SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and asking the public for help to identify a suspect.

The burglary occurred in the early morning hours of August 23 at St. Matthew Catholic School,&nbsp;1000 SE 28th Street in Topeka, according to police spokesperson Gretchen Spiker.&nbsp;

The suspect took more than 30 electronic and other items.

Anyone with information is asked to email&nbsp;<a href="mailto:telltpd@topeka.org" target="_blank">telltpd@topeka.org</a>&nbsp;or call Crime Stoppers at 785-234-0007. Anonymous tips can also be made online at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.shawneecountycrimestoppers.com/" target="_blank">www.shawneecountycrimestoppers.com</a>. &nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598644665282.png" alt="Security camera images from Topeka Police" />
 <figcaption>Security camera images from Topeka Police</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and asking the public for help to identify a suspect.The burglary occurred in the early morning hours of August 23 at St. Matthew Catholic School,&nbsp;1000 SE 28th Street in Topeka, according to police spokesperson Gretchen Spiker.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598644960967.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The suspect took more than 30 electronic and other items.Anyone with information is asked to email&nbsp;<a href="mailto:telltpd@topeka.org" target="_blank">telltpd@topeka.org</a>&nbsp;or call Crime Stoppers at 785-234-0007. Anonymous tips can also be made online at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.shawneecountycrimestoppers.com/" target="_blank">www.shawneecountycrimestoppers.com</a>. &nbsp;

Police ask for help to ID Kan. church school burglary suspect

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/kansas">Kansas</a>&nbsp;girl’s killer Friday became the fifth federal inmate put to death this year, an execution that went forward only after a higher court tossed a ruling that would have required the government to get a prescription for the drug used to kill him.

Questions about whether the drug pentobarbital causes pain prior to death had been a focus of appeals for Keith Nelson, 45, the second inmate executed this week in the Trump administration’s resumption of federal executions this summer after a 17-year hiatus.

Nelson was pronounced dead inside the execution chamber at a federal prison in Terre Haute,&nbsp;Indiana, at 4:32 p.m. EDT, about nine minutes after the execution began.

When a prison official standing over him asked if he had any last words, Nelson didn't utter a word, grunt or even nod his head. After the official waited for about 15 seconds, his eyes fixed on Nelson waiting in vain for an answer, he turned away and began the execution procedure.

Nelson, whose face was entirely obscured behind a medical mask and a blue sheet across his body, stayed still as the lethal drug pentobarbital was delivered, which his attorneys made as the focus of their last-minute appeals. None of his limbs twitched or quivered, but after about a minute his chest and midsection began to heave and shutter involuntarily.

Nelson was convicted of grabbing 10-year-old Pamela Butler off the street and throwing her into his truck in broad daylight on Oct. 12, 1999, as part of a plan to find a female to kidnap, torture, rape and kill because he expected to go back to prison anyway.

The girl had been returning to her Kansas City, Kansas, home on inline skates after buying cookies. As he drove off with her, he made a rude gesture to her sister, who saw the attack and screamed. He later raped the fifth-grader and strangled her with a wire.

Nelson's attorneys said they had come to know him as someone other than a killer, that they “saw his humanity, his compassion, and his sense of humor.”

“The execution of Keith Nelson did not make the world a safer place," the lawyers, Dale Baich and Jen Moreno, said in a statement. “Keith’s death sentence was the result of a proceeding that denied him constitutionally guaranteed protections and reveals another deep flaw in the federal death penalty system.”

Cherri West, the mother of the young girl who Nelson killed, said his death had brought her some peace and hoped it would also bring peace to her daughter's soul.

Wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with her daughter Pamela's photo and angel wings emanating from behind it, West said she had no remorse for him and didn't expect he would show any for her family either. She recalled how Nelson had cursed at her and other family members during hearings in his case, adding that she thought he might curse at them again before being put to death,

“I wasn’t expecting him to say anything because he never had no remorse," she said.

Nelson’s spiritual adviser, Sister Barbara Battista, stood inside the death chamber as Nelson was executed. She spoke to him regularly since last month, most recently on Wednesday, saying he sounded more subdued than usual but not frightened.

“His parting words were … ‘I don’t want to see you on Friday but I probably will,’” she said in an interview before the execution. “He would rather be alive after Friday. But he is facing the reality.”

A flurry of filings by Nelson's legal team over several weeks zeroed in on pentobarbital, which depresses the central nervous system and, in high doses, eventually stops the heart.

In one filing in early August, Nelson's attorneys cited an unofficial autopsy on one inmate executed last month, William Purkey, saying it indicated evidence of pulmonary edema in which the lungs fill with fluid and causes a painful sensation akin to drowning.

In her now-overturned ruling, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan halted Nelson's execution early Thursday, saying laws regulating drugs require the prescriptions, even for executions.

Within hours a panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out Chutkan's order with little explanation.

In a 2018 ruling, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Nelson showed no remorse during a sentencing hearing statement and instead “blistered the district court and the victim’s family with a profanity laden tirade.”

With the execution Wednesday of Lezmond Mitchell — the only Native American on federal death row — the federal government under President Donald Trump registered more executions in 2020 than it had in the previous 56 years combined.

The executions of Nelson and Mitchell were carried out the same week as the Republican National Convention, where many Trump supporters sought to portray him as a law-and-order candidate.

Nelson’s current attorneys said Nelson's lawyers during the 2001 penalty phase of his case should have emphasized mitigating evidence, including that Nelson suffered brain damage as a newborn and was abused as a child. During arguments, prosecutors pointed to Nelson’s twin brother, saying he grew up in similarly difficult circumstances but had a good job and had done well.

The federal government has defended the use of pentobarbital, disputing that Purkey’s autopsy proved he suffered. They have also cited Supreme Court ruling precedent that an execution method isn't necessarily cruel and unusual just because it causes some pain.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — The scheduled federal execution of a 10-year-old Kansas girl's killer was back on track Friday after an appellate panel tossed a lower court's ruling that would have required the government to get a drug prescription before it could use pentobarbital to kill the inmate.

Questions about whether pentobarbital causes pain prior to death has been a focus of last-minute appeals for Keith Nelson, who would be the fifth person to die this year and the second this week in the Trump administration’s resumption of federal executions after a 17-year hiatus. All the executions by lethal injection have been carried out at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana.

If Nelson's lawyer appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court on the prescription issue, the decision on whether Nelson lives or dies Friday could still come down to the high court. But similar moves to delay three other executions last month failed, with the high court ruling 5-4 to allow them to proceed.

Nelson’s spiritual adviser, Sister Barbara Battista, told The Associated Press early Friday that she would be at Nelson’s side inside the death chamber if the execution goes ahead.

She spoke to the 45-year-old Nelson regularly since last month, and last talked to him by phone Wednesday, saying he sounded more subdued than usual but not frightened.

“His parting words were … ‘I don’t want to see you on Friday but I probably will,’” she said. “He would rather be alive after Friday. But he is facing the reality.”

Nelson also told her that, as of Wednesday, he did not plan to make a last statement just before the lethal injection is administered.

In her now-overturned ruling, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan halted Nelson's execution early Thursday, saying laws regulating drugs require the prescriptions, even for executions. Within hours a panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out Chutkan's order with little explanation.

Nelson’s crime was horrific by any measure.

Then in his mid-20s, Nelson grabbed 10-year-old Pamela Butler off the street and threw her into his truck in broad daylight on Oct. 12, 1999. The fifth-grade student had been returning to her Kansas City, Kansas, home on inline skates after buying cookies at a store. As he drove off, he made a rude gesture to Butler’s sister, who saw the attack and screamed.

Nelson, who didn’t previously know Butler or her family, told a co-worker a month earlier he planned to find a female to kidnap, torture, rape and kill because he expected to go back to prison anyway on other charges, prosecutors said.

After raping Butler, Nelson strangled her with a wire, then dumped her body in a wooded area near a Missouri church.

Butler’s mother, Cherri West, hoped Nelson’s execution would bring her some peace after living for decades with the torment of her daughter’s final hours.

“To know that that was the last face that she saw on this earth ... and having to know how scared she was and what he was doing to her, has literally eaten me up,"she said.

Battista, a nun at a Terre Haute-area convent and anti-death penalty activist, said Nelson is not the same man he was.

“He committed a heinous crime,” she said “But he is a human being. … And who among us would want to be judged by their worst decision?”

The executions of Nelson and Mitchell were scheduled for the same week as the Republican National Convention, where many Trump supporters sought to portray him as a law-and-order candidate.

Nelson’s current attorneys said Nelson's lawyers during the 2001 penalty phase of his case should have emphasized mitigating evidence, including that Nelson suffered brain damage as a newborn and was abused as a child.

During arguments, prosecutors pointed to Nelson’s twin brother, saying he grew up in similarly difficult circumstances but had a good job and had done well.

Nelson lawyer Dale Baich, who intended to be a witness at the execution if it happens, said the world wouldn’t be made safer by killing his client.

“Having him spend the rest of his life in prison would accomplish the same goal,” he said.

Government attorneys have defended the use of pentobarbital, disputing that Purkey’s autopsy proved he suffered. They have also cited Supreme Court ruling precedent that an execution method isn't necessarily cruel and unusual just because it causes some pain.

Pentobarbital has few medical uses for humans, though it is often used by veterinarians to euthanize animals.

Three federal executions in the early 2000s deployed a cocktail of three drugs: sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride.

But after makers of those drugs objected to their use in executions, states and the federal government scrambled for alternatives. Attorney General William Barr last year approved reworked execution protocols that called for using pentobarbital alone.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — The scheduled federal execution of a 10-year-old Kansas girl’s killer was back on track Friday after an appellate panel tossed a lower court’s ruling that would have required the government to get a drug prescription before it could use pentobarbital to kill the inmate.

Questions about whether pentobarbital causes pain prior to death has been a focus of last-minute appeals for Keith Nelson, who would be the fifth person to die this year and the second this week in the Trump administration’s resumption of federal executions after a 17-year hiatus. All the executions by lethal pentobarbital injection have been carried out at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana.

If Nelson’s lawyer appeals Friday to the Supreme Court on the prescription issue, the decision on whether Nelson lives or dies Friday could still come down to the high court. But similar moves to delay three other executions last month failed, with the high court ruling 5-to-4 allow them to proceed.

A flurry of filing by Nelson’s legal team over several weeks zeroed in on pentobarbital, a barbituate that depresses the central nervous system and, in high doses, eventually stops the heart.

In one filing in early August, attorneys for the 45-year-old Nelson cited an unofficial autopsy on one inmate executed last month, William Purkey, saying it indicated evidence of pulmonary edema in which the lungs fill with fluid and causes a painful sensation akin to drowning.

In her now-overturned ruling, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan halted Nelson’s execution early Thursday, saying laws regulating drugs require the prescriptions, even for executions. Government attorneys appealed and within hours a panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out Chutkan’s order with little explanation.

Then in his mid-20s, Nelson grabbed 10-year-old Pamela Butler off the street and threw her into his truck in broad daylight on Oct. 12, 1999. The fifth-grade student had been returning to her Kansas City, Kansas, home on inline skates after buying cookies at a store. As he drove off, he made a rude gesture to Butler’s sister, who saw the attack and screamed. Onlookers got his license plate number.

“To know that that was the last face that she saw on this earth before he took her, and having to know how scared she was and what he was doing to her, has literally eaten me up.”

“The death penalty is not about fairness and justice, it’s about politics,” said Nelson’s lawyer, Dale Baich.

Nelson’s current attorneys said Nelson’s lawyers during the 2001 penalty phase of his case should have emphasized mitigating evidence, including that Nelson suffered brain damage as a newborn and was abused as a child.

Baich, who said he intended to be a witness at the execution if it happens, said the world wouldn’t be safer if his client was put to death.

Government attorneys have defended the use of pentobarbital, disputing that Purkey’s autopsy proved he suffered. They have also cited Supreme Court ruling precedent that an execution method isn’t necessarily cruel and unusual just because it causes some pain.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A panel of federal appeals court judges is letting the U.S. government proceed with the planned execution of a man who kidnapped, raped and killed a 10-year-old Kansas girl.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Thursday evening acted to let the execution of Keith Dwayne Nelson go forward Friday afternoon as scheduled. The court acted less than 24 hours after a lower court judge had halted his execution, saying the law requires the government to get a prescription for the drug it plans to use.

In an opinion early Thursday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said a federal law that regulates drugs requires the government to get a prescription for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/53b7d4e7b9434ad483d7a2b8f3690caa">the lethal injection drug pentobarbital</a>, which it plans to use.

But in a brief, unsigned order Thursday evening, the panel of three appeals court judges acted to let the execution go forward, saying “there are insufficient findings and conclusions that irreparable injury will result from the statutory violation found by the district court.” The panel included two judges appointed by President Barack Obama, Cornelia Pillard and Robert Wilkins, and Neomi Rao, who was appointed by President Donald Trump.

Nelson attorney Dale Baich in an email to The Associated Press: “We are carefully reviewing the order and considering the options available to us.”

Nelson’s execution is scheduled to be the fifth carried out this year by the federal government at the death chamber of the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. The executions followed the Trump administration’s announcement last year that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/1ab434fcc31e429089eb5e14de0d1324">it would resume executing death row inmates</a>&nbsp;for the first time since 2003.

Nelson was sentenced to death after pleading guilty to the 1999 kidnapping, rape and killing of Pamela Butler. The 10-year-old was rollerblading in front of her Kansas home when Nelson abducted her. He later raped her before strangling her to death with a wire.

Chutkan’s 13-page opinion putting Nelson’s execution on hold came hours after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/d10a18eff9cdf43afda8810bf859949d">government carried out the execution of Lezmond Mitchell</a>, the only Native American on federal death row, despite objections from many Navajo leaders. With Mitchell’s execution, the federal government has now carried out more executions in 2020 than it had in the previous 56 years combined. Two more executions are scheduled for September. All of the executions have been carried out using pentobarbital.

Though the inmates who were put to death by the federal government have sought to halt their executions, challenging the drug’s use, among other things, the Supreme Court has sided with federal officials, in two cases reversing lower court orders keeping the government from carrying out scheduled executions.

Chutkan, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, said in her opinion that it is “undisputed that a prescription is required to dispense pentobarbital in the ordinary course.”

“It is also undisputed,” she wrote, “that the government has not obtained a prescription — nor does it intend to — for the use of pentobarbital in Nelson’s execution.”

But Chutkan said that under previous court decisions, when pentobarbital is being used for an execution it is still subject to the requirements in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/laws-enforced-fda/federal-food-drug-and-cosmetic-act-fdc-act" target="_blank">the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act</a>&nbsp;so a prescription is required.

The government has argued that pentobarbital is not subject to the act when used for lethal injections.

Pentobarbital depresses the central nervous system and, given in a high dosage, causes the heart to stop. It doesn’t have widespread medical uses, though is often used by veterinarians to anesthetize or euthanize animals.

For three federal executions in the early 2000s, the government used different drugs, but pharmaceutical companies later refused to allow those drugs to be used in executions, forcing the federal and many state governments to seek an alternative. Attorney General William Barr last year approved reworked execution protocols that called for using pentobarbital alone.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge in Washington halted the federal government’s planned Friday execution of a man who kidnapped, raped and killed a 10-year-old Kansas girl, saying the law requires the government to get a prescription for the drug it plans to use.

In an opinion early Thursday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said a federal law that regulates drugs requires the government to get a prescription for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/53b7d4e7b9434ad483d7a2b8f3690caa">the lethal injection drug pentobarbital</a>, which it plans to use to execute Keith Dwayne Nelson. The government is appealing.

Nelson’s execution was scheduled to be the fifth carried out this year by the federal government at the death chamber of the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. The executions followed the Trump administration’s announcement last year that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/1ab434fcc31e429089eb5e14de0d1324">it would resume executing death row inmates</a>&nbsp;for the first time since 2003.

No last words from Kan. girl's killer before execution 

LAWRENCE (AP) — Fueled in part by college students returning to classes, Kansas has set another pandemic record for the seven-day increase in coronavirus cases, with the surge prompting the Lawrence school district to put the brakes on some fall sports and Hays to extend its mask ordinance.

Statewide, the number of new reported cases rose by 1,111 from Wednesday to Friday, bringing the total to 41,048. The state Department of Health and Environment also reported an additional six COVID-19-related deaths, to put the pandemic total at 443.

The average for the seven days ending Friday was 599, 3.6% more than the previous record of 578 for the seven days ending Wednesday. The state also reported 16 clusters in colleges and universities with 189 cases.T

Amid the rise, the Lawrence school district is following the recommendation of Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health and suspending some fall sports starting Monday.

“We recognize that the entry testing and high number of tests of University of Kansas students drove the number of new cases,” health department Director Dan Partridge said in a news release. “Given those COVID-19 cases are now in our community, we believe it’s prudent to move to phase Yellow.”

The county had been in a green tier, which allows for for all activities to continue, as long as standard public safety precautions are taken.

Lawrence school district spokeswoman Julie Boyle said competitions in “high risk” activities such as football, competitive cheer and dance, band, choir and possibly soccer would be delayed until health officials deem them safer. Boyle noted the health guidance identifies soccer as a sport that can be modified to decrease the risk of spreading COVID-19 and continue competing. She said the district will investigate possible modifications.

The Kansas Department of Labor announced Friday that the agency will extend its call center hours to weekday evenings and Saturdays for general inquiries, claim status updates and technical assistance. People with more complex questions will need to call during regular business hours.

“Extending our call center hours makes sense during this unprecedented pandemic,” the agency’s acting secretary, Ryan Wright, said in a news release. “The Department of Labor is making itself available to answer questions when it is convenient for claimants.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598647020158.png" alt="Lee Norman during this Wednesday press conference said, "If this pandemic were a football game, we're near the end of the first quarter. We have a number of months ahead of us and we will have some real challenges."" />
 <figcaption>Lee Norman during this Wednesday press conference said, "If this pandemic were a football game, we're near the end of the first quarter. We have a number of months ahead of us and we will have some real challenges."</figcaption>
 </figure>LAWRENCE (AP) — Fueled in part by college students returning to classes, Kansas has set another pandemic record for the seven-day increase in coronavirus cases, with the surge prompting the Lawrence school district to put the brakes on some fall sports and Hays to extend its mask ordinance.Statewide, the number of new reported cases rose by 1,111 from Wednesday to Friday, bringing the total to 41,048. The state Department of Health and Environment also reported an additional six COVID-19-related deaths, to put the pandemic total at 443.The average for the seven days ending Friday was 599, 3.6% more than the previous record of 578 for the seven days ending Wednesday. The state also reported 16 clusters in colleges and universities with 189 cases.TAmid the rise, the Lawrence school district is following the recommendation of Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health and suspending some fall sports starting Monday.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598634973316.png" alt="Friday August 28, KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>Friday August 28, KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>“We recognize that the entry testing and high number of tests of University of Kansas students drove the number of new cases,” health department Director Dan Partridge said in a news release. “Given those COVID-19 cases are now in our community, we believe it’s prudent to move to phase Yellow.”The county had been in a green tier, which allows for for all activities to continue, as long as standard public safety precautions are taken.Lawrence school district spokeswoman Julie Boyle said competitions in “high risk” activities such as football, competitive cheer and dance, band, choir and possibly soccer would be delayed until health officials deem them safer. Boyle noted the health guidance identifies soccer as a sport that can be modified to decrease the risk of spreading COVID-19 and continue competing. She said the district will investigate possible modifications.The Kansas Department of Labor announced Friday that the agency will extend its call center hours to weekday evenings and Saturdays for general inquiries, claim status updates and technical assistance. People with more complex questions will need to call during regular business hours.“Extending our call center hours makes sense during this unprecedented pandemic,” the agency’s acting secretary, Ryan Wright, said in a news release. “The Department of Labor is making itself available to answer questions when it is convenient for claimants.

Kansas sets new pandemic record for 7-day case bump

BUTLER COUNTY–&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office have made an additional arrest connected to the murder of 78-year-old Danny Shue of Eureka, Kansas, according to a media release.

Just before 10a.m. Thursday, Leon A. Lindsay, 34, of El Dorado, was arrested at the Butler County Sheriff’s Office for felony murder, aggravated burglary, felony theft, and conspiracy to commit felony theft. He is currently being held at the Butler County Jail.

Assisting the KBI and the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office in this arrest were the El Dorado Police Department, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, and K-9 handlers from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.

Previously charged in this case were 30-year-old Noah J. E. Farr, of Dighton, 25-year-old Joseph E. Warden, of El Dorado, and a 17-year-old teen from El Dorado, who was not named as he is a juvenile.

Just after 10 p.m. August 19, the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office responded to do a welfare check at a home at 1607 Quincy Street in Eureka, Kansas, according to a media release from the KBI.

 When deputies responded, they searched the residence and discovered 78-year-old Danny Shue deceased inside. Shue was pronounced dead at the scene.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598026621001.png" alt="KBI on the scene of the investigation August 20 -photo courtesy Eureka Herald" />
 <figcaption>KBI on the scene of the investigation August 20 -photo courtesy Eureka Herald</figcaption>
 </figure>BUTLER COUNTY–&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office have made an additional arrest connected to the murder of 78-year-old Danny Shue of Eureka, Kansas, according to a media release.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598638528314.png" alt="Lindsay-photo Butler Co." />
 <figcaption>Lindsay-photo Butler Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Just before 10a.m. Thursday, Leon A. Lindsay, 34, of El Dorado, was arrested at the Butler County Sheriff’s Office for felony murder, aggravated burglary, felony theft, and conspiracy to commit felony theft. He is currently being held at the Butler County Jail.Assisting the KBI and the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office in this arrest were the El Dorado Police Department, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, and K-9 handlers from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598477662600.png" alt="Farr-photo Finney Co." />
 <figcaption>Farr-photo Finney Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Previously charged in this case were 30-year-old Noah J. E. Farr, of Dighton, 25-year-old Joseph E. Warden, of El Dorado, and a 17-year-old teen from El Dorado, who was not named as he is a juvenile.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598639981075.png" alt="Warden photo Greenwood County" />
 <figcaption>Warden photo Greenwood County</figcaption>
 </figure>Just after 10 p.m. August 19, the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office responded to do a welfare check at a home at 1607 Quincy Street in Eureka, Kansas, according to a media release from the KBI. When deputies responded, they searched the residence and discovered 78-year-old Danny Shue deceased inside. Shue was pronounced dead at the scene.

KBI: 4th arrest in murder of 78-year-old Kan. man

WASHINGTON (AP) — Capping a week of protests and outrage over the police shooting of a Black man in Wisconsin, civil rights advocates began highlighting the scourge of police and vigilante violence against Black Americans at a commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?475069-1/national-action-networks-get-necks-rally-march&amp;live&amp;vod">Click here to</a> watch the rally and march

An estimated thousands gathered Friday near the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic “I Have A Dream” address, a vision of racial equality that remains elusive for millions of Americans.

And they are gathering on the heels of yet another shooting by a white police officer of a Black man — this time, 29-year-old Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last Sunday — sparking days of protests and violence that left two dead.

“I want to give space for Black people in the crowd to say they are not okay,” said Jumaane Williams, New York City’s public advocate, who addressed march attendees shortly after the program began.

“We are like the nameless grandmothers who got in the streets and said ‘We will make you live up to what America says she is,’” Williams said. “We are here. We’re not going anywhere.”

Early on, the march was shaping up to be the largest political gathering in Washington since the coronavirus pandemic began. Many attendees showed up wearing T-shirts bearing the image and words of the late Rep. John Lewis who, until his death last month, was the last living speaker at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/2505bea3e2d24894a7ea91bcf52bdfdf">original March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom</a>, which went on to become one of the most famous political rallies in U.S. history. and one of the largest gatherings at the nation’s capital with over 200,000 people advocating for social change.

The thousands of participants that were streaming in for the march late Friday morning stood in lines that stretched for several blocks, as organizers insisted on taking temperatures as part of coronavirus protocols. Organizers reminded attendees to practice social distancing and wear masks throughout the program.

Later in the day, Martin Luther King III, a son of the late civil rights icon and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/6af0d92e21fe3d91ebafd88256c00014?fbclid=IwAR333ijYwtUn91lGsZMJXCbyTeCL_FzT3MuJdCO6GDeRkQh6A6r93iaAsz4">Rev. Al Sharpton,</a>&nbsp;whose civil rights organization, the National Action Network, planned Friday’s event, are expected to deliver keynote addresses that show the urgency for federal policing reforms, to decry racial violence, and to demand voting rights protections ahead of the November general election.

And to underscore the urgency, Sharpton has assembled the families of an ever-expanding roll call of victims: Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, and Eric Garner, among others.

Arbery and Martin both were killed by white men who pursued them with guns.

Following the commemorative rally, participants will march to the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial in West Potomac Park, next to the National Mall, and then disperse.

Turnout in Washington was expected be lighter than initially intended due to city-imposed coronavirus pandemic restrictions that limit out-of-state visitors to the nation’s capital. To that end, the National Action Network organized a handful of satellite march events in South Carolina, Florida and Nevada, among others.

While participants march in Washington, Sharpton has called for those in other states to march on their U.S. senators’ offices and demand their support of federal policing reforms. Sharpton said protesters should also demand reinvigorated U.S. voter protections, in Lewis’ memory.

In June, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act, which would ban police use of stranglehold maneuvers and end qualified immunity for officers, among other reforms. Floyd, a Black man, died May 25 after a white police officer in Minneapolis held a knee to the man’s neck for nearly eight minutes, sparking weeks of sustained protests and unrest from coast to coast.

In July, following Lewis’ death, Democratic senators reintroduced legislation that would restore a provision of the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965 gutted by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013. The law previously required states with a history of voter suppression to seek federal clearance before changing voting regulations.

Both measures are awaiting action in the Republican-controlled Senate.

“We’re demanding that that be enacted,” King told the Associated Press on Thursday. “The senators won’t even take action on it. That gives us an opportunity to say, ‘OK, we gave you guys a chance, we as the people, as Black people, as white people, as Latinos and Hispanics and we’re going to vote you out.’”

Later in the evening, the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of more than 150 Black-led organizations that make up the broader Black Lives Matter movement, will hold its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/fd3c1e92f9dcf7de4c6ff74ca7c41592?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter">virtual Black National Convention</a>.

The convention will coincide with the unveiling of a new Black political agenda intended to build on the success of this summer’s protests. The platform will deepen calls for defunding police departments in favor of investments to healthcare, education, housing and other social services in Black communities, organizers said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598632420451.png" alt="Thousands gather near the Lincoln Memorial Friday morning -image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Thousands gather near the Lincoln Memorial Friday morning -image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Capping a week of protests and outrage over the police shooting of a Black man in Wisconsin, civil rights advocates began highlighting the scourge of police and vigilante violence against Black Americans at a commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?475069-1/national-action-networks-get-necks-rally-march&amp;live&amp;vod">Click here to</a> watch the rally and marchAn estimated thousands gathered Friday near the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic “I Have A Dream” address, a vision of racial equality that remains elusive for millions of Americans.And they are gathering on the heels of yet another shooting by a white police officer of a Black man — this time, 29-year-old Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last Sunday — sparking days of protests and violence that left two dead.“I want to give space for Black people in the crowd to say they are not okay,” said Jumaane Williams, New York City’s public advocate, who addressed march attendees shortly after the program began.“We are like the nameless grandmothers who got in the streets and said ‘We will make you live up to what America says she is,’” Williams said. “We are here. We’re not going anywhere.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598632692148.png" alt="Despite humidity and temperatures in the 90s, a large crowd, many wearing masks arrived early for the event sponsored by the National Action Network -photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Despite humidity and temperatures in the 90s, a large crowd, many wearing masks arrived early for the event sponsored by the National Action Network -photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>Early on, the march was shaping up to be the largest political gathering in Washington since the coronavirus pandemic began. Many attendees showed up wearing T-shirts bearing the image and words of the late Rep. John Lewis who, until his death last month, was the last living speaker at the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/2505bea3e2d24894a7ea91bcf52bdfdf">original March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom</a>, which went on to become one of the most famous political rallies in U.S. history. and one of the largest gatherings at the nation’s capital with over 200,000 people advocating for social change.The thousands of participants that were streaming in for the march late Friday morning stood in lines that stretched for several blocks, as organizers insisted on taking temperatures as part of coronavirus protocols. Organizers reminded attendees to practice social distancing and wear masks throughout the program.Later in the day, Martin Luther King III, a son of the late civil rights icon and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/6af0d92e21fe3d91ebafd88256c00014?fbclid=IwAR333ijYwtUn91lGsZMJXCbyTeCL_FzT3MuJdCO6GDeRkQh6A6r93iaAsz4">Rev. Al Sharpton,</a>&nbsp;whose civil rights organization, the National Action Network, planned Friday’s event, are expected to deliver keynote addresses that show the urgency for federal policing reforms, to decry racial violence, and to demand voting rights protections ahead of the November general election.And to underscore the urgency, Sharpton has assembled the families of an ever-expanding roll call of victims: Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, and Eric Garner, among others.Arbery and Martin both were killed by white men who pursued them with guns.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598633020611.png" alt="The event marks the 57th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” speech.-photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>The event marks the 57th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have a Dream” speech.-photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>Following the commemorative rally, participants will march to the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial in West Potomac Park, next to the National Mall, and then disperse.Turnout in Washington was expected be lighter than initially intended due to city-imposed coronavirus pandemic restrictions that limit out-of-state visitors to the nation’s capital. To that end, the National Action Network organized a handful of satellite march events in South Carolina, Florida and Nevada, among others.While participants march in Washington, Sharpton has called for those in other states to march on their U.S. senators’ offices and demand their support of federal policing reforms. Sharpton said protesters should also demand reinvigorated U.S. voter protections, in Lewis’ memory.In June, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act, which would ban police use of stranglehold maneuvers and end qualified immunity for officers, among other reforms. Floyd, a Black man, died May 25 after a white police officer in Minneapolis held a knee to the man’s neck for nearly eight minutes, sparking weeks of sustained protests and unrest from coast to coast.In July, following Lewis’ death, Democratic senators reintroduced legislation that would restore a provision of the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965 gutted by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013. The law previously required states with a history of voter suppression to seek federal clearance before changing voting regulations.Both measures are awaiting action in the Republican-controlled Senate.“We’re demanding that that be enacted,” King told the Associated Press on Thursday. “The senators won’t even take action on it. That gives us an opportunity to say, ‘OK, we gave you guys a chance, we as the people, as Black people, as white people, as Latinos and Hispanics and we’re going to vote you out.’”Later in the evening, the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of more than 150 Black-led organizations that make up the broader Black Lives Matter movement, will hold its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/fd3c1e92f9dcf7de4c6ff74ca7c41592?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter">virtual Black National Convention</a>.The convention will coincide with the unveiling of a new Black political agenda intended to build on the success of this summer’s protests. The platform will deepen calls for defunding police departments in favor of investments to healthcare, education, housing and other social services in Black communities, organizers said.

🎥 Thousands gather at March on Washington commemorations

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 1,111 to a total of 41,048 the state health department reported Friday afternoon.&nbsp;

Coronavirus deaths were reported at 443, an increase of 6.

<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional numbers from the KDHE.

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 1,111 to a total of 41,048 the state health department reported Friday afternoon.&nbsp;Coronavirus deaths were reported at 443, an increase of 6.<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional numbers from the KDHE.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598634973316.png" alt="Friday August 28, 2020 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>Friday August 28, 2020 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>

KDHE: Latest coronavirus numbers in Kansas

WESTWOOD, Kan. (AP) — Law enforcement authorities say a Kansas prison inmate is charged with killing a man in 2003 in a suburban Kansas City grocery store. 

Forty-year-old Eugene Clayton Keltner faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of David “Ray” Ninemire in Westwood. 

Ninemire was shot when he went to help a co-worker during a robbery at the grocery store. Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe on Thursday declined to say what evidence led to Keltner's arrest. 

Keltner is imprisoned in Lansing after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter in a 2004 shooting death in Kansas City, Kansas.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598565038134.png" alt="Keltner has over a dozen previous convictions that include burglary, aggravated battery, aggravated robbery, involuntary manslaughter, theft, endangering a child less than 18, furnishing alcohol to a minor and criminal deprivation of property(motor vehicle), according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections." />
 <figcaption>Keltner has over a dozen previous convictions that include burglary, aggravated battery, aggravated robbery, involuntary manslaughter, theft, endangering a child less than 18, furnishing alcohol to a minor and criminal deprivation of property(motor vehicle), according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.</figcaption>
 </figure>WESTWOOD, Kan. (AP) — Law enforcement authorities say a Kansas prison inmate is charged with killing a man in 2003 in a suburban Kansas City grocery store. Forty-year-old Eugene Clayton Keltner faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of David “Ray” Ninemire in Westwood. Ninemire was shot when he went to help a co-worker during a robbery at the grocery store. Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe on Thursday declined to say what evidence led to Keltner's arrest. Keltner is imprisoned in Lansing after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter in a 2004 shooting death in Kansas City, Kansas.

Kansas inmate charged in 2003 grocery store killing

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) announced Friday that the agency will extend its call center hours for limited operations, including evenings and Saturdays, according to a media release.

Weekday hours will be 8 a.m. – 8 p.m., beginning Monday. Saturday hours will be from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.

“Extending our call center hours makes sense during this unprecedented pandemic,” said acting Secretary Ryan Wright. “The Department of Labor is making itself available to answer questions when it is convenient for claimants.

“Simply put, we are here to serve Kansans and this move does exactly that,” he added. Claimants who call Monday through Friday between the hours of 4 p.m. – 8 p.m., and Saturday between the hours of 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., will have a limited menu of services from which to choose.

The scope of services for these hours includes:

• General inquiries and frequently asked questions,

For more complex cases and questions, KDOL requests claimants continue to call the call center during standard business hours for the agency, which are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Since March 15, KDOL has paid out more than two million weekly claims totaling over $1.8 billion between regular unemployment and the federal pandemic programs. 

<a href="https://www.getkansasbenefits.gov/Home.aspx">Click here for more</a> information, or to apply for unemployment benefits.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/6/1593457222137.png" alt="Kansas Department of Labor" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Department of Labor</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) announced Friday that the agency will extend its call center hours for limited operations, including evenings and Saturdays, according to a media release.Weekday hours will be 8 a.m. – 8 p.m., beginning Monday. Saturday hours will be from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.“Extending our call center hours makes sense during this unprecedented pandemic,” said acting Secretary Ryan Wright. “The Department of Labor is making itself available to answer questions when it is convenient for claimants.“Simply put, we are here to serve Kansans and this move does exactly that,” he added. Claimants who call Monday through Friday between the hours of 4 p.m. – 8 p.m., and Saturday between the hours of 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., will have a limited menu of services from which to choose.The scope of services for these hours includes:• General inquiries and frequently asked questions,• Claim status updates,• Technical issue assistance, and• Weekly claim filings.For more complex cases and questions, KDOL requests claimants continue to call the call center during standard business hours for the agency, which are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.Since March 15, KDOL has paid out more than two million weekly claims totaling over $1.8 billion between regular unemployment and the federal pandemic programs. <a href="https://www.getkansasbenefits.gov/Home.aspx">Click here for more</a> information, or to apply for unemployment benefits.

Kansas Department of Labor extending call center hours

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Investigators are looking for clues as to who shot a man to death as he sat in his car outside a Kansas City gas station, police said.

The shooting happened around 8 p.m. Thursday along Prospect Avenue blocks east of U.S. 71, police said in a news release. Responding officers found a man inside a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds. The man was take to a hospital, where he later died.

Police have not released the victim’s name or age. No arrests had been reported in the case by Friday morning.

Data kept by The Kansas City Star shows the shooting death was the city’s 134th homicide of the year, compared with 102 homicides by this time last year.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Investigators are looking for clues as to who shot a man to death as he sat in his car outside a Kansas City gas station, police said.The shooting happened around 8 p.m. Thursday along Prospect Avenue blocks east of U.S. 71, police said in a news release. Responding officers found a man inside a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds. The man was take to a hospital, where he later died.Police have not released the victim’s name or age. No arrests had been reported in the case by Friday morning.Data kept by The Kansas City Star shows the shooting death was the city’s 134th homicide of the year, compared with 102 homicides by this time last year.

Kansas City police investigate city's 134th homicide of year

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man who kicked a black child and yelled racial slurs in a Wichita grocery store will be sent to prison after failing at rehabilitation efforts. 

Trace Riff, 33, was sentenced Thursday to two years and four months in prison. Prosecutors say he kicked the 1-year-old boy in December 2018 while the child was in a store with his pregnant mother and an older sibling. 

He pleaded no contest in May 2019 to attempted aggravated battery, disorderly conduct and drug charges. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said rehabilitation efforts for Riff had failed. Riff's family and attorney say he suffers from mental health issues and a drug addiction.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598577039236.png" alt="Riff photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Riff photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man who kicked a black child and yelled racial slurs in a Wichita grocery store will be sent to prison after failing at rehabilitation efforts. Trace Riff, 33, was sentenced Thursday to two years and four months in prison. Prosecutors say he kicked the 1-year-old boy in December 2018 while the child was in a store with his pregnant mother and an older sibling. He pleaded no contest in May 2019 to attempted aggravated battery, disorderly conduct and drug charges. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said rehabilitation efforts for Riff had failed. Riff's family and attorney say he suffers from mental health issues and a drug addiction.

Kan. man sentenced for yelling slurs, kicking black child

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas will apply to participate in a federal program that provides additional benefits to workers who have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Laura Kelly said Thursday, less than two weeks after she questioned the program’s legality and suggested it could be difficult to administer.

Kelly’s office said the state would use a portion of its $1.25 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds to cover part of the additional benefits. President Donald Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/0218f8425463c85085edb667421c6c35">issued an executive order&nbsp;</a>this month offering an additional $300 a week in benefits to jobless workers and $400 a week if states chipped in the additional $100. The federal government would have to approve Kansas’ proposal.

Trump issued the order after an earlier program, providing an additional $600 a week, expired at the end of July, with no agreement in Congress on extending or replacing it. The Democratic governor said in a statement Thursday that she had hoped the GOP-led U.S. Senate would have approved a program before taking its August break.

“I could not sit by idly while many Kansans are still facing unemployment,” Kelly said. “This is far from a perfect solution, but we want to use every tool available to protect Kansans and our economy.”

Kelly has faced criticism from the Republican-controlled Legislature over the Kansas Department of Labor’s past problems in dealing with a surge in unemployment claims and providing additional benefits under the earlier program. Kelly has blamed much of those problems on a decades-old computer system, but her first labor secretary, Delia Garcia, resigned in June.

The governor told reporters&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/dab48fe26374b61a0d204a77ebe9bea0">during an Aug. 17 news conference</a>&nbsp;that providing an additional $100 a week in benefits to jobless workers might cost the state more than $40 million a month. She questioned whether Trump had the authority to bypass Congress and said trying to administer the new program could create “chaos.”

The new program created by Trump’s executive order would allow people to claim benefits for Aug. 1 forward, through late December, suggesting the state could spend roughly $200 million.

But state officials aren’t sure how many people would apply, and Kelly noted in her statement that people seeking the benefits will have to show that they lost their jobs because of the pandemic. Also, Kelly said, only people currently receiving $100 more more a week in regular unemployment benefits would be eligible.

“However, this program is not a permanent solution,” Acting Labor Secretary Ryan Wright said. “At best it can be viewed as a quick fix.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1596920150374.png" alt="President Trump signed the executive order from his New Jersey golf club August 9. -photo courtesy White House" />
 <figcaption>President Trump signed the executive order from his New Jersey golf club August 9. -photo courtesy White House</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNATOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas will apply to participate in a federal program that provides additional benefits to workers who have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Laura Kelly said Thursday, less than two weeks after she questioned the program’s legality and suggested it could be difficult to administer.Kelly’s office said the state would use a portion of its $1.25 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds to cover part of the additional benefits. President Donald Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/0218f8425463c85085edb667421c6c35">issued an executive order&nbsp;</a>this month offering an additional $300 a week in benefits to jobless workers and $400 a week if states chipped in the additional $100. The federal government would have to approve Kansas’ proposal.Trump issued the order after an earlier program, providing an additional $600 a week, expired at the end of July, with no agreement in Congress on extending or replacing it. The Democratic governor said in a statement Thursday that she had hoped the GOP-led U.S. Senate would have approved a program before taking its August break.“I could not sit by idly while many Kansans are still facing unemployment,” Kelly said. “This is far from a perfect solution, but we want to use every tool available to protect Kansans and our economy.”Kelly has faced criticism from the Republican-controlled Legislature over the Kansas Department of Labor’s past problems in dealing with a surge in unemployment claims and providing additional benefits under the earlier program. Kelly has blamed much of those problems on a decades-old computer system, but her first labor secretary, Delia Garcia, resigned in June.The governor told reporters&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/dab48fe26374b61a0d204a77ebe9bea0">during an Aug. 17 news conference</a>&nbsp;that providing an additional $100 a week in benefits to jobless workers might cost the state more than $40 million a month. She questioned whether Trump had the authority to bypass Congress and said trying to administer the new program could create “chaos.”The new program created by Trump’s executive order would allow people to claim benefits for Aug. 1 forward, through late December, suggesting the state could spend roughly $200 million.But state officials aren’t sure how many people would apply, and Kelly noted in her statement that people seeking the benefits will have to show that they lost their jobs because of the pandemic. Also, Kelly said, only people currently receiving $100 more more a week in regular unemployment benefits would be eligible.“However, this program is not a permanent solution,” Acting Labor Secretary Ryan Wright said. “At best it can be viewed as a quick fix.”

Kan. will participate in Trump's $400 unemployment check program

About 25 adults and children gather outside city hall protesting the face mask ordinance in Hays prior to Thursday's city commission meeting. (Photo by James Bell/Hays Post)

By BECKY KISER Hays Post

Hays city commissioners voted 3-2 Thursday night to extend the city's face mask ordinance through Oct. 5, 2020. It was set to expire Aug. 31.

Five residents spoke against the mandate, along with a Salina physician, Amy Hogan, M.D., who talked by phone about her concerns, especially for the psychological well-being of young children wearing face masks.

No supporters of the extension had signed up to make comments on the agenda item, although Mayor Shaun Musil read an email submitted by Heather Harris, D.O., medical director at HaysMed, who favors the mask ordinance, along with hand washing and social distancing.

Heather Harris, D.O., medical director at HaysMed, expresses her support of extending the face mask ordinance in an email.

The commission first heard from Jason Kennedy, Ellis County Health Services director.

"Coronavirus is not going away. It's part of society," Kennedy said. "We don't get to be tired of the virus, and that doesn't make it go away."

Kennedy talked about research underway to produce a COVID-19 medical vaccine, predicting it is "at least four or five months away. ... Hopefully, it's effective and hopefully, we'll get enough people vaccinated to the point where we feel safe. But as long as we continue to test [in Ellis County], we'll see waves and we'll see plateaus."

The number of positive COVID-19 cases in Ellis County recently<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/cd3a0e67-18ff-4994-9791-68b06e842388">&nbsp;jumped significantly</a>, coinciding with the return of college students at Fort Hays State University, where classes started Aug. 17.&nbsp;

Jason Kennedy, Ellis Co. Health Services director, speaks to Hays city commissioners Thursday.&nbsp;(Photo by James Bell/Hays Post)

Kennedy asked the commission to "vote for time, and sentiment of the public, to develop a plan of what the next year looks like.&nbsp;

"If we don't plan this, the public will continue to get less and less involved in mitigation measures.

"Ask them tonight for time, and to trust the plan that you guys put together will be based in fact and science, and will carry us through so that we can continue to make decent, educated decisions," Kennedy said.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Commissioners had a lengthy, emotional discussion of the issue.

Komoss Creamer is escorted out of city commission chambers by Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler at the direction of&nbsp; Mayor Shaun Musil (right) after Creamer objected to an initial motion by Vice Mayor Sandy Jacobs to extend the city's mask ordinance until Dec. 31.

At one point, Musil had an audience member,&nbsp;Komoss Creamer, escorted from commission chambers by Police Chief Don Scheibler after an outburst in which she objected to a motion made by Sandy Jacobs, vice mayor, to extend the mandate through the end of the year.&nbsp;

Creamer, a therapist who specializes in child trauma, was one of the five people in opposition to the mandate&nbsp; who spoke earlier to the commission.

"We need to be able to decide what we want to do with our healthcare, not someone else who says this is the doctor to listen to, and then there's the mandate," Creamer said. "When government starts deciding healthcare, there is a big issue."

During the 3 minutes allotted per speaker, Tammy Werth (at podium) talks about being diagnosed with coronavirus 7 weeks ago with no spread of the disease to people she was in contact with.

Tammy Werth said she had seen some "horrible things on Facebook, both for and against," and implored residents to "be kind to each other and respect each other. Let them choose if they want to wear a mask or they don't want to wear a mask."

A Type 1 diabetic at "high risk," Werth told the commission she had the coronavirus seven weeks ago, and no one else she was in contact with contracted it.

"I got through it," Werth said. "There's a low death rate. Influenza's worse."

Jacobs finally amended her motion to end the mandate on Mon., Oct. 5.

All the commissioners spoke of emails and social media comments they had received. Some notes were favorable, supporting the ordinance extension and the commission. Others messages opposed the mandate and included personal condemnations of commissioners.&nbsp;

"I am sad, angry, horrified and disappointed," Ron Mellick said. "It's tearing this community apart because people won't compromise."

Mellick also noted Fort Hays State University and NCK Technical College have their own COVID policies and USD 489 is following state guidelines.&nbsp;

Musil teared up as he related messages he got accusing him personally of "causing people to die and commit suicide" because of the mandate.&nbsp;

The mayor said he would not vote for extending the mandate unless the city moves from educating the public to enforcing fines for violators.

Jacobs agreed with the enforcement.&nbsp;

"I dread it for the police department," Musil sighed.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598582433411.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>About 25 adults and children gather outside city hall protesting the face mask ordinance in Hays prior to Thursday's city commission meeting. (Photo by James Bell/Hays Post)By BECKY KISER Hays PostHays city commissioners voted 3-2 Thursday night to extend the city's face mask ordinance through Oct. 5, 2020. It was set to expire Aug. 31.Five residents spoke against the mandate, along with a Salina physician, Amy Hogan, M.D., who talked by phone about her concerns, especially for the psychological well-being of young children wearing face masks.No supporters of the extension had signed up to make comments on the agenda item, although Mayor Shaun Musil read an email submitted by Heather Harris, D.O., medical director at HaysMed, who favors the mask ordinance, along with hand washing and social distancing.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598587541997.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Heather Harris, D.O., medical director at HaysMed, expresses her support of extending the face mask ordinance in an email.The commission first heard from Jason Kennedy, Ellis County Health Services director."Coronavirus is not going away. It's part of society," Kennedy said. "We don't get to be tired of the virus, and that doesn't make it go away."Kennedy talked about research underway to produce a COVID-19 medical vaccine, predicting it is "at least four or five months away. ... Hopefully, it's effective and hopefully, we'll get enough people vaccinated to the point where we feel safe. But as long as we continue to test [in Ellis County], we'll see waves and we'll see plateaus."The number of positive COVID-19 cases in Ellis County recently<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/cd3a0e67-18ff-4994-9791-68b06e842388">&nbsp;jumped significantly</a>, coinciding with the return of college students at Fort Hays State University, where classes started Aug. 17.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598582308861.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Jason Kennedy, Ellis Co. Health Services director, speaks to Hays city commissioners Thursday.&nbsp;(Photo by James Bell/Hays Post)Kennedy asked the commission to "vote for time, and sentiment of the public, to develop a plan of what the next year looks like.&nbsp;"If we don't plan this, the public will continue to get less and less involved in mitigation measures."Ask them tonight for time, and to trust the plan that you guys put together will be based in fact and science, and will carry us through so that we can continue to make decent, educated decisions," Kennedy said.&nbsp;&nbsp;Commissioners had a lengthy, emotional discussion of the issue.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598591688138.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Komoss Creamer is escorted out of city commission chambers by Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler at the direction of&nbsp; Mayor Shaun Musil (right) after Creamer objected to an initial motion by Vice Mayor Sandy Jacobs to extend the city's mask ordinance until Dec. 31.At one point, Musil had an audience member,&nbsp;Komoss Creamer, escorted from commission chambers by Police Chief Don Scheibler after an outburst in which she objected to a motion made by Sandy Jacobs, vice mayor, to extend the mandate through the end of the year.&nbsp;Musil later apologized.&nbsp;Creamer, a therapist who specializes in child trauma, was one of the five people in opposition to the mandate&nbsp; who spoke earlier to the commission."We need to be able to decide what we want to do with our healthcare, not someone else who says this is the doctor to listen to, and then there's the mandate," Creamer said. "When government starts deciding healthcare, there is a big issue."<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598594637355.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>During the 3 minutes allotted per speaker, Tammy Werth (at podium) talks about being diagnosed with coronavirus 7 weeks ago with no spread of the disease to people she was in contact with.Tammy Werth said she had seen some "horrible things on Facebook, both for and against," and implored residents to "be kind to each other and respect each other. Let them choose if they want to wear a mask or they don't want to wear a mask."A Type 1 diabetic at "high risk," Werth told the commission she had the coronavirus seven weeks ago, and no one else she was in contact with contracted it."I got through it," Werth said. "There's a low death rate. Influenza's worse."Jacobs finally amended her motion to end the mandate on Mon., Oct. 5.All the commissioners spoke of emails and social media comments they had received. Some notes were favorable, supporting the ordinance extension and the commission. Others messages opposed the mandate and included personal condemnations of commissioners.&nbsp;"I am sad, angry, horrified and disappointed," Ron Mellick said. "It's tearing this community apart because people won't compromise."Mellick also noted Fort Hays State University and NCK Technical College have their own COVID policies and USD 489 is following state guidelines.&nbsp;Musil teared up as he related messages he got accusing him personally of "causing people to die and commit suicide" because of the mandate.&nbsp;"Abhorrent," Jacobs declared.The mayor said he would not vote for extending the mandate unless the city moves from educating the public to enforcing fines for violators.Jacobs agreed with the enforcement.&nbsp;"I dread it for the police department," Musil sighed."My goal is to keep the schools open, keep the businesses open."With the recent spread, the businesses are closing. The governor isn’t telling them to close this time," Musil pointed out. "They’re having to do it because they have no employees. And this is just the start of it.”Mason Ruder and Michael Berges voted against the measure."I think it's working," Berges said, "but we need to find the end."Ruder, who also voted against the original mandate, suggested the commission should develop a "plan for how things should go" at an upcoming work session.