JEFFERSON CITY – Hundreds of thousands of people who got tickets when their vehicles were photographed running red lights in Missouri could be in line to get some money back.

Attorneys for ticketed drivers and camera supplier American Traffic Solutions said Friday they have agreed to a proposed settlement of several class-action lawsuits.

They said the deal calls for 20 percent refunds to be paid on up to 800,000 tickets issued in 27 Missouri cities served by ATS cameras. At an average ticket of $100, the settlement could amount to as much as $16 million.

The cities include Kansas City, St. Joseph, St. Louis and numerous suburbs of St. Louis.

The lawsuits claimed the traffic camera ordinances violated people’s due process rights and state law. The settlement includes no admission of wrongdoing.

EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) — The counselor education department at Emporia State University has received a nearly $1 million grant to increase training for human services paraprofessionals.

The university said in a news release that the five-year U.S. Department of Education Grant will be used to provide online master’s degree curriculum to address a critical shortage of qualified counseling personnel in rural Kansas and Nebraska.

Twenty people from rural Kansas and Nebraska can apply for a 48-credit hour rehabilitation counseling course. After completing the program the rehabilitation counselors will be placed across the central U.S.

Selected applicants will receive tuition and related support for their studies.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A group of Wyandotte County Democrats is supporting Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s re-election campaign.

Nearly two dozen people attended the announcement Friday at a new public library in Kansas City, Kansas.

Brownback is being challenged in his bid for a second term by Democrat Paul Davis, who has been endorsed more than 100 current and former Republican officials.

The pro-Brownback Democratic group is co-chaired by Nathan Barnes, a former commissioner of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. Barnes said he’s “impressed” with the governor, and he praised Brownback’s support of small businesses.

Speaking at the event, Brownback said he has plans for urban opportunity zones to help high-poverty areas. He said governing is “not about Democrats and Republicans. It’s about making things better for the people.”

By KHI NEWS SERVICE

TOPEKA — Five Kansas organizations are among nearly 200 recipients of funding awards announced Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nearly $212 million in awards, supported in part by the Affordable Care Act, will be distributed to support programs to prevent and control chronic diseases, which are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. Chronic diseases are responsible for seven of 10 deaths among Americans each year, and they account for more than 80 percent of the $2.7 trillion spent annually on medical care in the United States.

The Kansas organizations receiving funding are:

• The Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department will receive $1.3 million over three years for work to improve nutrition, increase physical activity and reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.

Community Health Director Chris Tilden said the grant will enhance the work of LiveWell Lawrence, a coalition of more than 170 people working to improve the health of Douglas County residents.

“This is work that will be carried out through that partnership,” he said. “Without that strong coalition, we wouldn’t be able to do this work. They’ll be central to moving this forward.”

The coalition will focus on three projects: expanding Safe Routes to School, improving the local food system and combating the growing use of electronic cigarettes.

“The evidence suggests that’s there’s growing use of e-cigarettes among youth,” Tilden said. “In a college town with a very young population, we’re concerned about the potential negative impacts of e-cigarettes.”

• The Kansas Department of Health and Environment will receive more than $3.2 million to support community projects designed to prevent and control diabetes, heart disease, obesity and associated risk factors.

• KDHE also received $564,797 to enhance public health work.

• The University of Kansas Center for Research Inc. will receive $723,299 for projects related to racial and ethnic approaches to community health.

• The Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas will receive $194,876 to support efforts to prevent heart disease, diabetes, stroke and associated risk factors.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Writer Stephen King says the daughter of the BTK serial killer does not have to worry about her father being flattered by his portrayal in an upcoming movie inspired by the Wichita case.

King said in an emailed statement Friday that the character depicting Dennis Rader in his film “A Good Marriage” is a banal little man. King says the story isn’t about the killer husband, but about a brave and determined woman.

King was responding to criticism from Kerri Rawson that he was exploiting her father’s victims. Rawson says that King’s upcoming movie inspired her to break a self-imposed nine-year silence.

But the author says the drive to understand is the basis of art, and that is what he strove for in the novella and movie.

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ORIGINAL   –WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The daughter of the BTK serial killer is criticizing writer Stephen King for making a movie partly inspired by the Wichita case.

In the first public comments from a member of the killer’s family, Kerri Rawson says King is exploiting Dennis Rader’s 10 victims and their families.

Rawson told the Wichita Eagle she had been one of her favorite writers, but says she won’t read another of his novels now.

Rawson said her father was also a huge King fan, and she fears his books might have influenced some of the things Rader did in his later murders.

King has said in media interviews that the upcoming movie, “A Good Marriage,” was inspired by Rader and his family.

King’s publicist did not immediately respond to an email Friday seeking comment.

FERGUSON (AP) – Business leaders in Ferguson have postponed a weekend street festival in response to safety concerns as angry protests over 18-year-old Michael Brown’s fatal police shooting continue.

The 15th annual Ferguson StreetFest was scheduled to begin Friday afternoon and continue through Saturday night. The Ferguson Special Business District announced the postponement earlier this week after a contentious series of town hall meetings Monday night hosted by city officials who hoped to heal a community still in turmoil after Brown’s early August death.

Community tensions have flared up in recent days after fire destroyed a makeshift memorial for Brown Tuesday and the arrest of several protesters Thursday night as Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson attempted to join a protest march.

The Office of Kansas Attorney General

EMPORIA – An Emporia woman was sentenced today to more than seven years in prison for mistreatment of a dependent adult and conspiring to mistreat a dependent adult, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.

 Dalene Miller, 56, was sentenced to 91 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections by Judge W. Lee Fowler in Lyon County District Court.  In July, Miller was convicted of the charges by a Lyon County jury following a four-day trial. The case stemmed from a complaint sent to Adult Protective Services in May 2011.

 An investigation by the attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Division and the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office discovered that between July 2011 and January 2012, Miller acted as durable power of attorney and a trustee for her mother-in-law and made purchases including a house, farm and truck while her mother-in-law’s expenses went unpaid.

 Assistant Attorney General Stefani Hepford prosecuted the case with assistance from the Lyon County Attorney’s Office.

 Charges remain pending against Miller’s husband, Rick Miller, who is scheduled to face trial in November. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Officials in Lawrence are investigating the theft of two days’ worth of mail addressed to the Municipal Court.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports reports the mail was taken Tuesday and Wednesday from a secure post office box in the downtown post office.

Municipal Court administrator Vicki Stanwix urged anyone who had sent mail to the court to call and determine if their mailings were received. People who sent checks for parking tickets, speeding violations and other fines are also encouraged to watch their bank accounts.

Lawrence police and the U.S. Postal Service are investigating how the mail was taken from the court’s secure box. Stanwix said postal officials are taking additional steps to secure the court’s mail.