WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and US policy in Afghanistan (all times local):
Reversing his past calls for a speedy exit, President Donald Trump recommitted the United States to the 16-year-old war in Afghanistan, declaring U.S. troops must “fight to win.” He pointedly declined to disclose how many more troops will be dispatched to wage America’s longest war.
In a prime-time address to unveil his new Afghanistan strategy, Trump said Monday the U.S. would shift away from a “time-based” approach, instead linking its assistance to results and to cooperation from the beleaguered Afghan government, Pakistan and others.
“America will work with the Afghan government as long as we see determination and progress,” Trump said. “However, our commitment is not unlimited, and our support is not a blank check.”
One member of the Kansas congressional delegation offered thoughts on the President’s speech.
The President insisted it would be a “regional” strategy that addressed the roles played by other South Asian nations — especially Pakistan’s harboring of elements of the Taliban.
Still, Trump offered few details about how progress would be measured.
Dr. Wally Walstrom, D.O., is filling a gap in health-care services at St. Rose Health Center in a specialty that is not common in this area. Dr. Walstrom, a native Kansan, recently joined the HaysMed Specialty Clinic at St. Rose where he is providing primary-care sports medicine services.
He will care for and treat patients monthly at the clinic. A one-year fellowship in sports medicine is only part of his extensive training. Dr. Walstrom also performed a dual residency in osteopathic family medicine and allopathic family medicine. He splits most of his time between the Hays Orthopedic Institute and HaysMed Family Medicine.
Hays Medical Center is the sole owner of St. Rose.
“Primary-care sports medicine is not prevalent in this area,” Dr. Walstrom said. “I appreciate the opportunity to help fill this gap. I am excited to bring to central Kansans something they didn’t have before.”
Primary-care services in sports medicine include: fracture management; injections for a variety of conditions; ultrasound procedures for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes; whole blood injections for chronic tendon and muscle issues; procedures to tighten ligaments; and education about injury prevention.
“And, of course, concussions are major concerns that we can diagnose and treat,” Dr. Walstrom noted. “A big concern is getting athletes back into the game in a timely fashion. We have to find the right balance between letting them play too soon and staying out too long.”
In addition to his patient care at St. Rose and HaysMed, Dr. Walstrom also is the Fort Hays State University team doctor. He was team doctor at Wichita Northwest High School, Wichita State University and Newman University, as well as for the Wichita Wingnuts, Wichita Thunder and Wichita Wild. Other student sports services have involved: Kansas high school state wrestling; Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament; College World Series; and several others.
Dr. Walstrom has provided health-care services to professional athletes at events including the Ironman World Championship.
On a personal level, he is no stranger to sports. Dr. Walstrom enjoys kayaking, basketball, triathlons, rappelling and other activities. He was a pole-vaulter at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and Kansas State University.
He earned his master’s of bioscience at the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in 2008, and his doctorate in osteopathic medicine at the same facility in 2012. His dual residency in osteopathic family medicine and allopathic family medicine, and sports medicine fellowship followed at Via Christi in Wichita in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Dr. Walstrom is originally from Marysville, and his wife, Amanda, is from the Great Bend area. They have family in central Kansas.
“It has been great to get back to this part of the state,” he said, noting he started working at HaysMed a year ago. “I hope to make new friends in Great Bend and the surrounding communities.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities have rescued more than a dozen stranded drivers after heavy rains soaked parts of Kansas City, Missouri, and its suburbs.
Flash flood warnings have been issued across the area. Local television station KCTV reports that police and fire crews plan Tuesday to go door-to-door in one area of southern Kansas City, asking residents to voluntarily evacuate.
The National Weather Service says as much as 9 inches of rain fell in one city neighborhood, while a large swath around the city saw between 4 and 6 inches of rain.
OPFD helping numerous people out of high water. Please don’t drive into water over the roadway! pic.twitter.com/mC68U7nkyZ
In the suburb of Overland Park, Kansas, the local fire department says it responded to over 16 water assist calls as drivers found themselves stalled in high waters. Water rescues also were conducted on the Missouri side of the metropolitan area, in Kansas City and Riverside.
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KANSAS CITY — Portions of Kansas City are under a flash flood emergency after storms brought over 7 inches of rain to Johnson County overnight, according a social media report from emergency management.
If you see water over the roadway, don’t try to go through it. Turn around don’t drown. pic.twitter.com/h8opCWPwnY
Early Tuesday, Indian Creek area at State Line did crest higher than it did in July when businesses were inundated and cars washed away, according to the National Weather Service.
Thousands are without electricity, a number of roads are blocked and fire officials have worked to rescue many people from the high water. In addition to the blocked roads, a number of schools are delayed or closed Tuesday. A number of businesses are also closed, according to the National Weather Service.
The Barton Community College softball team is offering a free clinic Saturday, August 26, at Cougar Field on the college campus. Designed to help each participant become a better all-around softball player in a rewarding and fun manner, participants will be introduced to the basic and fundamental skills of the game, work in small teams for an efficient learning environment, and receive coaching and tips from members of the Barton Softball team and coaching staff.
The clinic will be divided into two groups, a third through sixth grade level running from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., with a seventh through twelfth grade age group beginning at 1:00 p.m. and concluding at 3:30 p.m.
In case of inclement weather, the clinic will be relocated to the indoor facility located east of Cougar Field. For morning information contact the Barton Softball Office at (620) 792-9293 or (620) 792-9248, or visit www.BartonSports.com for a clinic flyer.
SEDGWICK COUNTY– Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect in connection with an alleged armed carjacking in Derby.
Police issued an arrest warrant for 26-year-old Kenan C. Leamon from Texas for the carjacking that occurred in Derby early Friday, according to a social media report from police.
Deputies arrested him near Oklahoma City and booked him into the Oklahoma County Jail just before 2p.m. Monday, according to booking records.
Leamon-photo Oklahoma Co. Sheriff
Authorities released no additional details on the arrest.
RAWLINS COUNTY — A Kansas man died in an accident just before 8p.m. Monday in Rawlins County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 driven by Demetrius Edward Tomlin, 23, Atwood was southbound on County Road 19 three miles west and two miles south of Atwood.
The pickup left the roadway into the east ditch. The driver overcorrected, the pickup rolled into the west ditch and came to rest on its top facing south.
Tomlin was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
A former employee of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s office said Monday in federal court that she was fired in part for not attending church. Her lawsuit does not name Kobach as a defendant. FILE PHOTO / KPR
A former employee of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s office said Monday in federal court that she was fired in part for not attending church, which left her confused and depressed.
Courtney Canfield argues her firing amounts to religious discrimination.
Her lawsuit doesn’t name Kobach as a defendant, instead targeting Assistant Secretary of State Eric Rucker, who initially hired her.
Kobach’s office in the past had hosted prayer meetings after work, although attorneys say many employees chose not to attend them. Religious pamphlets were distributed weekly.
When she was fired from her administrative job in late 2013, after less than a year in the office, Canfield didn’t learn it from Rucker. Instead, she got the message from her grandmother, Margie Canfield, a longtime employee of the Kansas Republican Party who knew Rucker.
Courtney Canfield said she avoided the prayer meetings and didn’t read the religious pamphlets.
“I didn’t think it was appropriate for the workplace,” Canfield said of the religious pamphlets. “I always threw mine away.”
Canfield testified that her grandmother had indicated one of the reasons for her firing was because she didn’t go to church. She said the firing left her humiliated.
“(It) was very upsetting,” Canfield said in court. “I cried.”
Attorney Terelle Mock, representing the secretary of state’s office, said Courtney Canfield had been hired by Rucker as a favor to Margie Canfield. Their agreement was that if the younger woman didn’t measure up, the elder Canfield would have to tell her granddaughter that she was being let go.
“This case is about Ms. Canfield’s inability to keep a job,” Mock said during an opening statement. “This case is not about religion.”
Office staff talked with Courtney Canfield about work issues, Mock said. They told her she needed to stay at her desk and not use her cell phone.
“They tried to counsel her on these things,” Mock said. “It didn’t work.”
Mock said Rucker never told Margie Canfield that the firing was related to church attendance.
The trial continues Tuesday.
Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio, a partner in the Kansas News Service.
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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former employee of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s office has testified in federal court that she was confused and embarrassed by her 2013 firing after being told that her lack of church attendance was a key reason.
Jurors began hearing ex-employee Courtney Canfield’s lawsuit against the office and chief Kobach deputy Eric Rucker on Monday in Topeka.
Canfield alleges that her firing in November 2013 after 9½ months at the secretary of state’s office represents illegal religious discrimination. Attorneys for Kobach’s office say she was fired over performance issues.
Canfield testified she was told of her firing by her grandmother, who was friends with Rucker. Canfield said her grandmother told her that Rucker emphasized that Canfield did not go to church.
Rucker strongly disputes the grandmother’s account.
SUMNER COUNTY — A fourth earthquake over four days shook Kansas Monday. The quake just after 2:30 p.m. measured a magnitude 2.8 and was centered approximately 16 miles southeast of Conway Springs, according to the U. S. Geological Survey.
A pair of quakes shook Kansas Sunday. At 1a.m., a 2.4 quake was centered three miles southwest of Bluff City in Harper County. At 6:07 p.m. magnitude 2.5 quake was centered seven miles south of Conway Springs.
Just before 8pm. Saturday a quake that measured a magnitude 2.2 was centered seven miles northwest of Caldwell, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
A series of earthquakes shook the same area August 5 and 6. They measured from 2.8 to 3.4, according to the USGS.
There are no reports of damage or injuries from Monday’s quake.
Great Bend City Council at the meeting on Aug. 21, 2017.
The chess match between a divided Great Bend City Council continued Monday night at the regularly scheduled meeting at the Great Bend Events Center.
With five members present at the start, council member Dana Dawson made a motion to amend the agenda to include discussion items from Friday’s special meeting that was cancelled because there was not enough council members present. After council member Joel Jackson came in two minutes late for the meeting Monday, Dawson withdrew his motion.
Shortly thereafter, the city council voted 6-0 to name City Attorney Bob Suelter as interim city administrator following Howard Partington’s retirement on August 16. Mayor Mike Allison mentioned the city is receiving help from the Institute for Building Technology and Safety, or IBTS, to find a replacement interim for Suelter.
Mike Allison Audio
The special meeting Friday that never happened was set to address the election of a new council president, discussion on administrative and executive position vacancies, and a possible forensic audit on the City of Great Bend.
Great Bend Police Chief Cliff Couch was suspended in July after making claims of misconduct with city administration and since then community members have demanded more governmental transparency. Moves to reinstate the police chief at the August 7 meeting were halted in a 4-4 tie with Allison voting to uphold the suspension.
Since that meeting, council member Wayne Henneke resigned his Ward 2 position. Henneke voted in favor of keeping the suspension, along with Vicki Berryman, Allene Owen, and Jackson. Without councilman Cory Zimmerman present Monday night, Dawson withdrew his request to amend the agenda once Jackson showed up, assumingly calculating the vote outcome and fearful of Robert’s Rules of Order.
Jackson was asked by a citizen following the adjournment of the meeting why he did not show up Friday night for the special meeting.
Citizen and Joel Jackson Audio
Retired police officer with the GBPD, Terry Millard, was the only request to be placed on the agenda to speak at the meeting. Millard expressed his support for Couch.
Following the meeting, the hundreds of citizens attending were allowed to stick around and hold an informal meeting. Although frustrated from no action or city council discussion on Couch’s suspension with pay, the audience remained fairly calm and reminded the community to protest peacefully and avoid spreading hatred that has been seen on both sides.
No confirmed date for Couch’s hearing and rebuttal to his suspension has been set. September 5 was tentative date Couch referenced last Friday.
