By STEPHEN KORANDA

Do you need a babysitter to watch your kids while you campaign for public office? That’s now considered a valid campaign expense in Kansas.

The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission said in an 8-1 vote this week that campaign funds, such as donations, may be used to pay for child care. However, that child care must be directly related to campaigning or serving in office.

Commission member Jerome Hellmer said the change could help level the playing field and make it easier for parents to run for office.

“If we make it more difficult for someone to seek a public office and to serve simply because they are a parent,” he said, “that is a concern.”

It’s a situation Democratic state Rep. Eileen Horn has dealt with. Running and holding office includes many of the challenges working parents face. Horn said serving as a lawmaker also requires working early mornings and late evenings.

“That’s when a lot of community events happen, especially evenings and weekends,” she said. “In order to connect with your constituents and be a good public servant, you attend those events.”

Horn and her husband have two boys, a baby and a 3-year-old.

“Often, I can bring my kids, and that helps a little bit, but the 10-month-old doesn’t like to sit still for very long at all,” Horn said. “So we have a list of about a half a dozen babysitters on constant rotation.”

She said the long hours are already a barrier for some people to run for and serve in public office. The cost of child care can be another barrier, considering the salary lawmakers make.

Legislators in Kansas make $88 per day of the session, plus another $144 per day to cover expenses. They also have a retirement package. In a normal 90-day session, the salary and expenses allowance would total just under $21,000.

Horn welcomed the ethics commission decision and said she may look into using campaign funds for child care in the future.

“I’m thrilled,” she said. “I think we really need to work hard to make public service something that young people and that families can do more easily.”

Horn replaced another lawmaker, John Wilson, who has two children and stepped down last year because he said his time was being divided between the Legislature, his career and his family.

Ethics Commission Executive Director Mark Skoglund said staff drafted the change after receiving multiple inquiries about the issue, including from women running or holding office.

The Federal Election Commission issued a similar decision earlier this year.

“We utilized that as our guide in writing the opinion,” Skoglund said.

Skoglund said Wednesday’s decision is narrow and doesn’t open the door to other uses of campaign funding.

“Legitimate campaign expenditures,” Skoglund said, “is a fairly strictly limited area.”

Corrected: This story originally listed the wrong vote total for the ethics commission.

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

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Plans to demolish a water slide where a 10-year-old Kansas boy died might be delayed.

In July, attorneys for KC Waterpark Management said they were ready to demolish the Verruckt water slide at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas, shortly after Labor Day.

The demolition might be delayed because of disagreements over which parts of the slide should be preserved as possible evidence in criminal cases filed after Caleb Schwab was decapitated on the ride in August 2016.

The state has asked that experts be allowed to inspect the slide one more time.

The water park’s attorneys filed a response Wednesday, questioning the need for another inspection of the slide.

A court hearing on the issue is scheduled for next week.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A southwest Missouri high school principal has agreed to resign as part of a financial settlement after allegations of inappropriate conduct resurfaced.

A copy of the settlement between former Seymour High School principal Brian Wilbanks and the Webster County district  was obtained through a records request. It said he was paid $30,000 in exchange for stepping down.

Attorney Jay Kirksey confirmed earlier this year that an English teacher at the high school made an allegation of sexual harassment against Wilbanks in May 2017. Wilbanks was placed on administrative leave nine months later in February after the allegations resurfaced.

Wilbanks alleged in his resignation letter that two district officials kept their jobs despite bullying students and staff. Wilbanks didn’t return calls seeking comment.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Republican super PAC is attacking Democratic 3rd District congressional candidate Sharice Davids for comments she made on a podcast last month in support of abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Congressional Leadership Fund is starting ads online and on television in the Kansas City area featuring Davids saying she’d vote to abolish the federal government’s chief immigration enforcement agency. The ads, in support of Republican incumbent Rep. Kevin Yoder, attempt to contrast Davids’ ICE position with Yoder’s votes in favor of military raises and increased defense spending and against transferring terrorism suspects to Fort Leavenworth from the detention center in Guantanamo Bay.

After Yoder’s campaign ran ads with similar attacks this week, Davids’ spokeswoman told the Kansas City Star that Davids does not support abolishing ICE.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Firefighters have rescued 19 cats and 16 dogs from a Columbia home after a kitchen fire.

Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp says firefighters ventilated the house and began searching for animals after the fire was reported late Thursday morning. The rescued animals were provided oxygen using pet oxygen masks. Blomenkamp says one cat died of smoke inhalation.

The animals have been transferred to the Central Missouri Humane Society.

The fire caused minor damage.

WASHINGTON (AP) — John McCain, the six-term Arizona senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee, has chosen to discontinue medical treatment for his brain cancer, his family said Friday. Present and past leaders of the Kansas congressional delegation are responding to the news.

Elizabeth and I are saddened to hear the news about our friend, John McCain. John is a great American hero who has spent his entire life serving his country with distinction, selflessness, and honor. We will be praying for @SenJohnMcCain and his family.

— Senator Bob Dole (@SenatorDole) August 24, 2018

My friend @SenJohnMcCain is an American hero and has spent his life serving our country. Franki and I are praying for the entire McCain family and wish them peace and comfort in the coming days.

— Pat Roberts (@SenPatRoberts) August 24, 2018

John McCain is a true patriot, American hero and a genuine friend. Robba and I have John, Cindy and their entire family in our prayers. https://t.co/5n7RCKOYww

— Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) August 24, 2018

#OnThisDay 2017: @SenJohnMcCain returned to the Senate and gave remarks.

Full video: https://t.co/a0AQFxbwnP pic.twitter.com/PZM0C4PlF6

— CSPAN (@cspan) July 25, 2018

In a statement, the family said McCain has surpassed expectations for survival, but “the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict.” The family added, “With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment.”

The senator, who would be 82 next week, has been away from the Capitol since December. If he should resign his seat or die soon, Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey would name a replacement, who would serve out the remainder of McCain’s term — through the 2020 election. The GOP currently holds a bare 51-49 Senate majority.

The son and grandson of Navy admirals, McCain is a former Navy pilot and was held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam for more than five years. He was elected to Congress in the early 1980s and elected to the Senate in 1986, replacing Barry Goldwater who retired. McCain gained a reputation as a lawmaker who was willing to stick to his convictions rather than go along with party leaders. It is a streak that draws a mix of respect and ire.

He has been a frequent target of criticism from President Donald Trump, especially for his vote against a Republican replacement for “Obamacare,” the health care law approved under President Barack Obama.

Trump signed a military policy bill this month named for McCain, but in a sign of their testy relationship the president made no mention of McCain’s name in remarks at a signing ceremony.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Twitter that he was “very sad to hear this morning’s update” from McCain’s family.

“We are so fortunate to call him our friend and colleague. John, Cindy, and the entire McCain family are in our prayers at this incredibly difficult hour,” McConnell said.

Arizona Gov. Ducey called McCain “an American hero” who always put his country before himself.

Ducey said a “spirt of service and civility” guided McCain’s life, standing as a model for Americans regardless of political affiliation.

McCain’s wife, Cindy, tweeted: “I love my husband with all of my heart. God bless everyone who has cared for my husband along this journey.”

McCain underwent surgery in July 2017 to remove a blood clot in his brain after being diagnosed with an aggressive tumor called a glioblastoma. It’s the same type of tumor that killed Sen. Edward M. Kennedy at age 77 in 2009.

McCain rebounded quickly, however, returning to Washington and entering the Senate in late July to a standing ovation from his colleagues. In a dramatic turn, he later cast a deciding vote against the Republican health care bill, earning the wrath of Trump, who frequently cites McCain’s vote at campaign events.

McCain’s condition worsened last fall and he has been in Arizona since December. A source close to McCain who asked not to be identified said Friday the senator was at his Arizona ranch with his family.

McCain is a long-term survivor of melanoma, a deadly skin cancer. Doctors classified his brain cancer as a “primary tumor,” meaning it’s not related to his former malignancies.

McCain ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, then won it in 2008 before losing the general election to Obama.

He returned to the Senate, determined not to be defined by a failed presidential campaign in which his reputation as a maverick had faded.

When Republicans took control of the Senate in 2015, McCain, the scion in a decorated military family, embraced his new influence as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, pushing for aggressive U.S. military intervention overseas and eager to contribute to “defeating the forces of radical Islam that want to destroy America.”

Asked how he wanted to be remembered, McCain said simply: “That I made a major contribution to the defense of the nation.”

Former Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a close friend, said Friday that “becoming John McCain’s friend has been one of the great blessings of my life. Today I am praying for him and his family.”

___