Phyllis Gilmore, secretary of the Kansas Department for Children and Families, faced questions Tuesday FILE PHOTO / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
ByMADELINE FOX
Kansas Department for Children and Families Secretary Phyllis Gilmore announced Friday that she will retire at the start of December.
Numerous lawmakers have called for Gilmore’s removal in response to issues with the foster care system, including news in September that children were sleeping in foster care contractor offices when placements couldn’t be found.
DCF oversees the state’s privatized foster care system, and two contractors provide foster care services. In recent years the state has set recordsfor the number of children in foster care.
State Rep. Jarrod Ousley, a Merriam Democrat who helped start the child welfare task force looking into DCF’s handling of foster care, said Gilmore’s retirement opens the door for improvements.
“We have an opportunity here to start top-down rebuilding of our foster care system in the state of Kansas,” he said.
House Minority Leader Jim Ward, a Wichita Democrat who has been a vocal critic of the secretary, said Gilmore’s retirement is overdue but won’t solve all of the agency’s problems.
“That’s just the first step,” he said. “What we need to do is focus on her replacement and make sure that person is committed to making the changes in that agency that are desperately needed to protect those children.”
A spokeswoman for Gov. Sam Brownback said the decision about Gilmore’s replacement will be made in the coming weeks.
Brownback soon may leave his job as governor, as he awaits U.S. Senate confirmation for his nomination as ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.
Madeline Fox is a reporter for the Kansas News Service. You can reach her on Twitter @maddycfox.
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who walked away from his post in Afghanistan and triggered a search that left some of his comrades severely wounded, was spared a prison sentence by a military judge Friday in what President Donald Trump blasted as a “complete and total disgrace.”
The judge gave no explanation of how he arrived at his decision, but he reviewed evidence that included the five years Bergdahl was held captive by the Taliban and the wounds suffered by troops who searched for him, including one who now uses a wheelchair and cannot speak.
The case was politically divisive. President Barack Obama traded Taliban prisoners to bring Bergdahl back, drawing sharp Republican criticism. As a presidential candidate, Trump called for the soldier to face stiff punishment. He could have received up to life in prison.
The decision on Sergeant Bergdahl is a complete and total disgrace to our Country and to our Military.
The judge also gave the 31-year-old a dishonorable discharge, reduced his rank from sergeant to private and ordered him to forfeit pay equal to $1,000 per month for 10 months.
In court, Bergdahl appeared tense, grimaced and clenched his jaw. His attorneys put their arms around him and one patted him on the back. One defense attorney cried after the sentence was announced.
Defense lawyer Eugene Fidell told reporters that his client had “looked forward to today for a long time.”
Bergdahl “is grateful to everyone who searched for him,” especially those who “heroically sustained injuries,” Fidell added.
Trump’s statement came in a tweet about 90 minutes after the sentencing. “The decision on Sergeant Bergdahl is a complete and total disgrace to our Country and to our Military,” the president wrote.
Bergdahl pleaded guilty last month to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. The judge had wide leeway in deciding the sentence because Bergdahl made no deal with prosecutors to limit his punishment.
Prosecutors had sought a stiff penalty because of wounds suffered by service members who searched for Bergdahl after he disappeared in 2009.
The defense sought to counter that evidence with testimony about Bergdahl’s suffering as a captive, his contributions to military intelligence and survival training and his mental health problems. The argument for leniency also cited Trump’s harsh campaign-trail criticism.
The dishonorable discharge threatens to deprive Bergdahl of most or all his veterans’ benefits, but it also triggers an automatic appeal to a higher military court. Before that, a general who can reduce, but not increase, the sentence will also review it.
Fidell told reporters that he looks forward to the appeals court review of Trump’s campaign statements, which the president appeared to reaffirm on the day Bergdahl pleaded guilty last month.
As a candidate, Trump “made really extraordinary reprehensible comments targeted directly at our client,” Fidell told reporters Friday, calling the situation “one of the most preposterous states of affairs” in American legal history. He said the defense team sees “an extremely strong basis for dismissal of the case.”
During the multiday sentencing hearing, Bergdahl testified that he was sorry for the wounds suffered by searchers. He also described brutal beatings by his captors, illness brought on by squalid conditions and maddening periods of isolation.
A psychiatrist testified that his decision to leave his post was influenced by a schizophrenia-like condition called schizotypal personality disorder that made it hard to understand the consequences of his actions, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder brought on partly by a difficult childhood.
Prosecutors, who had asked for a sentence of 14 years in prison, did not speak to reporters. But one of them, Maj. Justin Oshana, said during closing arguments Thursday that Bergdahl “does not have a monopoly on suffering as a result of his choices.”
Scores of troops joined in an all-out search for Bergdahl in the weeks after he abandoned his remote post near the Afghan town of Mest.
Prosecutors cited two missions that resulted in wounds, including a soldier whose hand was shattered by a rocket-propelled grenade and another who suffered a head wound that put him in a wheelchair and rendered him unable to speak. A Navy SEAL suffered a career-ending leg wound, and a military dog was killed by an insurgent firing an AK-47.
The judge ruled that those firefights with insurgents would not have happened if not for Bergdahl.
One of the wounded soldiers, Jonathan Morita of California, called the lack of prison time for Bergdahl “unacceptable.” Morita, who testified during sentencing, still does not have full use of his dominant hand after he was hit by the RPG, which did not explode.
“The dishonorable discharge means he can’t receive any of these services like I can. He’ll pay the fine like people get fined for illegal fishing. Ok, whoop-de-doo,” Morita said in a phone interview.
Referring to the lack of prison time, he said: “That’s the one that’s completely unacceptable. It should have maybe not been the life sentence, but it should have been something.”
Without confinement hanging over him, Bergdahl already has a job offer from an animal sanctuary, and a military official who helps design survival training said he would like to use Bergdahl as a part of lectures to service members on how to survive captivity.
The soldier from Hailey, Idaho, was brought home by Obama in 2014 in a swap for five Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay. He has been stationed at a military installation in San Antonio.
At the time of Bergdahl’s release, Obama said the U.S. does not leave service members on the battlefield. Republicans roundly criticized Obama, and Trump went further while campaigning for president, repeatedly calling Bergdahl a traitor who deserved serious punishment.
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11:40 a.m.
A military judge has found that Bowe Bergdahl should serve no prison time for endangering his comrades by walking off his Afghanistan post.
The judge also gave Bergdahl a dishonorable discharge, reduced his rank to private and said he must forfeit pay equal to $1,000 per month for 10 months. The judge made no other comments.
Bergdahl appeared tense, grimaced and clenched his jaw. His attorneys put their arms around him and one patted him on the back.
Bergdahl pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy and had faced up to life in prison. The judge had wide leeway because Bergdahl made no deal with prosecutors to limit his sentence.
Prosecutors had sought stiff punishment because of wounds to service members who searched for Bergdahl after he disappeared in 2009. He was held captive by Taliban allies for five years.
The defense sought to counter that evidence with testimony about Bergdahl’s suffering during five years as a captive of Taliban allies, his contributions to military intelligence and survival instruction and his mental health problems.
SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement continue their investigation of 36-year-old Derek Devine of Sedgwick.
He led a Saline County Sheriff’s Deputy on a brief pursuit in a stolen UTV Thursday before a KHP trooper and K9 found him.
Further investigation uncovered another stolen UTV that was reported missing from Straub International in early August.
Undersheriff Brent Melander said the Sheriff’s Office worked with the Sedgwick Police to obtain a search warrant for Devine’s residence, located in the 2000 block of South Commercial in Sedgwick.
Authorities found a 2017 Polaris RZR XP Turbo that was stolen from Straub, 3637 South Ninth, sometime before 6 a.m. on Aug. 5. It was valued at over $27,000.
Melander said Devine is facing additional felony theft and damage to property charges.
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SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man on theft charges after a chase with a stolen UTV.
Just after 6:30 Thursday, a suspect later identified as 36-year-old Derek Devine of Sedgwick, cut a cable that was used to secure a 2017 Polaris General at Straub International, 3637 S. Ninth Street in Salina, according to Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan.
Cutting the cable set off an alarm and a deputy was dispatched to the business. Sheriff Soldan said that dispatch received a report of a vehicle driving in the area without lights while the deputy was responding to the call.
The deputy located the suspect, driving the stolen UTV, near the intersection of Kansas Highway 4 and Ohio. The suspect took off, taking the deputy South on Holmes Road before going off-road near Salemsburg Road.
Devine ditched the UTV after driving into a ravine. A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper arrived on scene moments later and used a K-9 to locate and arrest Devine.
The UTV valued at $26,000 sustained damage to the front and undercarriage.
During the investigation, authorities learned that Devine visited the business Wednesday and was seen driving a white four-door dually truck towing a 30-foot gooseneck trailer.
Deputies are still attempting to locate the vehicle and if anyone sees a truck matching that description, they should call the Saline County Sheriff’s Office.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – The latest on the trial of a former middle school coach accused of kidnapping, raping and killing a 10-year-old Missouri girl.
The case prompted an Amber Alert in Kansas in February 2014.
On Thursday, a jury found a former middle school football coach guilty of kidnapping a 10-year-old girl from a Missouri neighborhood in front of horrified witnesses before raping and killing her.
Jurors convicted 49-year-old Craig Wood of first-degree murder in the 2014 death of Hailey Owens.
Jurors will hear more arguments before deciding whether to recommend the death sentence. The defense didn’t dispute that Wood killed the girl, but contended that Wood didn’t deliberate first, as prosecutors allege.
During the trial, a witness testified that he was raking leaves when he saw Wood pull Hailey into a pickup truck. The man was unable to get to the girl. His wife called 911 and reported the truck’s license plate, which led police to Wood’s home. Hailey’s body was in the basement. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Former Pittsburg entrepreneur Gene Bicknell is suing Kansas over a $42 million tax bill stemming from the sale of hundreds of Pizza Hut franchises.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday is the latest twist in a long-running dispute between the state and Bicknell, who once owned the most Pizza Hut franchises in the country.
The Kansas Department of Revenue audited his tax returns from 2005 to 2008 and ordered him to pay $42 million in taxes on the sale of the franchises. The state contends Bicknell’s primary home was Kansas at the time of the sale, but he argues he lived in Florida and doesn’t owe Kansas any sales tax money.
The State Board of Tax Appeals on Oct. 2 sustained the tax assessment, prompting Bicknell to file the lawsuit.
SHAWNEE COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a carjacking.
Just before 12:30a.m. Friday, police responded to the area of SE 4th & SE Lime in Topeka on a report of an Aggravated Robbery in which the victim’s car was stolen, according to Lt. Steve Roth.
The victim was eastbound on 4th Street when two men entered the roadway, blocking free travel.
The suspects took the victim’s red 2008 Dodge Avenger Ks tag 453 JJT.
The car has a Legacy Motors vanity plate on the front bumper.
A passenger in the car was battered with a handgun by one of the suspects just before the suspects fled the area.
At 3:20 a.m., an officer saw the stolen car at 29th & Kansas and attempted to stop the car. The driver initiated a lengthy pursuit then fled on foot in the area of 15th & Avalon. A perimeter was set up and officers located a male subject who matched the description of one of the robbery suspects hiding under a car. That subject was taken into custody without further incident. He was taken to the LEC for interviews. The car has been returned to the owner.
If anyone sees this car they are encouraged to contact law enforcement and advised not to approach as they have already shown a propensity for violence.
The first suspect is described as skinny and 5-foot7, wearing a gray-blue T shirt and armed with a handgun. The second suspect was medium build and 5-foot5, wearing a gray shirt, also armed with a handgun.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Topeka Police Criminal Investigation Bureau at 785-368-9400 or Crime Stoppers at 785-234-0007.
RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating social media rumors of planned shooting in Manhattan’s Aggieville.
On Thursday night, Riley County Police responded to the rumors. “Our 911 call center and K-State’s are getting back to back calls with third party information about a planned “shooting in the Ville” this weekend. At this point, nothing credible has been found.
The RCPD said all information they received is third party. They received the first report on social media Wednesday. Officers have filed a report and are investigating the statement but “there in nothing credible at this time,” according to police.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Riley County Police.
WASHINGTON– The House Committee on Ways and Means released the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act Thursday.
First District Congressman Roger Marshall, M.D. supports the measure and expects action on it next month.
“Our hardworking American taxpayers and local businesses deserve tax relief, and this is a huge step in that direction,” Congressman Roger Marshall, M.D., said. “The American family of four making the national median income of $59,000 will receive a $1,182 tax cut.
More than 80% of families in the Big First use the standard deduction. Doubling the standard deduction while allowing those same families to file their taxes on a postcard will make it so Kansans can spend that time and money as they see fit.
When the framework for tax reform was announced two months ago, the House promised to lower rates, simplify the code and let hardworking taxpayers keep more of their money. It is clear upon first review that the Ways and Means Committee has kept its word.
“I look forward to the Committee’s discussion, markup and having the bill on the floor of the House this year.”
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has seen its budget picture improve after officials and university economists issued a new fiscal forecast that was a little more optimistic than the previous one.
The state’s forecasting group on Thursday increased projections for tax collections by a total of almost $225 million for the current and next budget years, through June 2019.
Tax collections have been better than expected for the past five months.
The new projections are an average of 1.8 percent higher than those in the previous forecast issued in April.
The new forecast was issued a month after the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that legislators did not increase spending on public schools enough this year to finance a suitable education for every child. The new forecast would allow for some new spending.
