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Friday, July 5, 2013
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DEATHS Journal-World obituary policy: For information about running obituaries, call 8327151. Obituaries run as submitted by funeral homes or the families of the deceased.
Central Kansas farmers bring in bountiful harvest
WICHITA (AP) — Farmers are hauling bountiful winter wheat crops into EORGE ILLIAM OBSON wheat elevators in central Kansas, but the drought Services for George W. Robson, 74, Lawrence are has decimated yields out pending. Mr. Robson died July 4, 2013 at his home. in western Kansas. Condolences and more info at www.rumsey-yost.com. Harvest is about 90 percent complete in southcentral Kansas and well probably more than 60 percent done statewide. The Wichita Eagle reports that yields in some central Kansas fields are reaching an “almost unheard of” 100 bushels an acre. Larry Goerzen, grain coordinator for the Mid-Kansas Co-op in Moundridge, said the harvest was overwhelming. The Mid-Kansas Co-op covers dozens of central Kansas elevators from Sedgwick County to north of Abilene. Their elevators were surprised by taking in 10 percent more than expected and 50 perIan Cummings/Journal-World Photo cent more than their averGASOLINE PRICES DIPPED BELOW $3.33 this week age. in Lawrence, lower than they had been in months. Yields have ranged Travelers are also likely to find lower prices elsefrom 40 to 100 bushels an where in the country, as the national average price acre, with many fields in of gas has declined for three weeks this summer.
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Kansas, gasoline is 5 cents more expensive, on average, than it was last year at this time. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A Gas prices typically rise in early spring when A Midwest roller coaster refineries perform mainNorman Pitts, of Law- tenance and switch from rence, returned this week making winter gasoline from a fishing trip in Mis- blends to the more comsouri and found gas at plex summer blends re$3.31 a gallon at the Dil- quired for clean-air rules. lons gas station at 3000 When the nation’s refinerW. Sixth St. He said he ies aren’t operating at full noticed the drop from strength, supplies drop the last time he filled up and prices rise. in town three weeks ago, “When refineries go when he paid $3.59. Other down it can create immestations in Lawrence post- diate and severe havoc,” ed gas at $3.29, and it will said Kloza, the GasBuddy. make a big difference to com analyst. “It’s a very Pitts if the prices stay low, shallow distribution syshe said. tem, quick to fill and quick “I spend a lot on gas,” to empty.” Pitts said. “We travel quite That’s what happened a bit, this summer espe- in the Midwest earlier this cially.” year. A fire broke out at a Elsewhere in the U.S., Marathon refinery in Dethe slide has been gradual. troit in late April while But it has been more of a maintenance was underroller-coaster ride in the way at an Exxon Mobil Midwest, where prices refinery in Joliet, Ill., and a were higher early last BP refinery in Whiting, Ind. month because of refinery Prices in Kansas shot up, as maintenance work and a they did elsewhere, reachfire at a Michigan refinery. ing $3.71 for a gallon of regSince then, prices have ular in Douglas County. By plunged as the refiner- July, gas was back down to ies have ramped back up. $3.51 and still dropping. The averRegional age price of spikes and When refineries go p l u n g e s a gallon in Kansas was down it can create are likely $3.35 Thurs- immediate and severe to happen day, 34 more often cents below havoc.” in coming the $3.69 years, anaaverage a — Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at lysts say. month ago, GasBuddy.com The numwhen prices ber of U.S. spiked, acrefineries cording to has shrunk KansasGasPrices.com, a by a quarter since 1993 to website that tracks gaso- 143, but the nation’s refinline prices. ing capacity has grown 18 Whether the low prices percent since then. The will hold isn’t certain, ex- remaining refineries are perts say. Oil prices shot getting bigger, so if one up Wednesday above goes down, it’s a bigger $101 per barrel, the high- shock to the system. est since May 2012, as the Gasoline taxes account crisis in Egypt deepened. for the biggest difference Egypt is not a major oil in pump prices for U.S. producer but controls the drivers, according to the Suez Canal, a major ship- American Petroleum Inping lane for Middle East- stitute, the industry’s chief ern crude. lobbying group. ComWhile analysts are not bined local, state and fedexpecting a resulting eral taxes on gas in Kansas surge in gasoline prices, total more than 43 cents they could rise quickly if per gallon, greater than the Mideast unrest does some neighboring states, disrupt oil supplies. Gas including Missouri, Oklacould also climb if a hur- homa and Colorado. ricane threatens the heart For his part, Roy Halvof the refining industry erstadt, 71, of Lawrence, along the Gulf Coast. wasn’t impressed ThursTom Kloza, chief oil day with the $3.32 price analyst at GasBuddy.com, per gallon at a Kwik Shop predicted the national av- gas station at 1420 Kasold erage will hover between Drive. Just back from a visit $3.30 and $3.60 for the to family members out of rest of the summer. That state last week, Halverstadt would be somewhat lower said he paid less elsewhere: than the last two sum- $3.19 for a gallon of gas in mers, when gasoline pric- Dayton, Ohio, and $3.23 es spent part of the season near St. Louis. above $3.70 per gallon. He also was pessimistic about the gas prices stayA volatile market ing low. But gas prices have “You can kiss this goodseen better summers, too. bye,” Halverstadt said. So far, this year’s early “It’s going back up, no summer decline, while doubt about it.” welcome, is smaller than — Reporter Ian Cummings can be the seasonal drops of the reached at 832-7144 . Follow him at past two years, when gas Twitter.com/iancummings4. prices also fell between — The Associated Press Memorial Day and Indecontributed to this story. pendence Day. Across
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We were expecting a wreck, and instead we got this strong harvest. I almost feel ashamed at the crop we had compared to those further west.” — Terry Kohler, general manager of Farmers Co-op in Garden Plain the 70 to 80 range. He estimated the average at close to 60 bushels per acre. Harvest has also been good at elevators in western Sedgwick, northern Sumner and eastern Kingman and Reno counties, said Terry Kohler, general manager of Farmers Coop in Garden Plain. “We’ve seen yields probably better than we thought they would be, but there’s lot of variability on test weights and yields in the same fields, even,” he said. “It could be the specific variety, or the
place in the field. We had a pretty harsh winter and cool spring, with maybe three chances at a damaging freeze. But, with all that said, we were blessed with snow in late February and timely rains.” Kohler estimated most local farmers in the area have probably gotten average yields better than 40 bushels an acre, with some over 50. “We were expecting a wreck, and instead we got this strong harvest,” he said. “I almost feel ashamed at the crop we had compared to those further west.” Wheat quality and yields drop off about halfway across the state, said Bill Spiegel, spokesman for the trade group, Kansas Wheat. “I would say that Highway 14 is a good dividing between the haves and have-nots,” he said, referring to the highway that runs through Sterling, Lyons and Beloit.
Kansas agriculture agency rethinks scale changes TOPEKA (AP) — Kansas agriculture officials are rethinking a new provision that would require competitors to review each other’s large scale operations after criticism was raised by technicians. The Topeka CapitalJournal reports that Tim Tyson, head of the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Weights and Measures, sent a letter last week to scale technicians recognizing concerns. The state held a meeting with technicians about the change in regulations. “We listened to your concerns, but especially were interested in the comments and discussion regarding the proposal to require a third-party inspection of all new large scale installations begin-
KU CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
with simulation technologies. KU School of Medicine students on the Kansas City campus receive their training in a building that opened in 1976 and now needs millions of dollars’ worth of repairs. The building is designed for lectures instead of the small-group learning required by modern techniques. The newer style allows more direct contact with faculty, and it is more technology-driven with interactive video. In surveys of students who were accepted into the KU School of Medicine but chose to go elsewhere, the outmoded facilities are often cited as the reason. All surrounding states have built new medical education buildings or upgraded their facilities recently. And the proposed building would increase the class size at the Kansas City campus, allowing the school to churn out more doctors. As of 2010, Kansas ranked 39th among the 50 states in active physicians per 100,000 population. And by 2030, 60 percent of the current physician workforce in Kansas will have left the profession. As part of the higher education budget request to the Legislature, KU sought $30 million in bonds over a 10-year period for the building. KU also sought the release of $25 million that
ning July 1, 2013,” Tyson wrote. The change was to go into effect July 1 but will be delayed. It would have required competitors review scale operations and certify it for service. Some raised concerns that such a practice would void the scale manufacturer’s product warranty. It also raised questions about who would be responsible for liability if there were problems with the scales after installation and certification. Other raised questions about having competitors with a vested financial interest luring new customers to evaluate their work. Technicians were asked to continue to provide Tyson and the agriculture division with more feedback
was returned from the federal government as part of a FICA refund related to payroll taxes paid by the medical center in the 1990s. In Brownback’s budget proposal, the governor whittled that request down to $10 million over two years, with $35 million in bonds. But Republicans in the Legislature blew that up. In the end, KU got $1 million for the project. “That doesn’t do much to move it along,” Girod said. He said the funds will allow some site evaluation. Without a greater state commitment, Girod said, private fundraising has ground to a halt. “They’re not jumping in until the state comes through,” he said.
Critics blame KU The move to greatly reduce funding for the building started in a Senate subcommittee chaired by state Sen. Tom Arpke, R-Salina. Arpke said KU has itself to blame. He said he went on the Kansas Board of Regents website and started looking at reports on the utilization of classrooms and teaching laboratories. “Some of the reports through the Board of Regents came up all zeroes. That was kind of a red flag,” he said. Those reports include categories such as how many average hours per week is a classroom used and weekly student contact hours. In the report for fall 2012, KU Medical Center reports N/A or not available in many of the categories. Mary Jane Stankiewicz,
on proposed changes. Tyson wrote that the goal of “compliance and accountability in the program remains a priority.” The Division of Weights and Measures developed the review requirement after a series of articles by the Capital-Journal uncovered above-normal levels of inaccuracies in large scales in Kansas. The devices, about 4,000 across Kansas, are used to weigh scrap metal, recycling materials and agricultural products. The Capital-Journal reported that state inspectors approved only 19 of the 72 heavy-capacity scales between July 2012 and February 2013. Almost half the scales did not meet state accuracy standards.
a spokeswoman for the Board of Regents, said the problem with the reports is that KU Medical Center is a different kind of institution than the other regents institutions that are dominated by undergraduates. Stankiewicz said the regents have recently requested that KU Medical Center fill out the report to the best of its abilities, and the school is working on that. Arpke said the lines of communication between he and KU remain open, and that he doesn’t think delaying the health education building will “make or break this project.”
Doing more with less Girod said KU officials will continue to make the argument that it has managed to do more with less, but that they need help from the Legislature. In addition to putting the brakes on the health education building, the Legislature cut KUMC’s funding by $8.3 million over the next two years. In 2008, before the effects of the Great Recession had taken hold, KUMC was allocated $127 million from the Legislature in its annual appropriation. Cuts since then, including the current fiscal year, have dropped that figure to $97.3 million. That is about a 24 percent drop in five years. “Every state around us is investing in higher education and their medical education infrastructure,” Girod said. “We are the only ones going in the other direction. That puts us at risk.” — Statehouse reporter Scott Rothschild can be reached at 785-423-0668.
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