Municipal News & Jobs

The Reno County first-time drug offender diversion program began at the beginning of this year. Since then, 21 people have been involved with the program, and only one has not succeeded so far.
“The best benefit is that they move away from drug use and become productive citizens,” District Attorney Tom Stanton said. “If they’re successful and become productive citizens, we’re not spending money on prosecution, arrest and detention, jail and court costs and so on. We don’t use jail as a sanction much in this program, so we’re saving money in the county jail.”
If people complete the program and its requirements, their case gets dismissed. “They don’t have to be explaining to employers, or housing officials or when they’re applying for student loans that they’ve got this conviction in their background,” Stanton said. “The goal is that we’ll be using the same resources to help them as we would if they’ve been convicted.” Stanton said they planned to have 50 in the program for the year, so they’re pretty close to where they expected to be now. He says one of the best parts is giving people resources to live drug-free lives. “They go through the programs, go through treatment, they’re going in a meeting with their community corrections supervisor, and they’re just doing the things that they need to do to move away from the use of drugs and to a more a more stable lifestyle,” Stanton said. “It’s just a great program for them. Same thing they would be doing if they were convicted, but the benefits are greater. We’re still holding them accountable. They’re still charged with the crime. If they fail, they’re going to be convicted, and they’re going to continue to be assisted by corrections, and now the community and the person is going to benefit from the program.”
Source: KSN-TV

Kaylee Bogina is from Arma, Kansas and recently competed at the Olympic trials marathon in February. Making it to that point is a huge goal she is proud to check off her list. Her running career began in high school and then continued through college at Adams State. She saw her brother and roommate compete in the trials and made it a goal for herself. “I remember watching them the whole way and thinking just, oh, how cool of an opportunity that they got to go and do that,” Bogina said. “And I think from that moment on, I was kind of like, man, could I do this? I think that’d be something really neat to do, but obviously, 26 miles is a whole different ballgame than what I was doing at the time.” Bogina got involved with a post-collegiate group with coaches at the University of Colorado. “From that moment on, I kind of had more of a purpose and a direction for where I was going, and I felt a lot more confident in getting to my goals that way,” Bogina said. “And so really a lot just changed as soon as I got connected with them, and I really started focusing more on the marathon at that point and had the goal of qualifying for the trials.” Later on, she ran a marathon in California to qualify for the Olympic trials marathon. Her time qualified her for the trials in February 2024. She says she loved experiencing the crowds there to support them and running among the best women in the country. “We’re going to have three great athletes representing us in Paris, and just the fact that I got to be on that start line and I had the same chance as they did is just something I’m really proud of,” Bogina said. Bogina says regardless of where you are from or the circumstances you are in, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. “I think the fact that I am from a small town, and I grew up in a small farming community, and we didn’t have the best facilities or anything like that, but I just felt so empowered and supported along the way to my goal. I think that is the true, like beauty in everything I was able to do here,” Bogina said. “This little goal that started when I was a freshman now has just like changed my whole life.” Since the trials, Bogina says she has been enjoying time off. Training takes 10 weeks of discipline and commitment, running 90-95 miles a week. “The fact that I get the opportunity to do that and just try for that is really huge for me,” Bogina said. “I don’t think that I’m quite on the level of some of these people that will have the chance to represent our country, and I think just being able to understand that allows me to have so much fun in this sport, still, like I can’t be disappointed with what I do, and I just had the opportunity to chase my dream.” She says she can see herself training again to make it to the next Olympic trials. Even if she never races again, she feels lucky. “I think that whether you get to the highest stage or not, I think just being able to be the best that you can possibly be is so huge. Having huge goals should never be something you should not be proud of having or scared to achieve,” Bogina said. “I think that the best things come from a dream that maybe seems a little far out there or scary or unattainable. It’s like, why not me? I think I would be so unsatisfied if I hadn’t ever had this dream. Someone’s got to do it, so why not me?”
Source: KSN-TV

After three years, Progeny v. City of Wichita, a lawsuit regarding the Wichita Police Department’s use of a gang list, is awaiting approval. If approved, some names that were incorrectly on the gang list will be removed, and the criteria for the database will change. The lawsuit was brought forward by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kansas and the Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. The organizations argued that the list violated the 14th and 1st Amendment rights of those on it. Currently, members of the Wichita community do not have to be charged with a crime to be put into the database. It is at the discretion of law enforcement to determine if someone is suspicious of gang activity, and they can decide to enter them in the database. Teresa Woody with the Kansas Appleseed Center says that if the courts approve the settlement, there will be changes to the criteria and notification systems for the database. “The main point of the settlement is to vastly revise the criteria for putting people on the gang list in Wichita,” said Woody. “And to make those criteria related more to criminal activity than just normal activities that a person would do in their day.” She added that being labeled a “gang member” or “gang affiliate” can be detrimental to those on the list. “It basically labels you a criminal without ever having even to be charged with any kind of crime,” Woody said. “And obviously, that can have effects on where you can live and your job.” The final approval hearing is scheduled for Aug. 23 at 1:30 p.m. It will be open to the public and affected individuals can submit a comment or request to speak at the hearing. “It’s an opportunity for people to tell their own stories, explain to the court their experiences of being on the gang list and how deeply it’s affected them,” said Kunyu Ching, staff attorney at Kansas ACLU. “And to weigh in on whether or not they think this settlement is a good one or not.” There is no financial compensation for affected individuals in the settlement. “Our clients, our plaintiffs who have bravely stuck with this case for three years, they were never in it for the money,” Ching said. “(What) we asked for from the court was changes to the policy.” More information can be found at aclukansas.org/wichitaganglist. If you would like to request to speak at the final hearing, email twoody@kansasappleseed.org or kching@aclukansas.org. Submissions will close on Aug. 2.
Source: KSN-TV