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KANSAS FARM BODIES

Child's body found in Osage County

OTTAWA, Kan. (AP) - Authorities say they have found a child's body believed to be that of an 18-month-old girl as they continue to investigate a series of Kansas farm deaths.

Franklin County Sheriff Jeffrey Richards said early Sunday that the body believed to be that of Lana Bailey was found hours earlier by a sheriff's deputy in another Kansas locality.

He says evidence found at the scene in Osage County corroborated earlier information that led investigators to believe the remains were those of the missing child. But he said he hoped forensic examination would make the final identification.

Crews in eastern Kansas had been searching for the girl, whom authorities said earlier was presumed dead after the bodies of her mother and two men were found at a farm home earlier in the week.

KANSAS BUDGET-EDUCATION

Education provision muddies Kan. budget talks

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas education advocates say they were surprised by a provision added to the 2014 state budget banning the spending of any money to implement the national Common Core standards for math and reading.

The provision mirrors language of a bill that failed to get out of the House Education Committee earlier in the session.

Several conservative legislators have argued that Kansas can't afford the price of implementing the standards, or the strings that may be associated with following them, such as the reporting of student data to the U.S. Department of Education.

Mark Tallman is a lobbyist for the Kansas Association of School Boards. He said if the provision takes effect it would leave districts that have already started implementing Common Core in limbo.

KSU FACULTY SALARIES

Kansas State faculty discuss pay grievances

(Information in the following story is from: The Manhattan (Kan.) Mercury, http://www.themercury.com)

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) - Faculty members at Kansas State University say they're tired of being paid less than their peers at other institutions.

The faculty plans to present the university's administration with a resolution next week. It seeks a moratorium on pay increases for upper administrators, or creation of new administrative positions, until salaries improve for faculty and unclassified professionals.

The faculty overwhelmingly approved the resolution during a meeting Thursday held to discuss salary complaints.

The Manhattan Mercury reports Kansas State's average faculty salary is $73,810. That is last among the university's peer institutions and in the Big 12 Conference.

President Kirk Schulz and Provost April Mason said in a statement that the administration is working on a 3-year salary plan, with most of the investment going to faculty and staff.

CHASE FATAL

Driver dies while trying to flee from state patrol

CHAPMAN, Kan. (AP) - The Kansas Highway Patrol says a person died after crashing while trying to flee from troopers in central Kansas.

The patrol says the driver died Friday evening near Chapman on eastbound Interstate 70 in Dickinson County.

The driver was running from troopers when the vehicle went off the interstate and hit a concrete culvert in a ditch.

The patrol did not immediately release other details.

FATAL ACCIDENT-SENTENCE

Man sent to prison for accident that killed teen

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A Topeka man who was drunk when his speeding car crashed and killed a 15-year-old passenger has been sentenced to 10 years and three months in state prison.

A Shawnee County judge on Friday rejected a request that 20-year-old Hunter Hillmer receive probation for the March 2012 accident that killed Madison Naill and severely injured another passenger. He was convicted in December of second-degree murder and four other charges.

Hillmer was paralyzed in the accident and his attorney argued the state would not be able to meet his medical needs in prison.

Shawnee County District Court Chief Judge Nancy Parrish said the state is required to provide for Hillmer's medical needs.

Prosecutors said Hillmer had a blood-alcohol level of 0.18% at the time of the accident.

CANOLA FARMER

Kearny County farmer takes a chance with canola

(Information in the following story is from: The Garden City (Kan.) Telegram, http://www.gctelegram.com)

LAKIN, Kan. (AP) - A Kansas farmer whose bright yellow crop has caught the eyes of travelers in Kearny County says his peers should branch out.

Fred Ritsema has been growing 125 acres of canola on land between Deerfield and Lakin. The crop has been in bloom since last week and will be ready for harvest in about a month, The Garden City Telegram reports.

Ritsema used to live in Holland and grew the crop - used to make canola oil - there. When he moved to Kansas in 1997, he decided to try his luck with the state's soil.

Because the drought has made growing corn and alfalfa difficult in recent years, Ritsema thinks more Kansas farmers should try canola, which is a winter crop.

Kuhn says the crop survived the recent cold and snow.

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