By Paige Henderson
KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA — Jacquie Fernandez-Lenati, the great niece of prominent labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, gave a powerful speech Wednesday, April 3, about the importance of Hispanic civic engagement at the eighth annual Hispanic Day at the Capitol.

Hispanic Day at the Capitol is a free-to-the-public event hosted by the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission as a way to celebrate the additions and accomplishments made possible by the Hispanic and Latino communities in Kansas.

We had a great time today at Hispanic Day at the Capitol with Gov. @LauraKellyKS, Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla, and Acting Secretary of Labor Delia García. National Committeewoman Teresa Krusor also hosted the @KDPLatinoVote Caucus! pic.twitter.com/gNWblP1xEK

— Kansas Dems (@KansasDems) April 3, 2019

Dolores Huerta was a leader in the Chicano civil rights movement and a co-founder of the United Farm Workers labor union. Her great niece, Fernandez-Lenati, encouraged the audience to “show up” as Hispanic and Latino citizens.

“The power is in the person. It’s not in the title. It’s not in the position — it’s the person,” Fernandez-Lenati said. “I became an activist before I could even read.”

Fernandez-Lenati reinforced the importance of voting and letting Latinx voices be heard.

“You don’t have to run for office to impact change,” Fernandez-Lenati said.

She also encouraged the Hispanic and Latino community to support other minorities, such as the LGBTQ and African American communities.

“When minorities join together, we become the majority,” Fernandez-Lenati said.

Other prominent speakers included Acting Secretary for the Kansas Department of Labor Delia Garcia, Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla and Evergy CEO Terry Bassham.

Richard Martinez, the interim executive director of the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission, took time to recognize each speaker and reinforced the importance of Fernandez-Lenati’s words.

“You have to be confident and know that you have a place at the table,” Martinez said.

The Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission was established in 1975 in the effort to eliminate official neglect and provide opportunities for Hispanic advancement in Kansas.

“At the end of the day, we have more in common than not,” Fernandez-Lenati said. “We have to shift our thinking to the next level.”

Paige Henderson is a University of Kansas senior from Lenexa majoring in journalism.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for possessing heroin to distribute, according to the United State’s Attorney.

Danny R. Jones, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark on Friday, April 5, to 18 years in federal prison without parole.

On June 27, 2018, Jones pleaded guilty to possessing heroin with the intent to distribute.

Law enforcement officers, prior to executing a search warrant, established surveillance of Jones’s residence on May 10, 2016. Officers saw Jones leave his residence, driving a Ford Taurus. An officer stopped the vehicle for an improper license plate and arrested Jones, who was driving while having a revoked driver’s license. The officer searched the vehicle and found a diaper bag on the passenger-side rear seat. Inside the diaper bag were several clear plastic bags that contained a total of 190 grams of heroin.

Jones is one of eight defendants charged in this case, all of whom have pleaded guilty, and is the final defendant to be sentenced.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A horse whose dismembered remains were found in a Kansas City park was a family pet that was pregnant.

Miguel Valdez told WDAF-TV that breaking the news to his children was difficult. But he said it was equally disturbing to go to animal control and identify the mare, named Senaida, which the family had owned for nine years. He says he’s “upset and angry.” The horse was at a friend’s farm in Kansas City, Kansas, when it went missing.

A man playing disc golf found the animal’s remains a week ago in Kessler Park. Police there say the horse appeared to have been prepared for consumption. After the meat was removed, the carcass was placed in a barrel and dumped in the park.

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KANSAS CITY (AP) — Animal control officers in Kansas City are investigating how the dismembered remains of a horse ended up in a city park.

A man playing disc golf found the remains Monday evening in Kessler Park.

Police spokesman Capt. Tim Hernandez says the horse appeared to have been prepared for consumption. After the meat was removed, the carcass was placed in a barrel and dumped in the park.

The horse’s head, hooves, legs, entrails, ribs and lungs were scattered in the area.

Hernandez said in a news release that a veterinarian will determine the time and cause of the horse’s death.

Animal control will lead the investigation unless it is determined the horse was stolen.

By DAN MARGOLIES 

Kansas will have to cough up more than $168,000 in legal fees over its attempt to prevent the publication of investigative files related to the murders portrayed in Truman’ Capote’s book “In Cold Blood.”

The book, which Capote called a nonfiction novel, brought decades of attention to the slayings of four members of the Clutter family in their Holcomb, Kansas, home in 1959.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s charter schools have missed out on millions of dollars in local funding over the past decade, according to an industry group.

The Missouri Charter Public School Association told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that a fiscal review reveals funding inequities dating to 2007 when the state changed its laws regarding school aid distribution.

Lawmakers didn’t allow the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to grant charter schools the same local tax revenues that other public schools receive, such as the merchants and manufacturers tax, the group said.

The changes also froze funding from property taxes and other regional fees for charter schools. The state calculates that portion of local funding from 2005 figures for charter schools, while public schools see taxes based on the previous year’s revenue.

In St. Louis, property tax revenue has increased by roughly 28% from 2005 to 2017, but charter schools haven’t seen a financial boost, according to the association.

“None of this was intentional,” said Douglas Thaman, the group’s executive director. “It was the way the law was drafted and approved. It wasn’t some draconian plot. It’s just the way things worked out and created some unintended consequences.”

The review comes as the Legislature considers a bill to fix the funding inequities. Republican Sen. Ed Emery filed legislation this year to ensure that charter schools get “all local revenue received by the school district.

The measure passed out of a Senate committee last month. But it has received opposition from St. Louis Public Schools and the Missouri School Boards’ Association.

Brent Ghan, the school board association’s deputy executive director, said Missouri needs to address the academic oversight of charter schools first. Missouri charter schools operate separately from public school districts under their own boards.

“No matter the amount, they still are receiving some public money and as long as they are receiving public money, they need to be held to the same accountability standards so that taxpayers can understand how their money is being spent and if it’s being spent effectively or not,” Ghan said.

EUREKA, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say a weekend wreck on a Missouri highway turned into a corned beef roast.

The Eureka Fire Protection District says in a Facebook post that a rig carrying the meat caught fire Saturday on Interstate 44. Fire spokesman Scott Barthelmass said that the rig’s brakes ignited first, then the whole trailer went up in flames. He says that no one was hurt, “just a lot of well-done corned beef.”

Traffic also was snarled for hours in the area about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of St. Louis.

JACKSON COUNTY— Kansas sheriff’s deputy was injured while investigating an accident Saturday.

Just after 8:30p.m., the deputy was on the scene of a non-injury accident involving a 1997 Toyota Corolla and a deer on U.S. 75 north of 278th Road in Jackson County, according to sheriff Tim Morse.

A southbound 2015 Ford F-150 pickup truck failed to properly yield to emergency personnel and struck the deputy. The vehicle’s mirror struck the left arm of the deputy.

The deputy was able to complete the investigation of the first accident prior to being evaluated by medical staff. The pickup driver was cited for failing to yield to emergency personnel. The fine for failing to yield to emergency vehicles is $303.00 including court costs, according to Morse.

The sheriff also reminded drivers “Fortunately, this incident did not result in tragedy. However, the situation presents a good time to remind motorists to drive in due regard to the safety of our highway workers and public safety personnel.”

JEFFERSON COUNTY — A Kansas school district superintendent was arrested for alleged DUI over the weekend.

Just before 8:30 p.m. Saturday, The Kansas Highway Patrol arrested 55-year-old Dr. Martin Stessman, the superintendent at USD 450 Tecumseh after a 911 call reporting a reckless driver on Interstate 70, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.

Just after 10:30p.m., Stessman was booked into jail, posted the $1000 bond and was released just before midnight.

USD 450 released no statement on the incident Sunday.