TEG
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2016
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PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING
FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1895
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Good Evening
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Thank you for
visiting, Sen. Moran!
WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM
LAWMAKERS
CONSIDER
INCREASING
KANSAS
SPEED LIMIT
The Associated Press
VACANT HOUSE CATCHES FIRE,
CAUSE STILL UNKOWN
By John Robinson
At
approximately
3 p.m. on
Tuesday, a
structure
fire was
reported at
3183 Road W7.
There were
no injuries
reported and
the fire is
still under
investigation.
[email protected]
A structure fire was reported at
3 p.m. Tuesday at 3183 Road W7.
Crews arriving on scene reported black heavy smoke coming from
the home and flames coming from
the roof.
According to Jason Gibson, fire
chief for the Miller Rural Fire District, there were no injuries and
the cause of the fire is still under
investigation.
According to the Lyon County
Sheriff’s Office, the house is owned
by Kaye Holmberg but has been vacant for “quite some time.”
The State Fire Marshal’s office
will begin an investigation of the
fire today.
KENDRA JOHNSON/GAZETTE
S E N A T O R
T O U R S
Legislative committees are considering bills that would allow the
Kansas Department of Transportation to raise the state’s highest
speed limit on separated, multiplelane highways from 75 to 80 miles
per hour.
The Wichita Eagle reports that
lawmakers could decide next week
if one of the bills will go to the full
Kansas House of Representatives.
The new limit would bring the
state in line with several other
sparsely populated, largely rural
Western states. The Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety says
Idaho, Montana, Nevada, South
Dakota, Utah and Wyoming have a
maximum speed limit of 80 miles
per hour.
Republican state Rep. John
Bradford said the change would
help regulations match reality,
since many travelers drive faster
in open country.
“Most of the traffic clearly
flows at around 85 miles an hour,”
Bradford said by phone Friday, as
he happened to be driving on Interstate 70 toward Kansas City. “I
would tell you right now I’m sitting here driving 85 and I’m just
flowing along naturally with traffic.”
“Just don’t tell the Highway Patrol,” he added, laughing.
Please see Limit, Page 5
A R E A
MORAN VISITS CHASE COUNTY
By Cathryne Scharton
[email protected]
On Tuesday Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) spoke at a town
hall meeting at Tallgrass Prairie
National Preserve.
Moran opened the meeting
with a concern about the healthcare available to veterans in rural
areas.
“I am of the belief that many
veterans are falling through the
cracks at the VA (hospital). The
reason I raise this topic is to ask
for your help,” said Moran.
As a congressman Moran represented the “Big First,” a congressional district larger than the state
of Illinois with no Veteran’s Affairs
hospital. He worked to create services closer to home through outpatient clinics.
“What the law now says is that
if you are a veteran who lives more
than 40 miles from a VA facility,
the VA must provide those services to you at home,” said Moran. “It
allows you to see your hometown
doc, be admitted to the hospital in
your community and, in my view,
that’s a good thing.”
Moran stated he believes the
VA does not like this policy and is
making it difficult for veterans to
qualify. Although the outpatient
clinics do not provide a full range
of services to veterans, if a veteran
resides within 40 miles of an outpatient clinic, the VA can deny
the veteran services at home due
to the close proximity to the outpatient clinic, even though it does
not provide the necessary services.
“My request to you, those of you
who are veterans who have tried
or who might use this service — if
you run into trouble, please let us
know so we can go to work on your
behalf or (contact us) if you know
veterans who might utilize these
services,” said Moran.
The national debt
VOL. 124, NO. 196
KENDRA JOHNSON/GAZETTE
Senator Jerry Moran listens to the heart of a “high-fidelity
simulator” during his tour of the ESU School of Nursing on Tuesday.
MORAN TOURS ESU
NURSING PROGRAM,
REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT
TO ‘RURAL AMERICA’
By John Robinson
[email protected]
CATHRYNE SCHARTON/GAZETTE
Moran greets attendees at the town hall meeting in Strong City
on Feb. 16. Moran opened the meeting with the topic of Veteran
Affair’s healthcare.
“I got interested in entrepreneurship when I discovered the
Republicans and Democrats in the
senate and the president had no
willingness, or interest, in doing
anything about our national debt,”
said Moran. “It became clear to
me that while we apparently aren’t
going to resolve the issue of taxes
and spending in any satisfactory
way, maybe we could do some
things to grow the economy.”
Moran is interested in helping
those with start-up businesses to
help grow the economy.
The Federal Tax Code
“Our federal tax code is so damaging to the business environment
of the United States,” said Moran.
“A problem is we have the highest corporate tax rate of the 20
most-industrialized countries in
the world. And we complain when
a business makes the decision to
move out of the United States and
Please see Moran, Page 5
When Senator Jerry Moran visited the Emporia State
University nursing program on
Tuesday he made every nursing
student he met swear they would
stay in Kansas after graduation;
he was only half-joking.
“Somewhat with a smile on
my face — although there was
a seriousness to it — I asked
students to raise their hand and
promise to practice their profession in Kansas,” Moran said. “We
want Kansas students and Kansans to know there is a future for
them.”
To Linda Adams-Windling,
chair of the Department of Nursing at ESU, the tour was a chance
to show Sen. Moran how ESU
prepares students for that gWGW&R