permit applications don’t garner the kind of
 attention the one in Livingston County did.“What
 that tells me,” he said, “is that most CAFO operators are responsible 
enough that they site these facilities … far enough away that they’re 
not going to adversely affect their neighbors.”Allison Kite is a data reporter for The Missouri Independent and Kansas Reflector, with a focus on the environment and agriculture.&nbsp;

Fighting massive livestock operations gets harder for rural neighbors

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Eleven U.S. mayors — from Los Angeles to tiny Tullahassee, Oklahoma — have pledged to pay reparations for slavery to a small group of Black residents in their cities, saying their aim is to set an example for the federal government on how a nationwide program could work.

The mayors had no details on how much it would cost, who would pay for it or how people would be chosen. All of those details would be worked out with the help of local commissions comprised of representatives from Black-led organizations set up to advise the mayor of each city. But the mayors say they are committed to paying reparations instead of just talking about them.

“Black Americans don’t need another study that sits on a shelf,” said St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, the city’s first Black female mayor and a member of the group. “We need decisive action to address the racial wealth gap holding communities back across our country.”

The effort comes as Juneteenth, which marks the end of slavery in the United States, has become a federal holiday. President Joe Biden signed a bill Thursday that was passed by Congress to set aside Juneteenth, or June 19, as a holiday.

Slavery officially ended in the United States in 1865 with the adoption of the 13th amendment to U.S. Constitution. But its effects have lingered far beyond that, contributing to disparities in wealth and health between white and Black populations.

Since 1989, lawmakers in Congress introduced a bill that would form a commission to study and develop reparations proposals in the United States. But it has never passed. Last year, California became the first state to set up its own reparations commission. That group held its first meeting earlier this month.

Friday's announcement marks the largest city-led effort at paying reparations to date, but it isn't the first. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/san-francisco-race-and-ethnicity-government-and-politics-162ed9de1b72bab0ed7e9c360392f59c">voted in March</a>&nbsp;to appoint a 15-member African American Reparations Advisory Committee. That same month, the City Council of Evanston, Illinois,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/reparations-evanston-illinois-black-residents-752a6fe83c560117523d7f8abba1bfb8">voted to pay $400,000</a>&nbsp;to eligible Black households, part of a pledge to spend $10 million over the next 10 years. Qualifying households would get $25,000 to use for things like home repair or putting a down payment on property.

Last year, the City Council in Asheville, North Carolina,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/5b46780d8ad761dbeedafe3db855721b">voted to approve reparations</a>&nbsp;in the form of investments in areas of disparity for Black residents.

This group of mayors, dubbed&nbsp;<a href="https://moremayors.org/">Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity</a>&nbsp;(MORE), is led by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock. Their stated goal is for these reparations programs to “serve as high-profile demonstrations for how the country can more quickly move from conversation to action on reparations for Black Americans,” according to the group's website.

“Let me be clear: Cities will never have the funds to pay for reparations on our own,” Garcetti said during a news conference on Friday to announce the group. “When we have the laboratories of cities show that there is much more to embrace than to fear, we know that we can inspire national action as well.”

It’s similar to the aim of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-andrew-yang-california-poverty-michael-tubbs-150214c358eaca9a24c8501c51e09491">another group of mayors&nbsp;</a>who have experimented with guaranteed income programs, where a small group of low-income people receive cash payments each month with no restrictions on how they can spend it. The first such program was set up in Stockton, California, by former mayor Michael Tubbs, who is listed as an “emeritus member” of the reparations group.

The other mayors are Jorge Elorza of Providence, Rhode Island; Steve Adler of Austin, Texas; Steve Schewel of Durham, North Carolina: Esther Manheimer of Asheville, North Carolina: Quinton Lucas of Kansas City; Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento, California; Melvin Carter of St. Paul, Minnesota; and Keisha Currin of Tullahassee, Oklahoma.

Tullahassee — a small town of fewer than 200 people in northeast Oklahoma — is the oldest of the surviving all-Black towns in the states that were founded after the U.S. abolished slavery. Many of the first Black people to live there had been enslaved by Native American tribes that had allied with the Confederacy during the Civil War.

“Slavery has played a huge part in my family and in my community,” Currin said. “This program is going to show our community that we care.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624128251238.png" alt="Friday's announcement marks the largest city-led effort at paying reparations to date. Mayor Quinton Lucas of Kansas City" />
 <figcaption>Friday's announcement marks the largest city-led effort at paying reparations to date. Mayor Quinton Lucas of Kansas City</figcaption>
 </figure>SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Eleven U.S. mayors — from Los Angeles to tiny Tullahassee, Oklahoma — have pledged to pay reparations for slavery to a small group of Black residents in their cities, saying their aim is to set an example for the federal government on how a nationwide program could work.The mayors had no details on how much it would cost, who would pay for it or how people would be chosen. All of those details would be worked out with the help of local commissions comprised of representatives from Black-led organizations set up to advise the mayor of each city. But the mayors say they are committed to paying reparations instead of just talking about them.“Black Americans don’t need another study that sits on a shelf,” said St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, the city’s first Black female mayor and a member of the group. “We need decisive action to address the racial wealth gap holding communities back across our country.”The effort comes as Juneteenth, which marks the end of slavery in the United States, has become a federal holiday. President Joe Biden signed a bill Thursday that was passed by Congress to set aside Juneteenth, or June 19, as a holiday.Slavery officially ended in the United States in 1865 with the adoption of the 13th amendment to U.S. Constitution. But its effects have lingered far beyond that, contributing to disparities in wealth and health between white and Black populations.Since 1989, lawmakers in Congress introduced a bill that would form a commission to study and develop reparations proposals in the United States. But it has never passed. Last year, California became the first state to set up its own reparations commission. That group held its first meeting earlier this month.Friday's announcement marks the largest city-led effort at paying reparations to date, but it isn't the first. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/san-francisco-race-and-ethnicity-government-and-politics-162ed9de1b72bab0ed7e9c360392f59c">voted in March</a>&nbsp;to appoint a 15-member African American Reparations Advisory Committee. That same month, the City Council of Evanston, Illinois,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/reparations-evanston-illinois-black-residents-752a6fe83c560117523d7f8abba1bfb8">voted to pay $400,000</a>&nbsp;to eligible Black households, part of a pledge to spend $10 million over the next 10 years. Qualifying households would get $25,000 to use for things like home repair or putting a down payment on property.Last year, the City Council in Asheville, North Carolina,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/5b46780d8ad761dbeedafe3db855721b">voted to approve reparations</a>&nbsp;in the form of investments in areas of disparity for Black residents.This group of mayors, dubbed&nbsp;<a href="https://moremayors.org/">Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity</a>&nbsp;(MORE), is led by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock. Their stated goal is for these reparations programs to “serve as high-profile demonstrations for how the country can more quickly move from conversation to action on reparations for Black Americans,” according to the group's website.“Let me be clear: Cities will never have the funds to pay for reparations on our own,” Garcetti said during a news conference on Friday to announce the group. “When we have the laboratories of cities show that there is much more to embrace than to fear, we know that we can inspire national action as well.”It’s similar to the aim of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-andrew-yang-california-poverty-michael-tubbs-150214c358eaca9a24c8501c51e09491">another group of mayors&nbsp;</a>who have experimented with guaranteed income programs, where a small group of low-income people receive cash payments each month with no restrictions on how they can spend it. The first such program was set up in Stockton, California, by former mayor Michael Tubbs, who is listed as an “emeritus member” of the reparations group.The other mayors are Jorge Elorza of Providence, Rhode Island; Steve Adler of Austin, Texas; Steve Schewel of Durham, North Carolina: Esther Manheimer of Asheville, North Carolina: Quinton Lucas of Kansas City; Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento, California; Melvin Carter of St. Paul, Minnesota; and Keisha Currin of Tullahassee, Oklahoma.Tullahassee — a small town of fewer than 200 people in northeast Oklahoma — is the oldest of the surviving all-Black towns in the states that were founded after the U.S. abolished slavery. Many of the first Black people to live there had been enslaved by Native American tribes that had allied with the Confederacy during the Civil War.“Slavery has played a huge part in my family and in my community,” Currin said. “This program is going to show our community that we care.”

KC Mayor joins effort to pay reparations for slavery

As cases tumble and states reopen, the potential final stage in the U.S. campaign to vanquish COVID-19 is turning into a slog, with a worrisome variant gaining a bigger foothold and lotteries and other prizes failing to persuade some Americans to get vaccinated.

“The last half, the last mile, the last quarter-mile always requires more effort,” Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday.

While two of the states slammed hardest by the disaster, California and New York, celebrated their reopenings this week with fireworks and a multimillion-dollar drawing, hospitalizations in parts of Missouri are surging and cases are rising sharply in Texas, illustrating the challenges the country faces this summer.

One major concern is the highly contagious and potentially more severe delta variant of the coronavirus that originated in India. While health officials say the vaccines are effective against it, the fear is that it will lead to outbreaks in states with lower vaccination rates.

The delta variant has increased from 2.7% of all cases in May to 9.7% this month, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a call for governors on Monday, according to details provided by the Washington governor’s office.

At the same time, states are convening focus groups to better understand who is declining to get vaccinated, why, and how to convince them that getting the shot is the right thing to do.

“It’s a race between the vaccines going into people and the current or future variants,” said Kansas Health Secretary Dr. Lee Norman.

Average deaths and cases per day have plummeted 90% or more across the U.S. since the winter. But the picture is uneven.

In Texas, the rolling average of newly confirmed infections has climbed from about 1,000 per day on May 31 to nearly 2,000 this week.

A swath of Missouri is seeing a big rise in cases and hospitalizations as tourists eager to get out after being cooped up for a year make their way to popular destinations like Branson and Lake of the Ozarks. Health officials said more than 200 people were hospitalized with the virus in southwestern Missouri, nearly double the number at the start of May. The number of patients in intensive care units in the region has tripled.

Health experts cite two factors driving the surge there: the faster-spreading delta variant and a reluctance among residents to get vaccinated.

The U.S. is expected to fall short of President Joe Biden’s goal of dispensing at least one dose to 70% of American adults by July 4. The figure stands at about 65%.

Among the states that don’t expect to hit the goal are Kansas and Idaho. In Idaho, some counties have adult vaccination rates under 30%, said Elke Shaw-Tulloch, public health administrator for the state Department of Health and Welfare.

To increase vaccinations, several states are working to break up large shipments of vaccine into smaller lots, which can then be distributed to doctors’ offices. Health officials see primary care physicians as key to easing people’s concerns.

“People want to hear it from their doctor, their medical providers, people that they know and trust,” Norman said.

Big, splashy giveaways such as lotteries have gotten a lot of headlines and dispensed millions of dollars. In Maine, home of the outdoor wear company L.L. Bean, Bean gift cards were a big hit. But elsewhere, there has been skepticism about such programs.

Shaw-Tulloch said some businesses in Idaho had offered financial incentives for employees to get vaccinated but didn’t get many takers. Instead, she said, the key is making it easy to get a vaccine by turning it into part of a person’s “daily flow.”

Some people’s attitude is that “if a vaccine were to fall out of the sky and hit me in the arm, I’ll get it. But I’m not going to interrupt my busy daily life to make that effort and go in and get a vaccination,” she said.

She added: “That’s why we’re really focusing on walk-in clinics, pop-up clinics where, wherever they turn, there’s a place that’s easily available for getting the vaccine.”

Elsewhere around the world, there have been glimmers of hope, as India reopened the Taj Mahal amid a decline in new infections. In France, where virus cases are below 4,000 per day — down from 35,000 in the spring — authorities eased the requirements on wearing masks outdoors and said the nightly curfew will end this weekend.

“We have not known such a low level of virus spreading since last August,” Prime Minister Jean Castex said.

Meanwhile, South Africa imposed tighter restrictions on public gatherings and liquor sales as hospital admissions due to COVID-19 increased by 59% over the past two weeks, authorities said. New cases there have nearly doubled.

The recorded U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit 600,000 on Tuesday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, it stands at 3.8 million, though both numbers are thought to be a significant undercount.

By MICHELLE R. SMITHAs cases tumble and states reopen, the potential final stage in the U.S. campaign to vanquish COVID-19 is turning into a slog, with a worrisome variant gaining a bigger foothold and lotteries and other prizes failing to persuade some Americans to get vaccinated.“The last half, the last mile, the last quarter-mile always requires more effort,” Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday.While two of the states slammed hardest by the disaster, California and New York, celebrated their reopenings this week with fireworks and a multimillion-dollar drawing, hospitalizations in parts of Missouri are surging and cases are rising sharply in Texas, illustrating the challenges the country faces this summer.One major concern is the highly contagious and potentially more severe delta variant of the coronavirus that originated in India. While health officials say the vaccines are effective against it, the fear is that it will lead to outbreaks in states with lower vaccination rates.The delta variant has increased from 2.7% of all cases in May to 9.7% this month, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a call for governors on Monday, according to details provided by the Washington governor’s office.At the same time, states are convening focus groups to better understand who is declining to get vaccinated, why, and how to convince them that getting the shot is the right thing to do.“It’s a race between the vaccines going into people and the current or future variants,” said Kansas Health Secretary Dr. Lee Norman.Average deaths and cases per day have plummeted 90% or more across the U.S. since the winter. But the picture is uneven.In Texas, the rolling average of newly confirmed infections has climbed from about 1,000 per day on May 31 to nearly 2,000 this week.A swath of Missouri is seeing a big rise in cases and hospitalizations as tourists eager to get out after being cooped up for a year make their way to popular destinations like Branson and Lake of the Ozarks. Health officials said more than 200 people were hospitalized with the virus in southwestern Missouri, nearly double the number at the start of May. The number of patients in intensive care units in the region has tripled.Health experts cite two factors driving the surge there: the faster-spreading delta variant and a reluctance among residents to get vaccinated.The U.S. is expected to fall short of President Joe Biden’s goal of dispensing at least one dose to 70% of American adults by July 4. The figure stands at about 65%.Among the states that don’t expect to hit the goal are Kansas and Idaho. In Idaho, some counties have adult vaccination rates under 30%, said Elke Shaw-Tulloch, public health administrator for the state Department of Health and Welfare.To increase vaccinations, several states are working to break up large shipments of vaccine into smaller lots, which can then be distributed to doctors’ offices. Health officials see primary care physicians as key to easing people’s concerns.“People want to hear it from their doctor, their medical providers, people that they know and trust,” Norman said.Big, splashy giveaways such as lotteries have gotten a lot of headlines and dispensed millions of dollars. In Maine, home of the outdoor wear company L.L. Bean, Bean gift cards were a big hit. But elsewhere, there has been skepticism about such programs.Shaw-Tulloch said some businesses in Idaho had offered financial incentives for employees to get vaccinated but didn’t get many takers. Instead, she said, the key is making it easy to get a vaccine by turning it into part of a person’s “daily flow.”Some people’s attitude is that “if a vaccine were to fall out of the sky and hit me in the arm, I’ll get it. But I’m not going to interrupt my busy daily life to make that effort and go in and get a vaccination,” she said.She added: “That’s why we’re really focusing on walk-in clinics, pop-up clinics where, wherever they turn, there’s a place that’s easily available for getting the vaccine.”Elsewhere around the world, there have been glimmers of hope, as India reopened the Taj Mahal amid a decline in new infections. In France, where virus cases are below 4,000 per day — down from 35,000 in the spring — authorities eased the requirements on wearing masks outdoors and said the nightly curfew will end this weekend.“We have not known such a low level of virus spreading since last August,” Prime Minister Jean Castex said.Meanwhile, South Africa imposed tighter restrictions on public gatherings and liquor sales as hospital admissions due to COVID-19 increased by 59% over the past two weeks, authorities said. New cases there have nearly doubled.The recorded U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit 600,000 on Tuesday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, it stands at 3.8 million, though both numbers are thought to be a significant undercount.___

Vaccine effort turns into slog as infectious variant spreads

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has started sending letters
 to more than 36 million American families who, based on tax returns 
filed with the agency, may be eligible to receive monthly Child Tax 
Credit payments starting in July.

The expanded and newly-advanceable Child Tax Credit was authorized by
 the American Rescue Plan Act, enacted in March. The letters are going 
to families who may be eligible based on information they included in 
either their 2019 or 2020 federal income tax return or who used the 
Non-Filers tool on IRS.gov last year to register for an Economic Impact 
Payment.

Families who are eligible for advance Child Tax Credit payments will 
receive a second, personalized letter listing an estimate of their 
monthly payment, which begins July 15.

Most families do not need to take any action to get their payment. 
Normally, the IRS will calculate the payment amount based on the 2020 
tax return. If that return is not available, either because it has not 
yet been filed or it has not yet been processed, the IRS will instead 
determine the payment amount using the 2019 return.

Eligible families will begin receiving advance payments, either by 
direct deposit or check. The payment will be up to $300 per month for 
each qualifying child under age 6 and up to $250 per month for each 
qualifying child ages 6 to 17.The IRS will issue advance Child Tax 
Credit payments on July 15, August&nbsp;13, September 15, October 15, 
November 15 and December 15.

Eligible families should file tax returns soon

The IRS urges individuals and families who haven't yet filed their 
2020 return – or 2019 return – to do so as soon as possible so they can 
receive any advance payment they're eligible for.

Filing soon will also ensure that the IRS has their most current 
banking information, as well as key details about qualifying children. 
This includes people who don't normally file a tax return, such as 
families experiencing homelessness, the rural poor, and other 
underserved groups.

For most people, the fastest and easiest way to file a return is by using the Free File system, available only on IRS.gov.

Throughout the summer, the IRS will be adding additional tools and 
online resources to help with the advance Child Tax Credit. One of these
 tools will enable families to unenroll from receiving these advance 
payments and instead receive the full amount of the credit when they 
file their 2021 return next year.

Additionally, later this year, individuals and families will also be 
able to go to IRS.gov and use a Child Tax Credit Update Portal to notify
 IRS of changes in their income, filing status, or number of qualifying 
children; update their direct deposit information; and make other 
changes to ensure they are receiving the right amount as quickly as 
possible.

The IRS has created a special Advance Child Tax Credit 2021 page at <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021">IRS.gov/childtaxcredit2021</a>, designed to provide the most up-to-date information about the credit and the advance payments.

In the next few weeks, the page will also feature other useful new online tools, including:

The American Rescue Plan raised the maximum Child Tax Credit in 2021 
to $3,600 for qualifying children under the age of 6 and to $3,000 per 
child for qualifying children between ages 6 and 17. Before 2021, the 
credit was worth up to $2,000 per eligible child, and 17 year-olds were 
not considered as qualifying children for the credit.

The new maximum credit is available to taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income (AGI) of:

For most people, modified AGI is the amount shown on Line 11 of 
their 2020 Form 1040 or 1040-SR. Above these income thresholds, the 
extra amount above the original $2,000 credit — either $1,000 or $1,600 
per child — is reduced by $50 for every extra $1,000 in modified AGI.

In addition, the entire credit is fully refundable for 2021. This means that eligible families
 can get it, even if they owe no federal income tax. Before this year, 
the refundable portion was limited to $1,400 per child.

The IRS urges community groups, non-profits, associations, education 
organizations, and others with connections to people with children to 
share this critical information about the Child Tax Credit as well as 
other important benefits. The IRS will be providing in the near future 
additional materials and information that can be easily shared by social
 media, email and other methods.

For the most up-to-date information on the Child Tax Credit and advance payments, visit <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021">Advance Child Tax Credit Payments in 2021</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has started sending letters
 to more than 36 million American families who, based on tax returns 
filed with the agency, may be eligible to receive monthly Child Tax 
Credit payments starting in July.The expanded and newly-advanceable Child Tax Credit was authorized by
 the American Rescue Plan Act, enacted in March. The letters are going 
to families who may be eligible based on information they included in 
either their 2019 or 2020 federal income tax return or who used the 
Non-Filers tool on IRS.gov last year to register for an Economic Impact 
Payment.Families who are eligible for advance Child Tax Credit payments will 
receive a second, personalized letter listing an estimate of their 
monthly payment, which begins July 15.Most families do not need to take any action to get their payment. 
Normally, the IRS will calculate the payment amount based on the 2020 
tax return. If that return is not available, either because it has not 
yet been filed or it has not yet been processed, the IRS will instead 
determine the payment amount using the 2019 return.Eligible families will begin receiving advance payments, either by 
direct deposit or check. The payment will be up to $300 per month for 
each qualifying child under age 6 and up to $250 per month for each 
qualifying child ages 6 to 17.The IRS will issue advance Child Tax 
Credit payments on July 15, August&nbsp;13, September 15, October 15, 
November 15 and December 15.<h2>Eligible families should file tax returns soon</h2>The IRS urges individuals and families who haven't yet filed their 
2020 return – or 2019 return – to do so as soon as possible so they can 
receive any advance payment they're eligible for.Filing soon will also ensure that the IRS has their most current 
banking information, as well as key details about qualifying children. 
This includes people who don't normally file a tax return, such as 
families experiencing homelessness, the rural poor, and other 
underserved groups.For most people, the fastest and easiest way to file a return is by using the Free File system, available only on IRS.gov.Throughout the summer, the IRS will be adding additional tools and 
online resources to help with the advance Child Tax Credit. One of these
 tools will enable families to unenroll from receiving these advance 
payments and instead receive the full amount of the credit when they 
file their 2021 return next year.Additionally, later this year, individuals and families will also be 
able to go to IRS.gov and use a Child Tax Credit Update Portal to notify
 IRS of changes in their income, filing status, or number of qualifying 
children; update their direct deposit information; and make other 
changes to ensure they are receiving the right amount as quickly as 
possible.<h2>Other tools coming soon</h2>The IRS has created a special Advance Child Tax Credit 2021 page at <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021">IRS.gov/childtaxcredit2021</a>, designed to provide the most up-to-date information about the credit and the advance payments.In the next few weeks, the page will also feature other useful new online tools, including:<ul>
 <li>An interactive Child Tax Credit eligibility tool to help 
families determine whether they qualify for the Advance Child Tax Credit
 payments.</li><li>Another tool, the Child Tax Credit Update Portal, will initially 
enable anyone who has been determined to be eligible for advance 
payments unenroll/ to opt out of the advance payment program. Later this
 year, it will allow people to check on the status of their payments, 
make updates to their information, and be available in Spanish. More 
details will be available soon about the online Child Tax Credit Update 
Portal.</li>
 </ul><h2>Child Tax Credit Changes</h2>The American Rescue Plan raised the maximum Child Tax Credit in 2021 
to $3,600 for qualifying children under the age of 6 and to $3,000 per 
child for qualifying children between ages 6 and 17. Before 2021, the 
credit was worth up to $2,000 per eligible child, and 17 year-olds were 
not considered as qualifying children for the credit.The new maximum credit is available to taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income (AGI) of:<ul>
 <li>$75,000 or less for singles,</li><li>$112,500 or less for heads of household, and</li><li>$150,000 or less for married couples filing a joint return and qualified widows and widowers.</li>
 </ul>For most people, modified AGI is the amount shown on Line 11 of 
their 2020 Form 1040 or 1040-SR. Above these income thresholds, the 
extra amount above the original $2,000 credit — either $1,000 or $1,600 
per child — is reduced by $50 for every extra $1,000 in modified AGI.In addition, the entire credit is fully refundable for 2021. This means that eligible families
 can get it, even if they owe no federal income tax. Before this year, 
the refundable portion was limited to $1,400 per child.The IRS urges community groups, non-profits, associations, education 
organizations, and others with connections to people with children to 
share this critical information about the Child Tax Credit as well as 
other important benefits. The IRS will be providing in the near future 
additional materials and information that can be easily shared by social
 media, email and other methods.For the most up-to-date information on the Child Tax Credit and advance payments, visit <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021">Advance Child Tax Credit Payments in 2021</a>.

IRS: Letters going out to 38M families getting Child Tax Credit payments

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy continue their search for a third suspect and are asking the public for help to locate 25-year-old Jaron C. Palmer.

Just before 7p.m. April 25, police were dispatched to report of a shooting at the&nbsp;Morgan's Landing Apartments complex in the 3800 Block of West 13th Street in Wichita, according to Police Captain Jason Stephens.

When officers arrived, they learned there were five individuals inside the apartment at the time of the incident. One who was fatally shot has been identified as 17-year-old Eric Stokes of Wichita.

EMS transported a second shooting victim identified as a 17-year-old boy to a local hospital. He was treated for minor injuries and released, according to Stephens.

Investigators learned that three unknown, armed suspects arrived at the apartment, forced their way in and fired several shots that killed Stokes.&nbsp; The suspects fled on foot from the apartment complex.&nbsp; It was not a random incident and drugs are believed to have played a part, according to Stephens.

Police released a video of two suspects involved in the homicide.&nbsp; After the release, police received numerous tips from the community, which led to the identification and arrest of 18-year-old Easton Palmer&nbsp; and&nbsp;<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20070532">18-year-old Breckyn I. Elliot</a>&nbsp;both of Wichita. They have been charged with first degree murder&nbsp; aggravated robbery, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1619801280517.png" alt="Jaron Palmer photo Wichita Police" />
 <figcaption>Jaron Palmer photo Wichita Police</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy continue their search for a third suspect and are asking the public for help to locate 25-year-old Jaron C. Palmer.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1619801567819.png" alt="Elliott photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Elliott photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>Just before 7p.m. April 25, police were dispatched to report of a shooting at the&nbsp;Morgan's Landing Apartments complex in the 3800 Block of West 13th Street in Wichita, according to Police Captain Jason Stephens.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1619547988764.png" alt="Through the investigation, detectives determined the two pictured suspects and possibly other were involved in the incident." />
 <figcaption>Through the investigation, detectives determined the two pictured suspects and possibly other were involved in the incident.</figcaption>
 </figure>When officers arrived, they learned there were five individuals inside the apartment at the time of the incident. One who was fatally shot has been identified as 17-year-old Eric Stokes of Wichita.EMS transported a second shooting victim identified as a 17-year-old boy to a local hospital. He was treated for minor injuries and released, according to Stephens.Investigators learned that three unknown, armed suspects arrived at the apartment, forced their way in and fired several shots that killed Stokes.&nbsp; The suspects fled on foot from the apartment complex.&nbsp; It was not a random incident and drugs are believed to have played a part, according to Stephens.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1619618101953.png" alt="Palmer photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Palmer photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>Police released a video of two suspects involved in the homicide.&nbsp; After the release, police received numerous tips from the community, which led to the identification and arrest of 18-year-old Easton Palmer&nbsp; and&nbsp;<a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20070532">18-year-old Breckyn I. Elliot</a>&nbsp;both of Wichita. They have been charged with first degree murder&nbsp; aggravated robbery, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.---------

Search continues for suspect in murder, robbery of Kan. teen

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal-officer involved shooting that sent also sent a police officer to the hospital.

Just after 10:15p.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to a check welfare call at a home in the 500 Block of West Carlyle in Wichita, according to Patrol South Commander Captain&nbsp;Wendell Nicholson.

Two women were inside the residence. When police arrived on the scene, they began to take gunfire from a suspect inside the home. One officer was shot multiple times, according to Nicholson. He was transported to a hospital in critical condition.

As other officers arrived, the suspect continued shooting. The suspect was shot and died on the scene, according to Nicholson.

Police took several witness in for questioning. The FBI and and KBI have also been notified and are assisting with the investigation.&nbsp; Police are expected to provide additional details Sunday afternoon.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624198277511.png" alt="Police near the scene of the gun battle on Saturday night in Wichita-photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police near the scene of the gun battle on Saturday night in Wichita-photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal-officer involved shooting that sent also sent a police officer to the hospital.Just after 10:15p.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to a check welfare call at a home in the 500 Block of West Carlyle in Wichita, according to Patrol South Commander Captain&nbsp;Wendell Nicholson.Two women were inside the residence. When police arrived on the scene, they began to take gunfire from a suspect inside the home. One officer was shot multiple times, according to Nicholson. He was transported to a hospital in critical condition.As other officers arrived, the suspect continued shooting. The suspect was shot and died on the scene, according to Nicholson.Police took several witness in for questioning. The FBI and and KBI have also been notified and are assisting with the investigation.&nbsp; Police are expected to provide additional details Sunday afternoon.

Police: Kan. officer wounded, suspect dead after gun battle

NEOSHO, Mo. (AP) — A Joplin man who shot and killed his son's girlfriend and injured his son during a custody dispute has been sentenced to life in prison.

Rickey Lamb, 62, was sentenced Thursday in the fatal shooting of Sarah Tyminski, 32, two years ago. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joplin-shootings-neosho-57f8446fac9b987f4d96fa21acf3f0dd">pleaded guilty</a>&nbsp;in April to second-degree murder and prosecutors agreed to drop domestic assault and armed criminal action charges.

Lamb's son, Chris Lamb, 37, was seriously injured when the two men exchanged gunfire in June 2019.

The couple had given custody of their two girls to Chris Lamb's parents in a tribal court arrangement but were allowed to visit them on weekends.

Prosecutors said when Rickey Lamb refused to let the couple see their daughters for a weekend, Chris Lamb threatened to take the girls and never let them see their grandparents again.

The father and son gave differing accounts of their confrontation at the couple's home, during which the two men exchanged gunfire.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/4/1618667520700.png" alt="Lamb photo Newton County" />
 <figcaption>Lamb photo Newton County</figcaption>
 </figure>NEOSHO, Mo. (AP) — A Joplin man who shot and killed his son's girlfriend and injured his son during a custody dispute has been sentenced to life in prison.Rickey Lamb, 62, was sentenced Thursday in the fatal shooting of Sarah Tyminski, 32, two years ago. He&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joplin-shootings-neosho-57f8446fac9b987f4d96fa21acf3f0dd">pleaded guilty</a>&nbsp;in April to second-degree murder and prosecutors agreed to drop domestic assault and armed criminal action charges.Lamb's son, Chris Lamb, 37, was seriously injured when the two men exchanged gunfire in June 2019.The couple had given custody of their two girls to Chris Lamb's parents in a tribal court arrangement but were allowed to visit them on weekends.Prosecutors said when Rickey Lamb refused to let the couple see their daughters for a weekend, Chris Lamb threatened to take the girls and never let them see their grandparents again.The father and son gave differing accounts of their confrontation at the couple's home, during which the two men exchanged gunfire.

Man who killed son's girlfriend sentenced to life in prison

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fire and have made an arrest.

Just before 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Topeka Fire Department responded to the report of a person squirting lighter fluid all over an apartment in a domestic situation at the Jackson Towers Apartments, 1122 SW Jackson Street, according to department spokesman Alan Stahl.

Upon arrival, fire crews found the apartment evacuated, but no fire. The incident commander requested an investigator, and the Office of the Kansas State Fire Marshall responded to the scene.

After interviewing the victim and collecting evidence at the scene, it was determined there was enough probable cause to arrest the suspect identified as 53-year-old Carl Lester for the crime of Attempted Aggravated Arson and Aggravated Assault.

Police located Lester&nbsp; later in the day and arrested him without incident. He was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1623979914148.png" alt="Lester-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Lester-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fire and have made an arrest.Just before 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Topeka Fire Department responded to the report of a person squirting lighter fluid all over an apartment in a domestic situation at the Jackson Towers Apartments, 1122 SW Jackson Street, according to department spokesman Alan Stahl.Upon arrival, fire crews found the apartment evacuated, but no fire. The incident commander requested an investigator, and the Office of the Kansas State Fire Marshall responded to the scene.After interviewing the victim and collecting evidence at the scene, it was determined there was enough probable cause to arrest the suspect identified as 53-year-old Carl Lester for the crime of Attempted Aggravated Arson and Aggravated Assault.Police located Lester&nbsp; later in the day and arrested him without incident. He was booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections.

Fire Marshal: Kan. man squirted lighter fluid all over apartment

WICHITA— A former employee of Lake Afton Public Observatory in Goddard has returned $1,600 in misappropriated funds as part of a plea deal with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s office.

On June 17, Harold Henderson, 56, of Wichita, returned the funds in the form of a cashier’s check and entered a plea to a single misdemeanor count of giving a worthless check, according to the district attorney's office.

Judge David Dahl sentenced Henderson to time served. Henderson was the director and treasurer for the observatory until 2019, where he was authorized to use a debit card and checkbook to make official purchases for the organization. 

A financial audit showed Henderson made several unauthorized transactions totaling $1,604.90 from August 2017 to March 2019.

Henderson was charged in April of this year with misdemeanor theft, but those charges were reduced to giving a worthless check in return for full reimbursement to the observatory. The case was investigated by the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department.

Lake Afton Public Observatory is a 501(c)(3) non-profit with the mission of providing astronomy education to the public. The observatory relies solely on admissions and donations to continue providing educational opportunities to the public.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/6/1624030967386.png" alt="Henderson photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Henderson photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA— A former employee of Lake Afton Public Observatory in Goddard has returned $1,600 in misappropriated funds as part of a plea deal with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s office.On June 17, Harold Henderson, 56, of Wichita, returned the funds in the form of a cashier’s check and entered a plea to a single misdemeanor count of giving a worthless check, according to the district attorney's office.Judge David Dahl sentenced Henderson to time served. Henderson was the director and treasurer for the observatory until 2019, where he was authorized to use a debit card and checkbook to make official purchases for the organization. A financial audit showed Henderson made several unauthorized transactions totaling $1,604.90 from August 2017 to March 2019.Henderson was charged in April of this year with misdemeanor theft, but those charges were reduced to giving a worthless check in return for full reimbursement to the observatory. The case was investigated by the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department.Lake Afton Public Observatory is a 501(c)(3) non-profit with the mission of providing astronomy education to the public. The observatory relies solely on admissions and donations to continue providing educational opportunities to the public.

Former Kan. public observatory director enters  plea deal

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a victim in his late teens has been shot and killed in Kansas City, Kansas. Officers responded just before 1:30 a.m. Saturday to a shooting call at a home. 

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a victim in his late teens has been shot and killed in Kansas City, Kansas. Officers responded just before 1:30 a.m. Saturday to a shooting call at a home. Police said the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Police didn’t immediately release the teen’s name or a suspect description. The killing is the 15th homicide of 2021 in the city.