WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Wichita City Council on Tuesday voted to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana and fentanyl test strips in the state's largest city.

(Click below to watch the council's discussion)

The move would eliminate between 750 and 850 prosecutions a year from the municipal courts. Marijuana possession is still illegal under state and federal law but local law enforcement agencies generally bring most minor marijuana possession cases to court.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett did not take a position on the proposal but said his office doesn't have the resources to prosecute an additional 750 to 850 marijuana possession cases a year.

The repeal is scheduled for a second reading next week and is set to take effect Sept. 23.

Kansas has been far slower than other states to liberalize its marijuana laws, largely because there’s no way for voters to get proposed laws on the ballot. The Republican-controlled Legislature approved a measure this year to allow Kansans to use prescriptions derived from cannabis-related products if the drug is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as three currently are.

Legislative leaders formed a committee to study medical marijuana this fall and Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who is seeking reelection, supports the idea.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663099980871.png" alt="Wichita Mayor Dr. Brandon Whipple during Tuesday's discussion&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Wichita Mayor Dr. Brandon Whipple during Tuesday's discussion&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Wichita City Council on Tuesday voted to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana and fentanyl test strips in the state's largest city.(Click below to watch the council's discussion)<div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9k8TyXAZDB0?start=3898" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663100000837.png" alt="The former ordinance" />
 <figcaption>The former ordinance</figcaption>
 </figure>The move would eliminate between 750 and 850 prosecutions a year from the municipal courts. Marijuana possession is still illegal under state and federal law but local law enforcement agencies generally bring most minor marijuana possession cases to court.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">BREAKING: A bipartisan majority of 5-2 PASSED <a href="https://twitter.com/CityofWichita?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CityofWichita</a>&#39;s ordinance removing fentanyl test strips from our drug paraphernalia list, as well as removing marijuana from the city code! Thanks everyone who fought for these data based, harm reduction strategies. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ksleg?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ksleg</a>&mdash; Dr. Brandon Whipple (@BWhippleKS) <a href="https://twitter.com/BWhippleKS/status/1569743207793049602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett did not take a position on the proposal but said his office doesn't have the resources to prosecute an additional 750 to 850 marijuana possession cases a year.The repeal is scheduled for a second reading next week and is set to take effect Sept. 23.Kansas has been far slower than other states to liberalize its marijuana laws, largely because there’s no way for voters to get proposed laws on the ballot. The Republican-controlled Legislature approved a measure this year to allow Kansans to use prescriptions derived from cannabis-related products if the drug is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as three currently are.Legislative leaders formed a committee to study medical marijuana this fall and Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who is seeking reelection, supports the idea.

🎥 Wichita City Council votes to decriminalize marijuana possession

By MAX MCCOY <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/13/emporia-state-university-is-about-to-suspend-tenure-heres-why-you-should-care/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>

It would be an improper firing, a violation of my First Amendment 
rights as a university professor, an infringement of the ability to 
pursue my discipline and state the truth as I see it in the marketplace 
of ideas. The given reason might be restructuring, a need for change, a 
response to a crisis, or even “conduct.” But I fear the underlying 
reason for my firing, and that of my colleagues, would be that it’s a 
political maneuver to end tenure.

Outspoken professors like me would ordinarily rely on the protection 
offered by tenure, but shortly after you read this column, that 
foundational protection may have already been suspended at Emporia State
 University, one of six public universities in Kansas.

A <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/07/emporia-state-university-seeks-authority-to-begin-campus-workforce-restructuring/">plan to restructure the school</a>
 and allow the firing of faculty members with only a 30-day notice is 
expected to be approved this week by the Kansas Board of Regents, which 
oversees the state’s higher education. If adopted, the “workforce 
management plan” would effectively suspend tenure for the fall 2022 
semester.

A semester doesn’t seem like much, but it’s enough time to wreck 
careers and burn down programs that have taken decades to build. It’s 
enough time to change an institution that has contributed to the common 
good in Kansas for more than 150 years to one that is dedicated to … 
well, we just don’t know yet.

There are few details in the draft “workforce management plan” 
presented to faculty just last Wednesday, no metrics by which to 
consider the closing of programs or the firing of instructors. There is a
 lot of hot air about being “forward focused and future ready.”

The draft is not a management plan, as observed by one professor at a
 faculty forum on Friday, but a blueprint to quickly terminate employees
 — and not just faculty, but classified staff, graduate assistants, 
anybody the university administration might want gone. The reasons for 
termination are so broad as to invite abuse, and range from program 
restructuring to employee conduct deemed disruptive of the work 
environment.

That could mean writing columns like this one, which are critical of 
university policy. I’ve never written much before about the university, 
at least not in column form, because I always considered it to be off 
tone. Self-serving.

But now is the time, and I do it not merely in my own self-interest, 
but to give voice to what many of my colleagues feel but cannot say for 
fear of reprisal.

Nobody denies the university is under financial pressure caused by 
COVID-19, somewhat declining enrollments, and changes in state funding 
over the past 20 years. Just about everyone, including professors, 
agrees that tuition is just too damned high. But professors aren’t the 
cause of that and, in fact, the pay for most of us who teach at Emporia 
State hasn’t even kept pace with the adjustments given across-the-board 
to state employees in the last few years. There’s been a lot of talk by 
administrators about anticipated enrollment drops, and some programs — 
especially those in the humanities — have been cut time and again. But 
from 2017 to 2021, overall enrollment at ESU has dropped only about 2%, 
according to KBOR data. The university disingenuously provided a 
misleading “fever chart” graph that, by manipulating the scale, showed 
that slight drop in enrollment as not a molehill but a mountainous 
plunge.

It’s only one of things the administration has been less than 
truthful about. Just consider the announcement that came from president 
Ken Hush on Wednesday telling faculty the emergency framework had 
already been submitted to KBOR. It hadn’t. <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/08/professors-frustrated-by-emporia-state-university-plans-to-eliminate-tenured-faculty-and-programs/">An email from the faculty president</a>
 late that night said the statement was “misleading” because the draft 
had not been submitted and feedback from the faculty had not yet been 
gathered. We were given about two business days to provide that 
feedback, an impossible deadline.

The termination policy, to call it what it is, is a desperate attempt
 to dismantle tenure at a state school and establish a cultural 
beachhead upon which others can land. Would it save money? Sure, in the 
same way that ending school lunches or cutting funds to the local fire 
department would save money. But it’s not a wise strategy, especially if
 your goal is to make your community better for everyone — or just to 
keep the town from burning down.

Tenure is no ivory tower; it’s as essential to higher education as 
the fire department is to your community. At Emporia State, as at most 
colleges, tenure is hard won. It is awarded only after a person already 
has a sufficiently advanced degree, is hired as an assistant professor, 
and puts in five to seven years of probationary time during which they 
demonstrate their ability to research, teach and contribute meaningfully
 to the campus community. Tenure isn’t given automatically, and many 
hardworking individuals fail to achieve it. It is granted based on 
rigorous university and department standards, which include student and 
peer evaluations. Tenure is not the same as promotion, although gaining 
it typically comes with an advancement in rank, usually to associate 
professor.

There’s little doubt that the university’s move to end tenure is in 
response to pressure from the deeply conservative Kansas Legislature, 
and I’ve heard the former university provost Gary Wyatt say as much. 
Once, in a department meeting, he told us that legislators viewed 
tenured professors as “the enemy.” Then again, at a faculty address this
 fall, he said the campus would have to come to grips with the reality 
that we live in a state that is mostly Republican, with a legislature 
that is GOP dominated. How much clearer could he make it? To his credit,
 Wyatt is one of the few administrators willing to speak the truth on 
the issue.

This draft policy, aimed to please most Republican lawmakers, will be
 submitted under a COVID-era KBOR plan that would allow universities to 
create alternate paths to summarily fire professors instead of adhering 
to long-established rules that required the university to either declare
 financial exigency, meaning a crisis in which there is no option but to
 terminate appointments of tenured faculty, or to follow the lengthy 
established process for program termination. Passed in January 2021 by 
KBOR, the policy was meant to give universities a tool to deal with the 
financial stress of the pandemic, lower enrollments and tight budgets. 
None of the six state universities implemented the policy, although the 
University of Kansas flirted with it before an intense backlash from 
faculty and students.

The KBOR policy was slated to expire July 1 of this year, but in June the regents extended it for another six months.

The same week KBOR extended the “workforce management” policy, it 
also hired a new president for Emporia State: Ken Hush. An ESU alum and 
former college tennis star, Hush had <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/12/18/at-emporia-state-a-former-grad-holds-fort-while-campus-waits/">served as interim president</a>
 since November 2021. Hush is a former CEO of Koch Carbon and, according
 to the Federal Election Commission database, a contributor of tens of 
thousands of dollars to KochPAC, which predominately funds conservative 
candidates for Congress.

Hush’s appointment as president came as a surprise to campus because 
many assumed a presidential search would select someone from the outside
 with an advanced degree. Hush holds a dual major bachelor’s, in 
business and marketing, making him <a target="_blank" href="http://www.esubulletin.com/campus_commons/hush-holds-fewest-degrees-among-kbor-chiefs/article_017d2dea-28b6-11ed-ab60-8ff9d0fdec3e.html">the least academically credentialed</a> of the leaders of the six universities in Kansas.

The presidential search process, unlike all previous searches at ESU,
 was a closed one, veiled in secrecy. There was no announcement of 
finalists or opportunities for faculty, students and staff to evaluate 
them, whoever they were. The chairman of the search committee was 
another former ESU tennis athlete, Greg Kossover — and a major donor to 
the new tennis complex on campus.

The selection of Hush at first seemed an odd fit.

Although he had served on the Wichita State University board of 
trustees, he didn’t have a deep background in public service in a 
classroom setting. He had run a Koch company that specialized in bulk 
commodities of coal and petroleum coke, and contributed heavily to a PAC
 that funded candidates who were often climate change deniers.

The libertarian Koch brothers, of course, kicked off the current 
culture war during the Obama years with their support of the Tea Party. 
The university and KBOR both refused to release a resume or curriculum 
vitae for Hush, something that most schools share with pride.

Even before school started this fall, Hush put his foot in his mouth <a target="_blank" href="http://www.esubulletin.com/campus_commons/new-prez-says-i-laugh-at-criticism-about-butcher-closure-then-he-regrets-word-choice/article_191f1e20-1b7f-11ed-8ddf-eb6b24db73d5.html">when talking to the editor of the campus newspaper</a>, saying &nbsp;“I laugh” at criticism of his decision to close a program that offered <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/07/26/emporia-state-university-to-close-child-care-center-despite-student-and-faculty-objections/">the only child care on campus</a>. Such condescension seems a feature, not a bug.

It all makes perfect sense now, considering how devalued higher 
education has become. We are quickly moving toward an oligarchy where 
only money and power matter. What has traditionally been rewarded in 
higher education, merit in the form of academic achievement and 
expertise in a discipline, is sneered at because it doesn’t make it 
rain.

There is little recognition at ESU that a public university serves a 
broader good, to the community and to the state, than just providing 
workers. I’ve always believed higher education was mostly involved in 
making citizens. But I guess the laugh is on me. Those in power are 
looting the culture of higher education like somebody would after a fire
 or a tornado or any other disaster.

It will be a loss for the students, for the community and for the state.

I’m not against change. Innovation is necessary. But one of the goals
 of tenure is to protect institutions from sudden and catastrophic 
change.

“Tenure promotes stability,” says the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aaup.org/issues/tenure">American Association of University Professors</a>.
 “Faculty members who are committed to the institution can develop ties 
with the local community, pursue ongoing research projects, and mentor 
students and beginning scholars over the long term.”

Tenure also doesn’t protect professors from being fired for the kinds
 of things you would expect others to be fired for. Professors are 
subject to termination for chronic low performance or sexually 
assaulting a student, for example. That’s how it should be.

Tenure serves the public interest because society benefits when 
teachers and researchers are free of control by corporations, religious 
groups, special interests, and the government, according to the AAUP.

“Free inquiry, free expression, and open dissent are critical for 
student learning and the advancement of knowledge,” the association 
says. “Therefore, it is important to have systems in place to protect 
academic freedom. Tenure serves that purpose.”

Academic freedom is “of special concern to the First Amendment,” 
according to Justice William Brennan in a seminal 1967 Supreme Court 
decision, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/15/keyishian-v-board-of-regents">Keyishian v. Board of Regents</a>.
 He wrote, “Our Nation is deeply committed to safeguarding academic 
freedom, which is of transcendent value to all of us and not merely the 
teachers concerned.”

If that statement seems a little pie-in-the-sky for you, consider those <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ei-ie.org/en/item/24856:global-index-finds-most-countries-do-not-respect-academic-freedom-and-shows-signs-of-decline">countries that do not</a>
 protect academic freedom, according to the Global Academic Freedom 
Index published by Education International. North Korea and China are 
among the worst offenders on the list.

“Academic freedom is part of the essential rights to maintain strong 
democracies,” according to EI. “High quality, independent research can 
serve as a sound basis for public decision-making and democratic debate.
 In recent years disinformation, often instantly and massively 
transmitted by social media, has distorted debate, spread hatred, and 
polarised opinion. A dramatic example is the spread of false information
 on global warming.”

But it just might be a country club for young fossil fuel 
entrepreneurs, each with a copy of “Atlas Shrugged” tucked beneath an 
elbow, drifting through an undergraduate “experience” complete with 
tennis courts and classrooms free of the inane nattering of humanities 
types like me.

Max McCoy is an award-winning author and journalist. A native Kansan, he started his career at the Pittsburg Morning Sun and was soon writing for national magazines. His investigative stories on unsolved murders, serial killers and hate groups earned him first-place awards from the Associated Press Managing Editors and other organizations.&nbsp;Max teaches journalism at Emporia State University.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663100814988.png" alt="Ken Hush, president at Emporia State University, said financial realities compel ESU to consider realigning the budget through process that could include employee layoffs and changes in of academic programs. (Margaret Mellott/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Ken Hush, president at Emporia State University, said financial realities compel ESU to consider realigning the budget through process that could include employee layoffs and changes in of academic programs. (Margaret Mellott/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By MAX MCCOY <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/13/emporia-state-university-is-about-to-suspend-tenure-heres-why-you-should-care/">Courtesy Kansas Reflector</a>I may be fired for writing this.It would be an improper firing, a violation of my First Amendment 
rights as a university professor, an infringement of the ability to 
pursue my discipline and state the truth as I see it in the marketplace 
of ideas. The given reason might be restructuring, a need for change, a 
response to a crisis, or even “conduct.” But I fear the underlying 
reason for my firing, and that of my colleagues, would be that it’s a 
political maneuver to end tenure.Outspoken professors like me would ordinarily rely on the protection 
offered by tenure, but shortly after you read this column, that 
foundational protection may have already been suspended at Emporia State
 University, one of six public universities in Kansas.A <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/07/emporia-state-university-seeks-authority-to-begin-campus-workforce-restructuring/">plan to restructure the school</a>
 and allow the firing of faculty members with only a 30-day notice is 
expected to be approved this week by the Kansas Board of Regents, which 
oversees the state’s higher education. If adopted, the “workforce 
management plan” would effectively suspend tenure for the fall 2022 
semester.A semester doesn’t seem like much, but it’s enough time to wreck 
careers and burn down programs that have taken decades to build. It’s 
enough time to change an institution that has contributed to the common 
good in Kansas for more than 150 years to one that is dedicated to … 
well, we just don’t know yet.There are few details in the draft “workforce management plan” 
presented to faculty just last Wednesday, no metrics by which to 
consider the closing of programs or the firing of instructors. There is a
 lot of hot air about being “forward focused and future ready.”The draft is not a management plan, as observed by one professor at a
 faculty forum on Friday, but a blueprint to quickly terminate employees
 — and not just faculty, but classified staff, graduate assistants, 
anybody the university administration might want gone. The reasons for 
termination are so broad as to invite abuse, and range from program 
restructuring to employee conduct deemed disruptive of the work 
environment.That could mean writing columns like this one, which are critical of 
university policy. I’ve never written much before about the university, 
at least not in column form, because I always considered it to be off 
tone. Self-serving.But now is the time, and I do it not merely in my own self-interest, 
but to give voice to what many of my colleagues feel but cannot say for 
fear of reprisal.Nobody denies the university is under financial pressure caused by 
COVID-19, somewhat declining enrollments, and changes in state funding 
over the past 20 years. Just about everyone, including professors, 
agrees that tuition is just too damned high. But professors aren’t the 
cause of that and, in fact, the pay for most of us who teach at Emporia 
State hasn’t even kept pace with the adjustments given across-the-board 
to state employees in the last few years. There’s been a lot of talk by 
administrators about anticipated enrollment drops, and some programs — 
especially those in the humanities — have been cut time and again. But 
from 2017 to 2021, overall enrollment at ESU has dropped only about 2%, 
according to KBOR data. The university disingenuously provided a 
misleading “fever chart” graph that, by manipulating the scale, showed 
that slight drop in enrollment as not a molehill but a mountainous 
plunge.It’s only one of things the administration has been less than 
truthful about. Just consider the announcement that came from president 
Ken Hush on Wednesday telling faculty the emergency framework had 
already been submitted to KBOR. It hadn’t. <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/09/08/professors-frustrated-by-emporia-state-university-plans-to-eliminate-tenured-faculty-and-programs/">An email from the faculty president</a>
 late that night said the statement was “misleading” because the draft 
had not been submitted and feedback from the faculty had not yet been 
gathered. We were given about two business days to provide that 
feedback, an impossible deadline.The termination policy, to call it what it is, is a desperate attempt
 to dismantle tenure at a state school and establish a cultural 
beachhead upon which others can land. Would it save money? Sure, in the 
same way that ending school lunches or cutting funds to the local fire 
department would save money. But it’s not a wise strategy, especially if
 your goal is to make your community better for everyone — or just to 
keep the town from burning down.Tenure is no ivory tower; it’s as essential to higher education as 
the fire department is to your community. At Emporia State, as at most 
colleges, tenure is hard won. It is awarded only after a person already 
has a sufficiently advanced degree, is hired as an assistant professor, 
and puts in five to seven years of probationary time during which they 
demonstrate their ability to research, teach and contribute meaningfully
 to the campus community. Tenure isn’t given automatically, and many 
hardworking individuals fail to achieve it. It is granted based on 
rigorous university and department standards, which include student and 
peer evaluations. Tenure is not the same as promotion, although gaining 
it typically comes with an advancement in rank, usually to associate 
professor.There’s little doubt that the university’s move to end tenure is in 
response to pressure from the deeply conservative Kansas Legislature, 
and I’ve heard the former university provost Gary Wyatt say as much. 
Once, in a department meeting, he told us that legislators viewed 
tenured professors as “the enemy.” Then again, at a faculty address this
 fall, he said the campus would have to come to grips with the reality 
that we live in a state that is mostly Republican, with a legislature 
that is GOP dominated. How much clearer could he make it? To his credit,
 Wyatt is one of the few administrators willing to speak the truth on 
the issue.This draft policy, aimed to please most Republican lawmakers, will be
 submitted under a COVID-era KBOR plan that would allow universities to 
create alternate paths to summarily fire professors instead of adhering 
to long-established rules that required the university to either declare
 financial exigency, meaning a crisis in which there is no option but to
 terminate appointments of tenured faculty, or to follow the lengthy 
established process for program termination. Passed in January 2021 by 
KBOR, the policy was meant to give universities a tool to deal with the 
financial stress of the pandemic, lower enrollments and tight budgets. 
None of the six state universities implemented the policy, although the 
University of Kansas flirted with it before an intense backlash from 
faculty and students.The KBOR policy was slated to expire July 1 of this year, but in June the regents extended it for another six months.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663100887867.png" alt=" After the official announcement of Ken Hush being voted the next president of Emporia State University, Hush spent time talking with the faculty, staff, students and community members who attended the event. (Margaret Mellott/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> After the official announcement of Ken Hush being voted the next president of Emporia State University, Hush spent time talking with the faculty, staff, students and community members who attended the event. (Margaret Mellott/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>The same week KBOR extended the “workforce management” policy, it 
also hired a new president for Emporia State: Ken Hush. An ESU alum and 
former college tennis star, Hush had <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/12/18/at-emporia-state-a-former-grad-holds-fort-while-campus-waits/">served as interim president</a>
 since November 2021. Hush is a former CEO of Koch Carbon and, according
 to the Federal Election Commission database, a contributor of tens of 
thousands of dollars to KochPAC, which predominately funds conservative 
candidates for Congress.Hush’s appointment as president came as a surprise to campus because 
many assumed a presidential search would select someone from the outside
 with an advanced degree. Hush holds a dual major bachelor’s, in 
business and marketing, making him <a target="_blank" href="http://www.esubulletin.com/campus_commons/hush-holds-fewest-degrees-among-kbor-chiefs/article_017d2dea-28b6-11ed-ab60-8ff9d0fdec3e.html">the least academically credentialed</a> of the leaders of the six universities in Kansas.The presidential search process, unlike all previous searches at ESU,
 was a closed one, veiled in secrecy. There was no announcement of 
finalists or opportunities for faculty, students and staff to evaluate 
them, whoever they were. The chairman of the search committee was 
another former ESU tennis athlete, Greg Kossover — and a major donor to 
the new tennis complex on campus.The selection of Hush at first seemed an odd fit.Although he had served on the Wichita State University board of 
trustees, he didn’t have a deep background in public service in a 
classroom setting. He had run a Koch company that specialized in bulk 
commodities of coal and petroleum coke, and contributed heavily to a PAC
 that funded candidates who were often climate change deniers.The libertarian Koch brothers, of course, kicked off the current 
culture war during the Obama years with their support of the Tea Party. 
The university and KBOR both refused to release a resume or curriculum 
vitae for Hush, something that most schools share with pride.Even before school started this fall, Hush put his foot in his mouth <a target="_blank" href="http://www.esubulletin.com/campus_commons/new-prez-says-i-laugh-at-criticism-about-butcher-closure-then-he-regrets-word-choice/article_191f1e20-1b7f-11ed-8ddf-eb6b24db73d5.html">when talking to the editor of the campus newspaper</a>, saying &nbsp;“I laugh” at criticism of his decision to close a program that offered <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/07/26/emporia-state-university-to-close-child-care-center-despite-student-and-faculty-objections/">the only child care on campus</a>. Such condescension seems a feature, not a bug.It all makes perfect sense now, considering how devalued higher 
education has become. We are quickly moving toward an oligarchy where 
only money and power matter. What has traditionally been rewarded in 
higher education, merit in the form of academic achievement and 
expertise in a discipline, is sneered at because it doesn’t make it 
rain.There is little recognition at ESU that a public university serves a 
broader good, to the community and to the state, than just providing 
workers. I’ve always believed higher education was mostly involved in 
making citizens. But I guess the laugh is on me. Those in power are 
looting the culture of higher education like somebody would after a fire
 or a tornado or any other disaster.Or a pandemic.It will be a loss for the students, for the community and for the state.I’m not against change. Innovation is necessary. But one of the goals
 of tenure is to protect institutions from sudden and catastrophic 
change.“Tenure promotes stability,” says the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aaup.org/issues/tenure">American Association of University Professors</a>.
 “Faculty members who are committed to the institution can develop ties 
with the local community, pursue ongoing research projects, and mentor 
students and beginning scholars over the long term.”Tenure also doesn’t protect professors from being fired for the kinds
 of things you would expect others to be fired for. Professors are 
subject to termination for chronic low performance or sexually 
assaulting a student, for example. That’s how it should be.Tenure serves the public interest because society benefits when 
teachers and researchers are free of control by corporations, religious 
groups, special interests, and the government, according to the AAUP.“Free inquiry, free expression, and open dissent are critical for 
student learning and the advancement of knowledge,” the association 
says. “Therefore, it is important to have systems in place to protect 
academic freedom. Tenure serves that purpose.”Academic freedom is “of special concern to the First Amendment,” 
according to Justice William Brennan in a seminal 1967 Supreme Court 
decision, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/15/keyishian-v-board-of-regents">Keyishian v. Board of Regents</a>.
 He wrote, “Our Nation is deeply committed to safeguarding academic 
freedom, which is of transcendent value to all of us and not merely the 
teachers concerned.”If that statement seems a little pie-in-the-sky for you, consider those <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ei-ie.org/en/item/24856:global-index-finds-most-countries-do-not-respect-academic-freedom-and-shows-signs-of-decline">countries that do not</a>
 protect academic freedom, according to the Global Academic Freedom 
Index published by Education International. North Korea and China are 
among the worst offenders on the list.“Academic freedom is part of the essential rights to maintain strong 
democracies,” according to EI. “High quality, independent research can 
serve as a sound basis for public decision-making and democratic debate.
 In recent years disinformation, often instantly and massively 
transmitted by social media, has distorted debate, spread hatred, and 
polarised opinion. A dramatic example is the spread of false information
 on global warming.”What now for ESU?Faculty members do not know.But it just might be a country club for young fossil fuel 
entrepreneurs, each with a copy of “Atlas Shrugged” tucked beneath an 
elbow, drifting through an undergraduate “experience” complete with 
tennis courts and classrooms free of the inane nattering of humanities 
types like me.Max McCoy is an award-winning author and journalist. A native Kansan, he started his career at the Pittsburg Morning Sun and was soon writing for national magazines. His investigative stories on unsolved murders, serial killers and hate groups earned him first-place awards from the Associated Press Managing Editors and other organizations.&nbsp;Max teaches journalism at Emporia State University.

OPINION: Emporia State is about to suspend tenure: Here’s why you should care

WASHINGTON (AP) — Twitter's former security chief told Congress Tuesday there was “at least one agent” from China's intelligence service on Twitter's payroll and that the company knowingly allowed India to add agents to the company roster as well, potentially giving those nations access to sensitive data about users.

These were some of the troubling revelations from Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, a respected cybersecurity expert and Twitter whistleblower who appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to lay out his allegations against the company.

Zatko told lawmakers that the social media platform is plagued by weak cyber defenses that make it vulnerable to exploitation by “teenagers, thieves and spies” and put the privacy of its users at risk.

“I am here today because Twitter leadership is misleading the public, lawmakers, regulators and even its own board of directors," Zatko said as he began his sworn testimony.

“They don’t know what data they have, where it lives and where it came from and so, unsurprisingly, they can’t protect it,” Zatko said. “It doesn’t matter who has keys if there are no locks."

“Twitter leadership ignored its engineers,” he said, in part because “their executive incentives led them to prioritize profit over security.”

In a statement, Twitter said its hiring process is “independent of any foreign influence” and access to data is managed through a host of measures, including background checks, access controls, and monitoring and detection systems and processes.

One issue that didn't come up in the hearing was the question of whether Twitter is accurately counting its active users, an important metric for its advertisers. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is trying&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-4193a27d86458952542dfa2176150a01">to get out of a $44 billion deal</a>&nbsp;to buy Twitter, has argued without evidence that many of Twitter’s roughly 238 million daily users are fake or malicious accounts, aka “spam bots.”

The Delaware judge overseeing the case ruled last week that Musk can include new evidence related to Zatko’s allegations in the high-stakes trial, which is set to start Oct. 17. During the hearing, Musk tweeted a popcorn emoji, often used to suggest that one is sitting back in anticipation of unfolding drama.

Separately on Tuesday, Twitter's shareholders voted overwhelmingly to approve the deal, according to multiple media reports. Shareholders have been voting remotely on the issue for weeks. The vote was largely a formality, particularly given Musk's efforts to nullify the deal, although it does clear a legal hurdle to closing the sale.

Zatko's message echoed one brought to Congress against another social media giant last year. But unlike that Facebook whistleblower, Frances Haugen, Zatko hasn't brought troves of internal documents to back up his claims.

Zatko was the head of security for the influential platform until he was fired early this year. He filed a whistleblower complaint in July with Congress, the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Among his most serious accusations is that Twitter violated the terms of a 2011 FTC settlement by falsely claiming that it had put stronger measures in place to protect the security and privacy of its users.

Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat who heads the Judiciary Committee, said Zatko has detailed flaws “that may pose a direct threat to Twitter’s hundreds of millions of users as well as to American democracy.”

“Twitter is an immensely powerful platform and can’t afford gaping vulnerabilities,” he said.

Unknown to Twitter users, there’s far more of their personal information disclosed than they — or sometimes even Twitter itself — realize, Zatko testified. He said Twitter did not address “basic systemic failures” brought forward by company engineers.

The FTC has been “a little over its head”, and far behind European counterparts, in policing the sort of privacy violations that have occurred at Twitter, Zatko said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, said one positive result that could come out of Zatko’s findings would be bipartisan legislation to set up a tighter system of regulation of tech platforms.

“We need to up our game in this country,” he said.

Many of Zatko’s claims are uncorroborated and appear to have little documentary support. Twitter has called Zatko’s description of events “a false narrative ... riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies” and lacking important context.

Still, Zatko came off as a convincing whistleblower who has “a lot of credibility in this space,” said Ari Lightman, professor of digital media and marketing at Carnegie Mellon University. But he said many of the problems he raised can likely be found at many other digital technology platforms

“They avoid security protocols in a sense of innovating and running really fast,” Lightman said. “We gave digital platforms so much autonomy at the beginning to grow and develop. Now we’re at a point where we’re, ‘Wait a minute ... This has gotten out of hand.’

Among the assertions from Zatko that drew attention from lawmakers Tuesday was that Twitter knowingly allowed the government of India to place its agents on the company payroll, where they had access to highly sensitive data on users. Twitter’s lack of ability to log how employees accessed user accounts made it hard for the company to detect when employees were abusing their access, Zatko said.

Zatko said he spoke with “high confidence” about a foreign agent that the government of India placed at Twitter to “understand the negotiations” between India’s ruling party and Twitter about new social media restrictions and how well those negotiations were going.

Zatko also revealed Tuesday that he was told about a week before his firing that “at least one agent” from the Chinese intelligence service MSS, or the Ministry of State Security, was “on the payroll” at Twitter.

He said he was similarly “surprised and shocked” by an exchange with current Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal about Russia — in which Twitter's current CEO, who was chief technology officer at the time, asked if it would be possible to “punt” content moderation and surveillance to the Russian government, since Twitter doesn't really “have the ability and tools to do things correctly.”

“And since they have elections, doesn’t that make them a democracy?” Zatko recalled Agrawal saying.

Sen. Charles Grassley, the committee's ranking Republican, said Tuesday that Agrawal declined to testify at the hearing, citing the ongoing legal proceedings with Musk. But the hearing is “more important than Twitter’s civil litigation in Delaware," Grassley said. Twitter declined to comment on Grassley's remarks.

In his complaint, Zatko accused Agrawal as well as other senior executives and board members of numerous violations, including making “false and misleading statements to users and the FTC about the Twitter platform’s security, privacy and integrity.”

Zatko, 51, first gained prominence in the 1990s as a pioneer in the ethical hacking movement and later worked in senior positions at an elite Defense Department research unit and at Google. He joined Twitter in late 2020 at the urging of then-CEO Jack Dorsey.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The former security chief at Twitter told Congress that the social media platform is plagued by weak cyber defenses that make it vulnerable to exploitation by “teenagers, thieves and spies” and put the privacy of its users at risk. Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, a respected cybersecurity expert, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to lay out his allegations Tuesday.

Zatko said “Twitter leadership ignored its engineers,” in part because “their executive incentives led them to prioritize profit over security.”

His message echoed one brought to Congress against another social media giant last year, but unlike that Facebook whistleblower, Frances Haugen, Zatko hasn't brought troves of internal documents to back up his claims.

Unknown to Twitter users, there’s far more personal information disclosed than they —or sometimes even Twitter itself — realize, Zatko testified. He said “basic systemic failures” that were brought forward by company engineers were not addressed.

Zatko's claims could also affect Tesla billionaire Elon Musk's attempt to back out of his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-takeover-2d0eb4e0511fe0e296fd6974a851a252">$44 billion deal to acquire the social platform</a>. Musk claims that Twitter has long underreported spam bots on its platform and cites that as a reason to nix the deal he struck in April.

Zatko also accuses the company of deception in its handling of automated “spam bots,” or fake accounts. That allegation is at the core of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-4193a27d86458952542dfa2176150a01">billionaire tycoon Elon Musk’s attempt to back out of his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter.</a>&nbsp;Musk and Twitter are locked in a bitter legal battle, with Twitter having sued Musk to force him to complete the deal. The Delaware judge overseeing the case&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-business-media-46c16a35ec410cc480798682ef482a52">ruled last week</a>&nbsp;that Musk can include new evidence related to Zatko's allegations in the high-stakes trial, which is set to start Oct. 17.

Sen. Charles Grassley, the committee's ranking Republican, said Tuesday that Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal declined to testify at the hearing, citing the ongoing legal proceedings with Musk. But the hearing is “more important that Twitter’s civil litigation in Delaware," Grassley said. Twitter declined to comment on Grassley's remarks.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, the Twitter whistleblower who is warning of security flaws, privacy threats and lax controls at the social platform, will take his case to Congress on Tuesday.

Senators who will hear Zatko’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee are alarmed by his Twitter allegations at a time of heightened concern over the safety of powerful tech platforms.

It’s Zatko’s second Capitol Hill appearance, and in some ways a 21st-century echo of his first. In 1998, he testified before a Senate panel along with fellow members of a hacker collective who warned about the security dangers of the then-emerging internet age.

Zatko, a respected cybersecurity expert, was Twitter’s head of security until he was fired early this year.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-federal-trade-commission-us-securities-and-exchange-f1fe41b0bd7c5c407ecfb83509c671f5">He has brought the stunning allegations to Congress and federal regulators,</a>&nbsp;asserting that the influential social platform misled regulators about its cyber defenses and efforts to control millions of “spam” or fake accounts.

Sen. Dick Durbin, the Illinois Democrat who chairs the panel, has said that if Zatko’s claims are accurate, “they may show dangerous data-privacy and security risks for Twitter users around the world.”

Zatko's accusations are also playing into billionaire tycoon Elon Musk's battle with Twitter. The Tesla CEO is trying to get out of his $44 billion bid to buy the company; Twitter has sued to force him to complete the deal. The Delaware judge overseeing that case&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-business-media-46c16a35ec410cc480798682ef482a52">ruled last week</a>&nbsp;that Musk can include new evidence related to Zatko’s allegations in the high-stakes trial set to start Oct. 17.

The allegation that Twitter engaged in deception in its handling of automated “spam bot” accounts is at the core of Musk’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-4193a27d86458952542dfa2176150a01">attempt to back out of the Twitter deal.</a>

At the same time, many of Zatko’s claims are uncorroborated and appear to have little documentary support. In a statement, Twitter has called Zatko’s description of events “a false narrative.”

Also on Tuesday, Twitter’s shareholders are scheduled to vote on the company’s pending buyout by Musk. The vote is something of a formality given that the deal is on hold while the court case plays out. But if the measure passes as expected, it would also pave the way for a Musk takeover should Twitter prevail in court.

Zatko also filed complaints with the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Among his most serious accusations is that Twitter violated the terms of a 2011 FTC settlement by falsely claiming that it had put stronger measures in place to protect the security and privacy of its users.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-434b2c0588a6cee2fd7c9477b0bd7902">The SEC is questioning Twitter about how it counts fake accounts on its platform</a>. Twitter uses counts of its presumably real users to attract advertisers, whose payments make up about 90% of its revenue. The “spam bots” have no value to advertisers because there’s no person behind them.

San Francisco-based Twitter has an estimated 238 million daily active users worldwide.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-twitter-inc-technology-misinformation-social-media-e9fa93bc9132a4adf8535a8a34bebec9">The company says it removes 1 million spam accounts daily.</a>

Zatko’s 84-page complaint alleges that he found “extreme, egregious deficiencies" on the platform, including issues with "user privacy, digital and physical security, and platform integrity/content moderation.”

It accuses CEO Parag Agrawal and other senior executives and board members of making “false and misleading statements to users and the FTC" about these issues. Twitter denies those claims and said that Zatko was fired in January for “ineffective leadership and poor performance.” Zatko’s attorneys say the performance claim is false.

Twitter also hinted that Zatko's complaint might be designed to bolster Musk's legal fight with the company. Twitter called Zatko’s complaint “a false narrative” that is “riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies, and lacks important context."

News of Zatko’s complaint surfaced on Aug. 23, almost two months before the Twitter-Musk trial is scheduled to begin. . One of Zatko’s attorneys has said “he’s never met Elon Musk. Doesn’t know Elon Musk. They know people in common.”

The company also says it has significantly tightened security since 2020.

— The company had such poor cybersecurity that it easily could have been exposed to outside attacks or attempts to siphon off its internal data.

—The company lacked effective leadership, with its top executives practicing “deliberate ignorance” of pressing problems. Zatko described former CEO Jack Dorsey as “extremely disengaged” during the last months of his tenure, to the point where he wouldn’t even speak during meetings on complex issues. Dorsey stepped down in November 2021.

—That Twitter knowingly allowed the government of India to place its agents on the company payroll, where they had “direct unsupervised access” to highly sensitive data on users. It makes a parallel but less detailed accusation that Twitter took funding from unidentified Chinese entities who may have gained access enabling them to access the identities and sensitive data of Chinese users who secretly use Twitter, which is officially banned in China.

Better known by his hacker handle “Mudge,” Zatko, 51, first gained prominence in the 1990s. He was the best-known member of the Boston-based collective L0pht, which pioneered ethical hacking, embarrassing companies including Microsoft for poor security. His work raised awareness in the computing world that forced such major companies to take security seriously. He co-founded the consultancy @Stake, which was later acquired by Symantec.

Zatko later worked in senior positions at the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Google. He joined Twitter at Dorsey’s urging in late 2020, the same year the company suffered an embarrassing security breach involving hackers who broke into the Twitter accounts of world leaders, celebrities and tech moguls, including Musk,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-bill-gates-celebrity-florida-crime-29cc4860a6510ec94847cfa5f7540413">in an attempt to scam their followers out of bitcoin.</a>

🎥Twitter whistleblower tells Congress: Your data is at risk 

By BLAISE MESA <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-09-12/foster-kids-in-kansas-cant-get-the-mental-health-care-they-need-but-there-might-be-a-fix">Kansas News Service</a>

TOPEKA — Beth Patton needs to get her adopted child 
mental health services, but the boy faces problems too serious for any 
professional in her county to handle.

“I did have the police 
department at my house,” said Patton, who lives in Independence, Kansas.
 “He needs help. And he needs help before it gets to that point. And 
nobody wants to be proactive.”

Two of her children get online 
mental health services through insurance coverage, but she can no longer
 afford to pay out of pocket for additional help.

She’s reached 
out to state officials, but they directed her to a community mental 
health center that Patton said lacks the specialists her son needs. She 
is getting adoption subsidies from the state foster care system, but 
that offers only a fraction of the foster rate and falls well short of 
covering her actual costs.

Patton used to work as a vocational 
rehabilitation counselor for the Kansas Department for Children and 
Families. Yet she said her familiarity with, and connections in, the 
state’s foster system haven’t helped.

“I still can’t get what I 
need,” she said. “They point fingers to someone else. And then I try 
that person. And they say, ‘Well, no, we can’t do that. It's got to be 
this.’ It’s very frustrating.”

A 2016 study published in the National Library of Medicine says <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5421550/#:~:text=Between%2050%20and%2080%25%20of,et%20al.%2C%202005)." target="_blank">50-80% of foster youth need mental health services</a>,
 a higher rate than the general public. Of those, 23% have multiple 
possible diagnoses. That is because of the traumatic nature of the 
things that lead to falling into custody and the chaos of foster care 
that follows.

State Rep. Susan Concannon, chair of the Joint 
Committee on Child Welfare System Oversight, said she has heard about 
foster kids struggling to get regular mental health appointments. But 
she said the Legislature has already approved something that should 
help.

Kansas community mental health centers are shifting toward a
 certified community behavioral health clinic model. That would give the
 centers access to a higher reimbursement rate. That, in turn, would 
allow them to hire, or keep, more workers even if their caseloads don’t 
grow. All 26 community mental health centers are expected to become 
certified by 2024.

Kyle Kessler, executive director of the 
Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas, Inc., said 
this model was created directly to address the issues like rising 
suicide rates, overdose deaths and workforce shortages.

“This 
really underscores why we're here,” he said. “(Making) sure that youth 
in foster care have the quickest possible access to community mental 
health services is absolutely key.”

People from multiple community
 mental health centers testified before lawmakers Monday morning. Not 
every one of these agencies was certified, but they should be soon. One 
certified agency said it hired more staff and addressed workforce 
turnover issues.

Matt Atteberry, executive director of the Labette
 County Center for Mental Health Services, Inc., said his county has 
some of the most foster kids per capita.

“We are fantastically busy,” he told lawmakers.

Atteberry’s
 agency isn’t certified yet but should be soon. Atteberry said the 
certification will send more money to the center so it can have staff 
itI currently can’t afford.

Michelle Ponce, associate director 
with the Association of Community Mental Health Centers, said the 
community centers in Kansas have a 25% vacancy rate. She said Kansas has
 historically done well providing mental health services, but there have
 been recent struggles, like workforce and funding issues.

Switching
 over to a new funding model that typically directs more money to 
centers will add services and staff and bring shorter wait times, and it
 won’t help just foster kids – it’ll help schools, veterans and other 
communities of need.

It’ll take years for everything to be achieved, which doesn’t help Patton right now, but Ponce is excited for the future.

“It's
 not going to happen overnight. It's a transition,” she said. “We're 
already seeing some promising outcomes from the first nine centers who 
have achieved certification.”&nbsp;

Blaise Mesa reports on 
criminal justice and social services for the Kansas News Service in 
Topeka. You can follow him on Twitter @Blaise_Mesa or email him at 
blaise@kcur.org.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663015194448.png" alt="Access to mental health services is an issue for foster kids. One state legislator a fix is moving forward. Blaise Mesa / Kansas News Service " />
 <figcaption>Access to mental health services is an issue for foster kids. One state legislator a fix is moving forward. Blaise Mesa / Kansas News Service </figcaption>
 </figure>By BLAISE MESA <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-09-12/foster-kids-in-kansas-cant-get-the-mental-health-care-they-need-but-there-might-be-a-fix">Kansas News Service</a>TOPEKA — Beth Patton needs to get her adopted child 
mental health services, but the boy faces problems too serious for any 
professional in her county to handle.“I did have the police 
department at my house,” said Patton, who lives in Independence, Kansas.
 “He needs help. And he needs help before it gets to that point. And 
nobody wants to be proactive.”Two of her children get online 
mental health services through insurance coverage, but she can no longer
 afford to pay out of pocket for additional help.She’s reached 
out to state officials, but they directed her to a community mental 
health center that Patton said lacks the specialists her son needs. She 
is getting adoption subsidies from the state foster care system, but 
that offers only a fraction of the foster rate and falls well short of 
covering her actual costs.Patton used to work as a vocational 
rehabilitation counselor for the Kansas Department for Children and 
Families. Yet she said her familiarity with, and connections in, the 
state’s foster system haven’t helped.“I still can’t get what I 
need,” she said. “They point fingers to someone else. And then I try 
that person. And they say, ‘Well, no, we can’t do that. It's got to be 
this.’ It’s very frustrating.”A 2016 study published in the National Library of Medicine says <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5421550/#:~:text=Between%2050%20and%2080%25%20of,et%20al.%2C%202005)." target="_blank">50-80% of foster youth need mental health services</a>,
 a higher rate than the general public. Of those, 23% have multiple 
possible diagnoses. That is because of the traumatic nature of the 
things that lead to falling into custody and the chaos of foster care 
that follows.State Rep. Susan Concannon, chair of the Joint 
Committee on Child Welfare System Oversight, said she has heard about 
foster kids struggling to get regular mental health appointments. But 
she said the Legislature has already approved something that should 
help.Kansas community mental health centers are shifting toward a
 certified community behavioral health clinic model. That would give the
 centers access to a higher reimbursement rate. That, in turn, would 
allow them to hire, or keep, more workers even if their caseloads don’t 
grow. All 26 community mental health centers are expected to become 
certified by 2024.Kyle Kessler, executive director of the 
Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas, Inc., said 
this model was created directly to address the issues like rising 
suicide rates, overdose deaths and workforce shortages.“This 
really underscores why we're here,” he said. “(Making) sure that youth 
in foster care have the quickest possible access to community mental 
health services is absolutely key.”People from multiple community
 mental health centers testified before lawmakers Monday morning. Not 
every one of these agencies was certified, but they should be soon. One 
certified agency said it hired more staff and addressed workforce 
turnover issues.Matt Atteberry, executive director of the Labette
 County Center for Mental Health Services, Inc., said his county has 
some of the most foster kids per capita.“We are fantastically busy,” he told lawmakers.Atteberry’s
 agency isn’t certified yet but should be soon. Atteberry said the 
certification will send more money to the center so it can have staff 
itI currently can’t afford.Michelle Ponce, associate director 
with the Association of Community Mental Health Centers, said the 
community centers in Kansas have a 25% vacancy rate. She said Kansas has
 historically done well providing mental health services, but there have
 been recent struggles, like workforce and funding issues.Switching
 over to a new funding model that typically directs more money to 
centers will add services and staff and bring shorter wait times, and it
 won’t help just foster kids – it’ll help schools, veterans and other 
communities of need.It’ll take years for everything to be achieved, which doesn’t help Patton right now, but Ponce is excited for the future.“It's
 not going to happen overnight. It's a transition,” she said. “We're 
already seeing some promising outcomes from the first nine centers who 
have achieved certification.”&nbsp;Blaise Mesa reports on 
criminal justice and social services for the Kansas News Service in 
Topeka. You can follow him on Twitter @Blaise_Mesa or email him at 
blaise@kcur.org.

Advocates work to expand mental health care for Kan. foster kids

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and have two suspects in custody.

Just before 8 a.m. Monday, police were dispatched to the Allstate parking lot, 2859 S Kansas Avenue, on a report of a vehicle burglary that had just occurred, according to Police Lt. Matt Danielson.

A witness provided clothing descriptions and a direction of travel for the suspects, and a responding officer was able to apprehend them attempting to leave the area by way of the Landon Trail.

As a result of the investigation, police arrested 38-year-old Joseph Grant and 27-year-old James Huske both of Topeka on requested&nbsp;charges of Burglary, Theft and Criminal Damage, according to Danielson.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1662997596262.png" alt="Grant-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Grant-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and have two suspects in custody.Just before 8 a.m. Monday, police were dispatched to the Allstate parking lot, 2859 S Kansas Avenue, on a report of a vehicle burglary that had just occurred, according to Police Lt. Matt Danielson.A witness provided clothing descriptions and a direction of travel for the suspects, and a responding officer was able to apprehend them attempting to leave the area by way of the Landon Trail.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663012250219.png" alt="Huske-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Huske-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>As a result of the investigation, police arrested 38-year-old Joseph Grant and 27-year-old James Huske both of Topeka on requested&nbsp;charges of Burglary, Theft and Criminal Damage, according to Danielson.

Police catch Kansas burglary suspects running from crime

My husband and I are debt-free. We are in our mid-20s, we also have a full emergency fund and we each have 401(k) plans with our employers. Currently, we are looking at life insurance. We do not plan on having children, so what length term policies would you suggest for a couple in our situation?

I’d recommend you both find good 15- or 20-year, level term policies, with coverage amounts of 10 to 12 times your individual incomes. If you two have a change of heart, and decide you want kids later, I’d recommend converting those to 30-year term policies, still at 10 to 12 times your incomes. Why? You’d want the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/insurance/coverage-checkup/2edeb638-e2e5-43ac-a30d-115768c19976/extended-basic-info">insurance</a>&nbsp;to be there to protect everyone in the family until the kids are out on their own.&nbsp;

Between now and then, and in the years after, your continued saving and wealth building will lead you to a place where you guys are self-insured. And that’s a great place to be!

<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/">Dave Ramsey</a>&nbsp;is an eight-time national best-selling author, personal finance expert, and host of&nbsp;The Ramsey Show, heard by more than 18 million listeners each week. He&nbsp;has appeared on Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Today Show, Fox News, CNN, Fox Business, and many more. Since 1992, Dave has helped people regain control of their money, build wealth and enhance their lives. He also serves as CEO for Ramsey Solutions.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/3/1648177011035.png" alt="Dave Ramsey&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Dave Ramsey&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>Dear Dave,My husband and I are debt-free. We are in our mid-20s, we also have a full emergency fund and we each have 401(k) plans with our employers. Currently, we are looking at life insurance. We do not plan on having children, so what length term policies would you suggest for a couple in our situation?AshlieDear Ashlie,I’d recommend you both find good 15- or 20-year, level term policies, with coverage amounts of 10 to 12 times your individual incomes. If you two have a change of heart, and decide you want kids later, I’d recommend converting those to 30-year term policies, still at 10 to 12 times your incomes. Why? You’d want the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/insurance/coverage-checkup/2edeb638-e2e5-43ac-a30d-115768c19976/extended-basic-info">insurance</a>&nbsp;to be there to protect everyone in the family until the kids are out on their own.&nbsp;Between now and then, and in the years after, your continued saving and wealth building will lead you to a place where you guys are self-insured. And that’s a great place to be!— Dave<a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/">Dave Ramsey</a>&nbsp;is an eight-time national best-selling author, personal finance expert, and host of&nbsp;The Ramsey Show, heard by more than 18 million listeners each week. He&nbsp;has appeared on Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Today Show, Fox News, CNN, Fox Business, and many more. Since 1992, Dave has helped people regain control of their money, build wealth and enhance their lives. He also serves as CEO for Ramsey Solutions.

DAVE SAYS: How many years?

By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina Post

SALINE COUNTY —Police are looking for a known suspect in the battering of three people at a southwest Salina residence early Tuesday.

Officers were sent to the 1400 block of Derby Street at approximately 2:30 a.m. Tuesday for the report of people being battered, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester. All persons involved in the incident work together and had gone to a local bar after work, he said. They then went to the residence of a co-worker.

While there, one of the coworkers, described as a 23-year-old white male, allegedly began arguing with others and punched a 26-year-old Salina man in the face. He then allegedly shoved the man and both went through a three-foot by five-foot living room window, Forrester said.

The Salina man suffered a bloody lip, bruising on the right side of his face, several cuts, and a piece of glass stuck in his right calf.

The window was valued at $600. The suspect then allegedly punched two female co-workers in the face before leaving.

By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY Salina PostSALINE COUNTY —Police are looking for a known suspect in the battering of three people at a southwest Salina residence early Tuesday.Officers were sent to the 1400 block of Derby Street at approximately 2:30 a.m. Tuesday for the report of people being battered, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester. All persons involved in the incident work together and had gone to a local bar after work, he said. They then went to the residence of a co-worker.While there, one of the coworkers, described as a 23-year-old white male, allegedly began arguing with others and punched a 26-year-old Salina man in the face. He then allegedly shoved the man and both went through a three-foot by five-foot living room window, Forrester said.The Salina man suffered a bloody lip, bruising on the right side of his face, several cuts, and a piece of glass stuck in his right calf.The window was valued at $600. The suspect then allegedly punched two female co-workers in the face before leaving.

Suspect sought after coworkers battered at home in Salina

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lower gas costs slowed U.S. inflation for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-inflation-july-report-ec477624de30115dd49f35009b2659c0">second straight month</a>&nbsp;in August, but most other prices across the economy kept rising — evidence that inflation remains a heavy burden for American households.

Consumer prices surged 8.3% in August compared with a year earlier, the government said Tuesday, down from an 8.5% jump in July and a four-decade high of 9.1% in June. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.1%, after a flat reading in July.

But excluding the volatile food and energy categories, so-called core prices jumped 0.6% from July to August — up sharply from 0.3% the previous month and dashing hopes, for now, that core prices would moderate. And in the year ending in August, core prices jumped 6.3%, up from 5.9% in July. Rents, medical care services and new cars all grew more expensive last month.

“The numbers are in, and yet again we see that President Biden’s agenda is failing the nation, said&nbsp;Senator Roger Marshall in a statement from his office. "Kansans are hurting, Main Street merchants are hurting, and instead of helping, this Administration poured gas on the fire with another massive spending bill. Any hopes that the Federal Reserve would not have to raise interest rates next week are dead with these inflation numbers. Interest is going to increase, life is going to stay more expensive, and President Biden and the Democrats will continue to tax and spend us further into a recession. After almost a year and half of financial anxiety and paychecks that aren’t going as far, it’s clear the American people can no longer afford the failing economic agenda of Joe Biden. November can’t come soon enough.”

Core prices typically provide a clearer read on where costs are headed than overall inflation. Stock index futures tumbled on the worse-than-expected core figures, with many investors fearful that the Federal Reserve will now raise interest rates to a higher level in its drive to curb inflation.

Further rate increases could, in turn, weaken growth so much as to push the economy into a recession. Some economists now expect the Fed to raise its benchmark short-term rate, currently in a range of 2.25% to 2.5%, to 4.5% or higher. That would make it even harder for the central bank to meet its goal of achieving a “soft landing, whereby it tames inflation without causing a recession.

Stock prices tumbled and bond yields jumped on the worse-than-expected core figures, with many investors fearful that the Fed will turn even more aggressive in its drive to curb inflation. The Dow Jones industrial average sank more than 800 points in early trading.

“This was a disappointing report,” said Laura Rosner-Warburton, senior economist at MacroPolicy Perspectives. "It raises the risk of higher interest rates and a hard landing for the economy.”

Chair Jerome Powell is expected to announce another big increase in the Fed's key rate next week, which will lead to higher costs for many consumer and business loans.

Inflation is higher than many Americans have ever experienced, escalating families’ grocery bills,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-lifestyle-us-news-miami-florida-a4717c05df3cb0530b73a4fe998ec5d1">rents</a>&nbsp;and utility costs, among other expenses. It has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-inflation-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-economy-8702782d77505f711272f5f9d988d73f">deepened gloom</a>&nbsp;about the economy despite strong job growth and low unemployment.

Grocery prices continue to rise rapidly, jumping 0.7% from July to August. In the past year, they have soared 13.5% — the biggest 12-month increase since 1979.

Chicken prices have jumped nearly 17% in the past year. And egg prices surged 2.9% just in August from July and are up nearly 40% from a year ago.

Republicans have sought to make inflation a central issue in the midterm congressional elections. They blame President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed last year for much of the increase. Many economists generally agree, though they say that snarled supply chains, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and widespread shortages of items like semiconductors have also been key factors in the inflation surge.

At the same time, the drop in gas prices — for consumers, perhaps the most visible barometer of inflation — could bolster Democrats’ prospects in the midterm elections. It may already have contributed to slightly higher public approval ratings for Biden.

In his speeches,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-inflation-biden-health-covid-b7cdcabcec8a2445807057ff911fb01a">Biden has generally stopped referring to the impact of inflation</a>&nbsp;on family budgets. He has instead highlighted his administration’s recent legislative accomplishments, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-biden-health-congress-climate-and-environment-63df07e15002c01fb560a6f0e69fcb03">a law enacted last month that’s intended to reduce pharmaceutical prices</a>&nbsp;and fight climate change.

Nationally, the average cost of a gallon of gas has dropped to $3.71, down from just above $5 in mid-June.

But the prices of many other goods are still rising even as supply chain snarls unravel, Rosner-Warburton pointed out. Furniture, rugs and new cars grew more expensive last month, suggesting that companies are still raising prices in the face of strong consumer demand.

“Companies are still putting through large price increases for those goods, and that’s problematic," she said. It means the Fed will likely have to work harder to quash consumer spending through higher rates.

Elaine Buckberg, chief economist at General Motors, said the pandemic disruptions to overseas production of semiconductors, which have slowed auto output, have significantly dissipated and that overall supply chain disruptions have improved about 80% from the worst days of the pandemic.

Yet Americans are still desperate for cars, Buckberg said, which has allowed dealers to keep their markups much higher than pre-pandemic levels.

“Virtually every vehicle that gets to a dealer has already been sold to someone,” she said.

Ongoing price increases for raw materials — and labor — have left many small businesses struggling. Some are raising their own prices to keep up,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-new-york-small-business-d4204d27e692fe9673175f9cb2f03796">only to then lose customers</a>, according to a survey by Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Voices.

Meaghan Thomas, co-owner of Pinch Spice Market in Louisville, Kentucky, an online spice seller, has avoided raising prices for the past two years but worries that that can’t last if inflation worsens.

The price to ship spices from overseas have quadrupled, she said, and she has seen little relief so far despite reports that such costs are declining. The cost of spices, which she and her partner grind and blend in a small factory, have jumped by as much as 25% in the past year. They plan to expand the factory, but have found that the cost of lumber, metal doors and other materials is higher than they expected.

The company’s profit margin has been cut by half, Thomas said, but she and her partner think it’s important to keep their products affordable. She says larger companies have made inflation worse by raising prices unnecessarily.

“We can hang on for a little bit if all these other companies can stop raising their prices,” Thomas said.

Next week, most Fed watchers expect the central bank to announce a third straight three-quarter-point hike, to a range of 3% to 3.25%. The Fed’s rapid rate increases — the fastest since the early 1980s — typically lead to higher costs for mortgages, auto loans and business loans, with the goal of slowing growth and reducing inflation.

The average 30-year mortgage rate jumped to nearly 5.9% last week, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, the highest figure in nearly 14 years.

Powell has said the Fed will need to see several months of low inflation readings that suggest price increases are falling back toward its 2% target before it might suspend its rate hikes.

Wages are still rising at a strong pace — before adjusting for inflation — which has elevated demand for apartments as more people move out on their own. A shortage of available houses has also forced more people to keep renting, thereby intensifying competition for apartments.

Rising rents and more expensive services, such as medical care, are also keeping inflation high.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lower gas costs slowed U.S. inflation for a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-inflation-july-report-ec477624de30115dd49f35009b2659c0">second straight month</a>&nbsp;in August, but most other prices across the economy kept rising — evidence that inflation remains a heavy burden for American households.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Don&#39;t let the left’s Corporate Media fool you. Inflation remains at a 40-year high. This is the worst economy most Kansans have ever seen.&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1569701981475971074?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Consumer prices surged 8.3% in August compared with a year earlier, the government said Tuesday, down from an 8.5% jump in July and a four-decade high of 9.1% in June. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.1%, after a flat reading in July.But excluding the volatile food and energy categories, so-called core prices jumped 0.6% from July to August — up sharply from 0.3% the previous month and dashing hopes, for now, that core prices would moderate. And in the year ending in August, core prices jumped 6.3%, up from 5.9% in July. Rents, medical care services and new cars all grew more expensive last month.“The numbers are in, and yet again we see that President Biden’s agenda is failing the nation, said&nbsp;Senator Roger Marshall in a statement from his office. "Kansans are hurting, Main Street merchants are hurting, and instead of helping, this Administration poured gas on the fire with another massive spending bill. Any hopes that the Federal Reserve would not have to raise interest rates next week are dead with these inflation numbers. Interest is going to increase, life is going to stay more expensive, and President Biden and the Democrats will continue to tax and spend us further into a recession. After almost a year and half of financial anxiety and paychecks that aren’t going as far, it’s clear the American people can no longer afford the failing economic agenda of Joe Biden. November can’t come soon enough.”Core prices typically provide a clearer read on where costs are headed than overall inflation. Stock index futures tumbled on the worse-than-expected core figures, with many investors fearful that the Federal Reserve will now raise interest rates to a higher level in its drive to curb inflation.Further rate increases could, in turn, weaken growth so much as to push the economy into a recession. Some economists now expect the Fed to raise its benchmark short-term rate, currently in a range of 2.25% to 2.5%, to 4.5% or higher. That would make it even harder for the central bank to meet its goal of achieving a “soft landing, whereby it tames inflation without causing a recession.Stock prices tumbled and bond yields jumped on the worse-than-expected core figures, with many investors fearful that the Fed will turn even more aggressive in its drive to curb inflation. The Dow Jones industrial average sank more than 800 points in early trading.“This was a disappointing report,” said Laura Rosner-Warburton, senior economist at MacroPolicy Perspectives. "It raises the risk of higher interest rates and a hard landing for the economy.”Chair Jerome Powell is expected to announce another big increase in the Fed's key rate next week, which will lead to higher costs for many consumer and business loans.Inflation is higher than many Americans have ever experienced, escalating families’ grocery bills,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-lifestyle-us-news-miami-florida-a4717c05df3cb0530b73a4fe998ec5d1">rents</a>&nbsp;and utility costs, among other expenses. It has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-inflation-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-economy-8702782d77505f711272f5f9d988d73f">deepened gloom</a>&nbsp;about the economy despite strong job growth and low unemployment.Grocery prices continue to rise rapidly, jumping 0.7% from July to August. In the past year, they have soared 13.5% — the biggest 12-month increase since 1979.Chicken prices have jumped nearly 17% in the past year. And egg prices surged 2.9% just in August from July and are up nearly 40% from a year ago.Republicans have sought to make inflation a central issue in the midterm congressional elections. They blame President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed last year for much of the increase. Many economists generally agree, though they say that snarled supply chains, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and widespread shortages of items like semiconductors have also been key factors in the inflation surge.At the same time, the drop in gas prices — for consumers, perhaps the most visible barometer of inflation — could bolster Democrats’ prospects in the midterm elections. It may already have contributed to slightly higher public approval ratings for Biden.In his speeches,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-inflation-biden-health-covid-b7cdcabcec8a2445807057ff911fb01a">Biden has generally stopped referring to the impact of inflation</a>&nbsp;on family budgets. He has instead highlighted his administration’s recent legislative accomplishments, including&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-biden-health-congress-climate-and-environment-63df07e15002c01fb560a6f0e69fcb03">a law enacted last month that’s intended to reduce pharmaceutical prices</a>&nbsp;and fight climate change.Nationally, the average cost of a gallon of gas has dropped to $3.71, down from just above $5 in mid-June.But the prices of many other goods are still rising even as supply chain snarls unravel, Rosner-Warburton pointed out. Furniture, rugs and new cars grew more expensive last month, suggesting that companies are still raising prices in the face of strong consumer demand.“Companies are still putting through large price increases for those goods, and that’s problematic," she said. It means the Fed will likely have to work harder to quash consumer spending through higher rates.Elaine Buckberg, chief economist at General Motors, said the pandemic disruptions to overseas production of semiconductors, which have slowed auto output, have significantly dissipated and that overall supply chain disruptions have improved about 80% from the worst days of the pandemic.Yet Americans are still desperate for cars, Buckberg said, which has allowed dealers to keep their markups much higher than pre-pandemic levels.“Virtually every vehicle that gets to a dealer has already been sold to someone,” she said.Ongoing price increases for raw materials — and labor — have left many small businesses struggling. Some are raising their own prices to keep up,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-new-york-small-business-d4204d27e692fe9673175f9cb2f03796">only to then lose customers</a>, according to a survey by Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Voices.Meaghan Thomas, co-owner of Pinch Spice Market in Louisville, Kentucky, an online spice seller, has avoided raising prices for the past two years but worries that that can’t last if inflation worsens.The price to ship spices from overseas have quadrupled, she said, and she has seen little relief so far despite reports that such costs are declining. The cost of spices, which she and her partner grind and blend in a small factory, have jumped by as much as 25% in the past year. They plan to expand the factory, but have found that the cost of lumber, metal doors and other materials is higher than they expected.The company’s profit margin has been cut by half, Thomas said, but she and her partner think it’s important to keep their products affordable. She says larger companies have made inflation worse by raising prices unnecessarily.“We can hang on for a little bit if all these other companies can stop raising their prices,” Thomas said.Next week, most Fed watchers expect the central bank to announce a third straight three-quarter-point hike, to a range of 3% to 3.25%. The Fed’s rapid rate increases — the fastest since the early 1980s — typically lead to higher costs for mortgages, auto loans and business loans, with the goal of slowing growth and reducing inflation.The average 30-year mortgage rate jumped to nearly 5.9% last week, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac, the highest figure in nearly 14 years.Powell has said the Fed will need to see several months of low inflation readings that suggest price increases are falling back toward its 2% target before it might suspend its rate hikes.Wages are still rising at a strong pace — before adjusting for inflation — which has elevated demand for apartments as more people move out on their own. A shortage of available houses has also forced more people to keep renting, thereby intensifying competition for apartments.Rising rents and more expensive services, such as medical care, are also keeping inflation high.

US inflation remains at near 40-year highs despite August slowdown


HUTCHINSON,
Kan. — 
University of Kansas Political Science professor Patrick Miller said there isn't really good polling data on the governor's race in the state, despite how close national pundits perceive it to be.

"We have three or four polls of the gubernatorial race, all of which I would absolutely characterize as cheap and low quality," Miller said. "All of them show a toss up, a very close race among undecided voters. They don't tell us much else that's interesting."

Republican Derek Schmidt, despite his high profile in Kansas, doesn't create the kind of national interest the previous nominee did.

"We haven't had much polling of our race this year," Miller said. "I think in 2018, we were an attractive race for a lot of out of state pollsters to poll, because of Kris Kobach being the Republican nominee and all the attention that he brought to that. We haven't had much attraction of those really established and good pollsters to our race this year, unfortunately."

With a race this close and the inherent play in the joints in even the best polling, it's easy to see how the race could go either way.

"Polling is not an absolute," Miller said. "Polling is always a prediction with a degree of error," Miller said. "Let's say that a candidate has, let's make this simple, 50% of the vote. The wrong way to interpret that poll is to say the candidate has 50% of the vote, end of story. That would just be incorrect. Polling always comes with that margin of error. Let's say it's four percent. If the poll says that a candidate has 50% of the vote, with a four percent margin of error, then the correct way to interpret that is that, statistically speaking, there's a 95% chance that the candidate's true level of support is between 46% and 54%."

It really comes down to who shows up at the polls. Variables like weather and national trends that go up and down completely out of the control of both campaigns could make enough difference to decide a race that is within the margin of error.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/12/1575644168170.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>
By
NICK GOSNELL
Hutch
Post
HUTCHINSON,
Kan. — 
University of Kansas Political Science professor Patrick Miller said there isn't really good polling data on the governor's race in the state, despite how close national pundits perceive it to be."We have three or four polls of the gubernatorial race, all of which I would absolutely characterize as cheap and low quality," Miller said. "All of them show a toss up, a very close race among undecided voters. They don't tell us much else that's interesting."Republican Derek Schmidt, despite his high profile in Kansas, doesn't create the kind of national interest the previous nominee did."We haven't had much polling of our race this year," Miller said. "I think in 2018, we were an attractive race for a lot of out of state pollsters to poll, because of Kris Kobach being the Republican nominee and all the attention that he brought to that. We haven't had much attraction of those really established and good pollsters to our race this year, unfortunately."With a race this close and the inherent play in the joints in even the best polling, it's easy to see how the race could go either way."Polling is not an absolute," Miller said. "Polling is always a prediction with a degree of error," Miller said. "Let's say that a candidate has, let's make this simple, 50% of the vote. The wrong way to interpret that poll is to say the candidate has 50% of the vote, end of story. That would just be incorrect. Polling always comes with that margin of error. Let's say it's four percent. If the poll says that a candidate has 50% of the vote, with a four percent margin of error, then the correct way to interpret that is that, statistically speaking, there's a 95% chance that the candidate's true level of support is between 46% and 54%."It really comes down to who shows up at the polls. Variables like weather and national trends that go up and down completely out of the control of both campaigns could make enough difference to decide a race that is within the margin of error.

KU professor: Not much polling data yet on close governor's race

SEDGWICK COUNTY —After the first weeks of the school year that saw several students in USD 259-Wichita taken into custody for allegedly having a gun at school, the school board on Monday voted 7-0 to approve the funds, over $1 million dollars, to purchase automatic screening devices for the district's high schools.

Superintendent Alicia Thompson in a message to the district&nbsp; before Labor Day wrote, " You are likely aware of a rash of incidents relating to unacceptable behaviors in several of our high schools. Public attention has been drawn to fights and students gathering to video the incident, as well as incidents of students bringing a weapon to school. Thankfully there have been no threats with the weapons, and no injuries during the fights, but we take each of these incidents seriously. The actions of a small number of our students who cause commotion and fear in our schools is&nbsp;completely unacceptable, and it must stop.

The vast majority of our students come to school to learn, grow, make friends and explore opportunities for future careers. We commend our students who do the right thing, and when something doesn’t look or feel right, students should be reminded that if they “see something they should say something.”&nbsp;

Parents, regardless of the age of your child, please make sure they also know that disruptive behavior that threatens the learning environment of their school, and causes fear or disruption,&nbsp;will not be tolerated in our schools. While we know our community continues to deal with the stresses of social isolation and economic concerns, there is&nbsp;absolutely no tolerance for this behavior coming into our schools.

On August 29, police took a student at West High School into custody for having a gun on campus. On August 30, police took a Wichita Heights student with a gun on campus into custody.&nbsp; On Sept. 1, a Wichita Police Department School Resource Officer was working at East High School when they were notified by school staff of a student that was possibly in possession of a firearm, according to Officer Trevor Macy.

School staff searched a 16-year-old male student and found a handgun in his possession. The gun was seized, and the 16-year-old was booked into the Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center for possession of a firearm by a juvenile and possession of a firearm on school grounds.

On August 29, Security staff at Wichita Southeast High School were forced to use pepper spray during an incident in the cafeteria.

"There was an altercation at the school involving 7 or 8 students during lunch that caused a large crowd to gather," according to USD 259 media relations manager Susan Arensman.

"The school security officer used pepper spray in the area to disperse the crowd. No students were directly sprayed. No one was injured."

"When situations get where we cannot get students to comply and the learning environment is deemed unsafe we may have to resort to these measures, School principal Ben Mitchell wrote in a note sent to parents and guardians.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1663033191028.png" alt="The board heard from Terri Moses, the district division director of safety and environmental services on Monday on the safety and security issues.-Image courtesy USD 259" />
 <figcaption>The board heard from Terri Moses, the district division director of safety and environmental services on Monday on the safety and security issues.-Image courtesy USD 259</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —After the first weeks of the school year that saw several students in USD 259-Wichita taken into custody for allegedly having a gun at school, the school board on Monday voted 7-0 to approve the funds, over $1 million dollars, to purchase automatic screening devices for the district's high schools.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><a href="https://t.co/uJUwNrRKLG">pic.twitter.com/uJUwNrRKLG</a>&mdash; Wichita Public Schools (@WichitaUSD259) <a href="https://twitter.com/WichitaUSD259/status/1569487296306761728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Superintendent Alicia Thompson in a message to the district&nbsp; before Labor Day wrote, " You are likely aware of a rash of incidents relating to unacceptable behaviors in several of our high schools. Public attention has been drawn to fights and students gathering to video the incident, as well as incidents of students bringing a weapon to school. Thankfully there have been no threats with the weapons, and no injuries during the fights, but we take each of these incidents seriously. The actions of a small number of our students who cause commotion and fear in our schools is&nbsp;completely unacceptable, and it must stop.The vast majority of our students come to school to learn, grow, make friends and explore opportunities for future careers. We commend our students who do the right thing, and when something doesn’t look or feel right, students should be reminded that if they “see something they should say something.”&nbsp;Parents, regardless of the age of your child, please make sure they also know that disruptive behavior that threatens the learning environment of their school, and causes fear or disruption,&nbsp;will not be tolerated in our schools. While we know our community continues to deal with the stresses of social isolation and economic concerns, there is&nbsp;absolutely no tolerance for this behavior coming into our schools.On August 29, police took a student at West High School into custody for having a gun on campus. On August 30, police took a Wichita Heights student with a gun on campus into custody.&nbsp; On Sept. 1, a Wichita Police Department School Resource Officer was working at East High School when they were notified by school staff of a student that was possibly in possession of a firearm, according to Officer Trevor Macy.School staff searched a 16-year-old male student and found a handgun in his possession. The gun was seized, and the 16-year-old was booked into the Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center for possession of a firearm by a juvenile and possession of a firearm on school grounds.On August 29, Security staff at Wichita Southeast High School were forced to use pepper spray during an incident in the cafeteria."There was an altercation at the school involving 7 or 8 students during lunch that caused a large crowd to gather," according to USD 259 media relations manager Susan Arensman."The school security officer used pepper spray in the area to disperse the crowd. No students were directly sprayed. No one was injured.""When situations get where we cannot get students to comply and the learning environment is deemed unsafe we may have to resort to these measures, School principal Ben Mitchell wrote in a note sent to parents and guardians.