TOPEKA —The Kansas National Guard’s Joint Operations Center has received a tasking call from the North Carolina National Guard seeking support for an Emergency Management Assistance Compact request.

According to a social media report, four Kansas Army National Guard and eight Kansas Air National Guard nurses will provide support to North Carolina Public Health at local shelters in the Brunswick, North Carolina, area. The mission duration will be 14 days with two days travel time.

“We are grateful to the members of our Kansas National Guard for always being ready to lend a hand when called upon,” said Governor Jeff Colyer, “and thank them for their willingness to assist the people of North Carolina with much needed hurricane relief.

Two other Kansas Guardsmen are currently in Washington D.C. providing support to the National Guard Bureau for military intelligence and logistics, and nine Airmen from the 184th Intelligence Wing are in Wichita providing satellite imagery support.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The search for Missouri’s next top education official has begun.

The State Board of Education is accepting applications for the next education commissioner beginning Wednesday. The deadline to apply is 4:30 p.m. Oct. 19.

The board fired former commissioner Margie Vandeven last year. That came after former Gov. Eric Greitens stacked the board with his appointees, who led her push out. Greitens wanted Vandeven replaced.

But efforts to replace her were delayed following pushback from state senators, who balked at Vandeven’s firing and did not confirm Greitens’ appointees. Greitens has since resigned in scandal, and new Gov. Mike Parson replaced his appointees with people who faced considerably less pushback.

By STEPHEN KORANDA

In the wake of rape charge filed in an attack on a 13-year-old girl in the office of a foster care contractor, Kansas lawmakers said Tuesday they’ll investigate what went wrong.

One legislator said state officials and the contractor responsible for watching over the alleged victim will face tough questions later this month.

The case is the latest crisis for a foster care system dogged by criticism in recent years, including the disclosure that kids have had to sleep in the offices of foster care contractors because of a lack of available homes for them.

Now comes the rape case that prosecutors say happened in May in the Johnson County office of KVC Kansas.

KVC said in a statement that one supervisor was overseeing the alleged attacker, the girl who reported the rape and one other young person. That supervisor stepped out of the room for several minutes to get supplies, the contractor said. When the staff member returned, KVC said, the girl said she had been assaulted by an 18-year-old male.

Johnson County authorities have charged Michael Anthony Hamer with rape and indecent liberties.

Republican Rep. Linda Gallagher called the reported sexual assault shocking and disheartening.

“One of the most important things the state must do is to take care of its most vulnerable citizens,” said Gallagher, who is a member of the state’s Child Welfare System Task Force. “We have most certainly failed in that measure.”

Legislators will be investigating, she said. That process will likely start at a meeting of the task force later this month. Gallagher expects pointed questions for Department for Children and Families Secretary Gina Meier-Hummel and KVC Kansas staff.

“Where did the ball get dropped, on the part of KVC, their employees?” she asked. “Where did the ball get dropped, if any, on the part of DCF to oversee this contractor?”

Gallagher said lawmakers will need to gather information before they can respond. That could come during the next legislative session, which starts in January. Gallagher said she would back more funding for better crisis care centers equipped to serve children on short notice.

KVC Kansas said in a statement that a lapse in judgment by the worker left the three young people unsupervised.

“We deeply regret that there was any opportunity — even for a brief moment, as was the case here — for such a tragedy to occur,” the statement reads.

KVC spokeswoman Jenny Kutz said that the worker in question is no longer with the organization and that the contractor has reiterated staffing rules so employees know that children must be supervised at all times.

“We’re doing everything in our power to keep kids safe. We’re confident that we’ve put all the proper guidelines in place that are intended to prevent this from happening again,” she said in an email response to questions from the Kansas News Service.

The agency is holding the contractor responsible, DCF spokeswoman Taylor Forrest said in an email.

“KVC Kansas was cited for regulatory violations and appropriate action was taken,” Forrest said, without specifying the action.

DCF investigated the incident, Forrest said. Her email also noted that the employee in charge during the reported rape is no longer with the organization.

“Through a corrective action plan, investigation and conversations with KVC leadership, DCF has worked extensively with KVC to ensure the safety and security of Kansas youth,” Forrest’s email said.

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for KPR, a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda.

CASS COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a bank robbery and searching for a  suspect.

The FBI says in a news release that the robber entered Adrian Bank in Archie, Missouri around 11:20 a.m. Tuesday and demanded cash. The suspect then fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash. The release says the robber didn’t display a weapon.

The suspect is describe as a 50-60-year-old white male, 6-foot tall and 200-225 pounds. He wore  glasses, a baseball cap and a mask during the robbery.

Archie is about 45 miles south of Kansas City.

WARRENTON, Mo. (AP) — An eastern Missouri woman is charged with second-degree murder in the death of her 85-year-old mother.

51-year-old Marlene Wynn of Warrenton was charged Tuesday. She is jailed on $500,000 cash-only bond.

The name of the woman who was killed has not been released.

Warrenton police say officers were called to Wynn’s home around 11 a.m. Monday for a reported assault and found a woman dead at the home. Wynn was arrested immediately. No other details have been released.

Warrenton is 55 miles west of St. Louis.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union has petitioned a court seeking lists of Johnson County voters who cast provisional ballots and lists of advance mail ballots rejected because signatures did not match their voter record.

Its petition under the Kansas Open Records Act was filed Monday in the name of a liberal activist who challenged Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s listing as the GOP nominee for governor on the November ballot after he argued that hundreds of legal votes were not counted in the primary election.

Board of Canvassers approves recommendation to not count the 898 ballots as described. pic.twitter.com/mRE5RppwwH

— Johnson County Election Office (@jocoelection) August 13, 2018

It names Johnson County Elections Commissioner Ronnie Metsker as defendant. Election officials did not immediately return messages.

The ACLU says people should know whether their vote counted or if people faced any unnecessary barriers to voting. It argues the public interest is in transparency.

PETTIS COUNTY — One person died in an accident just before 6a.m. Tuesday in Pettis County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Victory motorcycle driven by John E. Gursick, 52, Windsor, was northbound on Route E just south of Morgan Road.

The driver failed to negotiate a curve. The motorcycle crossed the center line into the path of a Kenworth semi driven by Jacob Hochstetler, 47, Macon.

Gursick was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Hadley Funeral Home. Hochstetler refused treatment at the scene, according to the MSHP.