By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN

Two Democrats in the Kansas Legislature want to know more about why Gov. Sam Brownback appointed the same individual to two high-level positions, allowing him to collect two paychecks since 2014.

In 2011, Brownback appointed Mark Dodd to head the State Gaming Agency, which oversees gaming facilities operated by Native American tribes. Three years later, he made Dodd executive director of the Native American Affairs Office, which is part of the governor’s office.

Asked about the arrangement Wednesday, a spokeswoman for Brownback described it as efficient.

“The two roles share similar areas of expertise,” Melika Willoughby said. “As a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and a lawyer, Mark Dodd is well-equipped to complete both, ultimately serving both constituencies well and stewarding taxpayer dollars through this efficiency.”

Dodd is earning a full salary as executive director of the gaming agency and half the listed salary for the position at the Native American Affairs Office.

According to the Legislature’s auditing arm, Dodd will earn an estimated combined salary of $136,000 in 2017. With benefits — which can include costs to the state such as health insurance and Social Security and retirement contributions — Dodd’s total estimated compensation is $177,000.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley and Sen. Laura Kelly, both Topeka Democrats, raised concerns about the dual appointments Monday during a meeting of the Legislative Post Audit Committee, instructing auditors to collect more information about how many hours Dodd works per week and whether holding the two jobs is appropriate.

“It seems to me that he gets paid pretty generously,” Hensley said Wednesday. “And if it’s $40,000 for a part-time job, I’d have to question just how many hours he’s actually putting in in that job.”

Dodd receives a salary of $40,000 for the part-time Native American Affairs Office position and $96,000 for his full-time job heading the gaming agency.

“This was the first that we knew about it,” Hensley said. “It certainly caught me by surprise.”

When contacted Wednesday by phone, Dodd declined to discuss the issue but said he is working with auditors to ensure lawmakers’ questions are answered.

“Those questions will be addressed with Legislative Post Audit,” Dodd said.

Willoughby didn’t respond to questions about whether the arrangement is in line with state laws and regulations and how many hours Dodd works weekly.

The governor appointed Dodd in March 2011 to head the gaming agency and the Senate approved that appointment in May 2011. Brownback hired Dodd to head the Native American Affairs Office in November 2014.

Dodd is not on the Native American Affairs Office website, which lists an executive director who is no longer in that position. In written testimony to the Legislature as recently as March 2017, the governor’s office letterhead listed Dodd as interim director of the Native American Affairs Office.

The governor’s office created the Native American Affairs Office, which facilitates communication between state officials and tribal governments. According to its website, it opened in the summer of 2011.

A spokeswoman for the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System said Wednesday if a person holds two KPERS-eligible jobs at the same time, he or she only receives credit for one.

The dual directorship caught lawmakers’ attention as they were briefed on the results of a broader audit published Monday, prompting them to request more details. That broader audit was done at the request of Rep. John Alcala, a Topeka Democrat, and Rep. Louis Ruiz, a Kansas City Democrat.

The audit reviewed staffing and spending at three liaison units within the governor’s office: the Native American Affairs Office, the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission, and the Kansas African American Affairs Commission.

The three liaison offices or commissions each spent less than $100,000 in fiscal 2016, including salary expenses. Each has only one staffer, who serves as executive director.

The auditors said they experienced some difficulty contacting the liaison units but did not determine “what impact these problems might have on constituents.”

Among their concerns, the auditors noted the director on the Native American Affairs Office website left more than two years ago. The voicemail box for one of the other liaisons was full and an email error prevented one liaison from sending or receiving messages, the auditors wrote in their report.

Though some information on the Native American Affairs Office website is not up to date, the phone number is correct.

Celia Llopis-Jepsen is a reporter for the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics. You can reach her on Twitter @Celia_LJ.

WILSON COUNTY – Two Kansas men died in an accident just before 3p.m. Friday in Wilson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol a 1996 Chevy pickup driven by David E. 82, Fredonia, was westbound on Kansas 47 one mile east of Altoona.

The pickup travelled left of center into the eastbound lane and hit a 2010 Ford F150 driven by Scotty L. Gober, 59, Erie, head-on.

Crites and a passenger in the Ford Olin H. Goins, 84, Thayer, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Gober was transported to the hospital in Chanute. All three were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man serving a Kansas prison sentence of 20 years to life for wounding two Topeka police officers with a shotgun in 1985 has been denied parole.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the Kansas Prisoner Review Board rejected 75-year-old Ithiel Lawton’s parole. The inmate at the maximum-security Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility will next be eligible for release in August 2019.

Lawton wounded Topeka police officers Pat Reed and Randy Horn with a shotgun as they responded to a reported dispute between Lawton and his father. The shooting led to a five-hour standoff.

Reed required reconstructive surgery to rebuild his left ear. Horn and Reed both left the department soon afterward.

Lawton claimed he heard voices from his television set telling him to protect himself from the officers.

KINGMAN COUNTY – Two people were injured in an accident just before 6p.m. on Friday in Kingman County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Polaris Ranger 800 driven by Christopher A. Cox, 31, Grove, OK., was eastbound on SE 60 Street just north of Norwich.

The driver lost control of the vehicle and it overturned on the roadway.

A passenger Troy A. Cox, 50, Norwich, was transported to St. Francis.

Christopher A. Cox was injured. The KHP did not report where he was treated.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Catholic priest has been returned from Maryland to face Kansas charges that he had inappropriate sexual contact with children.

The Kansas City Star reported that 35-year-old Scott Kallal was processed Thursday night at the Wyandotte County Detention Center in Kansas City, Kansas, where he is jailed on $250,000 bond.

Kallal was arrested in Maryland last month after being charged in Wyandotte County with two felony counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. Prosecutors allege that misconduct took place in 2015.

Kallal has been suspended from his duties at Overland Park’s Holy Spirit Church and St. Patrick Church in Kansas City, Kansas.

It’s unclear if Kallal has an attorney.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas police officer is out of a job in the wake of a government watchdog’s complaint to regulators about a 1995 conviction in a California misdemeanor domestic violence case.

Marion Police Officer Michael A. Stone’s last day on the job is Saturday. The city says he worked there since September 2012, and it appreciates his many contributions.

Stone declined comment, saying in a Facebook response to The Associated Press that he wants to move on.

A July 5 complaint filed by blogger Lee White with the state Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Trainings alleges the California conviction disqualifies Stone from serving as a police officer or even from legally possessing a gun.

His ex-wife also filed a protection from abuse petition in 2006 in Kansas that was dismissed.

BOURBON COUNTY – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating an officer involved shooting that occurred Thursday night near the Fort Scott National Cemetery, according to a media release.

Just after 11p.m. Thursday, the KBI was asked to assist the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office following an officer involved shooting that occurred at approximately 10:45 p.m. in Fort Scott. KBI agents and a crime scene response team responded to conduct the investigation.

Preliminary information indicates that at 9:30 p.m. a Bourbon County Sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to a report of a suspicious vehicle near Fort Scott Lake. After a search of the area, the deputy located a red Ford Ranger pickup and observed the driver running a stop sign. The deputy initiated a traffic stop, however the driver of the Ranger refused to stop and a vehicle pursuit ensued.

Officers from the Fort Scott Police Department joined the pursuit. At one time the chase was discontinued for safety reasons, and authorities lost contact with the Ford Ranger. They were able to locate the vehicle again and pursued it down a dead end dirt path east of the intersection of 230 St. and Kansas in rural Fort Scott. When the driver of the Ranger was unable to continue, he struck a Fort Scott Police Department vehicle while attempting to turn around. Then, the Ranger drove directly toward a Bourbon County Sheriff’s deputy who had parked and exited his vehicle. The deputy fired toward the Ranger, which then drove into a culvert, disabling the vehicle.

The occupant of the Ranger was not hit by gunfire. He was identified as 51-year-old David L. Baldwin of Nevada, Missouri.

Baldwin was taken into custody and then transported to Mercy Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries. Upon release, he was booked into the Bourbon County Jail on two counts of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, felony fleeing or attempting to elude, and felony criminal damage to property, as well as well as other misdemeanor traffic violations.

No law enforcement officers were injured during this incident.  Baldwin has previous convictions in Missouri for vehicle theft, possession of firearms, receiving stolen property and tamp/attempt-victim during felony prosecution, according to the Missouri Dept. of Corrections

 
 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on a suspicious package found at the IRS building in downtown Kansas City, Missouri (all times local):

2:40 p.m.

A federal organization that responds to terrorism and criminal acts against U.S. government infrastructure is investigating after a suspicious package sickened about 10 people at the IRS building in Kansas City, Missouri.

Department of Homeland Security spokesman Lucy Martinez says agents with the Federal Protective Service responded to the building after the package was found Friday morning.

Two of the 10 people who complained of nausea and vomiting were taken to a hospital and were in good condition. The building was not evacuated and returned to normal business two hours after the incident began.

Martinez says a hazardous materials team took custody of the package. No other details have been released.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A fire official says about 10 people were sickened by a suspicious package in the mailroom of a sprawling IRS building in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

Kansas City Fire Department spokesman James Garrett says 10 people complained of feeling ill, including vomiting and sweating, after the package arrived at the building Friday. He says two people were taken to a hospital.

St. Luke’s Hospital spokeswoman Laurel Gifford says those victims are in good condition.

Garrett says the Fire Department was checking for gasses and fumes but hasn’t determined the package’s contents. He says the package was isolated from the public.

The building was not evacuated and has returned to business.

Garrett says the investigation has been turned over to the IRS and other federal authorities.

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Kansas zoo celebrated a special birthday Thursday.

Visitors to the Sedgwick County Zoo enjoyed watching the pink, princess birthday celebration for  1-year-old Alika, according to a social media report.

Zoo staff provided decorations, special cupcakes and other goodies for the western-lowland gorillas.

 

WICHITA — Spelling is a problem for the crew painting the water tower at Wichita State University. The University did not make the mistake. The city of Wichita did.

 

We are “sory” and will get it “fixted” “A S I P.” pic.twitter.com/aUZbopLmFG

— City of Wichita (@CityofWichita) August 4, 2017

The city had fun with the error. They shared a photo on social media.