Safe Place

By Denise Hnytka (WELLINGTON and WINFIELD, Kan) When the tornado sirens go off, most of us know to go to a safe place. But for many people, that's not as easy as going down to their basement. Now federal stimulus money helps build new shelters where they're needed, places like the Wheat Capitol Manor in Wellington. When you walk into the room, you may not even realize its a shelter. There's a colorful mural on the wall and quaint cafe chairs in the corner. But don't let the serene setting fool you. "I was told that if the building collapsed from this direction onto the storm shelter, and two semis hit it from both ways, it would be standing," explained Melissa Hamlin, Executive Director for the Wellington Housing Authority.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announces the largest crib recall in US history. It says cribs with drop down sides can be dangerous. 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs have been recalled.  The recall includes 147,000 Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. pictures of the crib where the cribs were sold A free repair kit is available.  It converts the drop-side of the crib to a fixed side. get a repair kit The CPSC says parents need to stop using the cribs until they fix the cribs with the repair kit.  They should find another safe place for babies to sleep until the repair is made.

The Kansas Lottery's Holiday Millionaire Raffle is officially sold out. The lottery office says ticket number 150,000 was sold at 5:28 p.m. on December 27. The $20 tickets went on sale on October 1. This is the second year for the raffle which has a grand prize of $1 million.  There are also five $50,000 prizes and 500 $500 prizes. Someone is currently holding a raffle ticket that will be worth $1 million on December 30, 2010 when the Kansas Lottery announces the winning numbers.

Media Statement The Reformation Lutheran Church family is shocked and deeply saddened by the violent murder of Dr. George Tiller, a longtime member of our congregation, that occurred in our church home May 31. Our congregation strives to be a safe place for all people.  We deplore the violence that took place within the walls of our church.  Further, we reject any notion that violence against another human being is an acceptable way to resolve differences over any issue.

For the fourth weekend in a row Wichita's Old Town district is dealing with more gunfire.  Now business owners are speaking out, and say finding a solution is not easy. “We probably have to do something and work with the police department and come up with ideas,” says Melad Stephan, owner of Oeno Wine Bar and Sabor Latin Bar. He says Old Town has always been a safe place, and still is.  After the recent series of shootings he has to work harder to convince people of that.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can cause someone to have difficulty coping with everyday life. It's usually caused by a traumatic event and for troops fighting in a war those types of events can be hard to escape. "In combat, we saw all sorts of things," Chaplain Major Cliff Short said. He treats people suffering from PTSD at McConnell Air Force Base. "People burned, people blown up, gun shot wounds, people who were barely alive. " Health care professionals at McConnell say it's important to prevent PTSD from effecting someone before going off to war. "If you know what may happen before you go into a situation," Lt. Col. Andrew Cruz explains, "that gives them a little bit of an understanding like 'hey this is normal, there's nothing wrong with me, I'm not crazy.

It appeared to be a safe place. In a parking lot, in the middle of the day. Saturday, police say a Wichita family selling their Playstation-portable on Craigslist met a potential buyer in a Taco Bueno parking lot. But instead of an exchange, a woman and two teenage boys were robbed at gunpoint. The suspect brought a briefcase with him and stole her purse, three cell phones and the Play station-portable. "You are taking a risk anytime you meet a stranger in a strange place," says Sgt. John Hoofer.

Four million dollars bring safe rooms to Kansas schools, protecting students from dangerous weather and tornadoes. The month is coming from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as part of its Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). The school districts that will receive funds for tornado safe rooms are:  El Dorado/Butler County Community College  Unified School District 402 (Augusta)  Unified School District 473 (Chapman)  Unified School District 609 (Southeast Kansas Education Service)

Time now for Eye on Your Money with Financial Advisor Bryce Matteson of the local office of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.  We ended up with an idea last week that leads to another today. That last idea on our checklist of what to do 100 days before retirement was to organize important papers and let family members know how to find them.  You can do that simply with something we call an emergency checklist. This is the most requested item I have offered here on Eye on Your Money and if you want one, we'll tell you how to get one free of charge in just a couple of minutes.

By Rebecca Gannon (WICHITA, Kan.) Hundreds showed up at another Wichita church Friday evening. While Dr. Tiller's murder brought them together, the purpose the meeting was bigger than one man. The faiths, like the languages, mingled at Wichita's First United Methodist Church Friday afternoon. "All of the faiths were coming together to pray for peace and reconciliation," said Moti Rieben of the Mid Kansas Jewish Federation. Sprinkled in the pews were followers of Catholicism, Judaism, Methodists and Baptists.

For the fourth weekend in a row Wichita's Old Town district is dealing with more gunfire.  Now business owners are speaking out, and say finding a solution is not easy. “We probably have to do something and work with the police department and come up with ideas,” says Melad Stephan, owner of Oeno Wine Bar and Sabor Latin Bar. He says Old Town has always been a safe place, and still is.  After the recent series of shootings he has to work harder to convince people of that.

Four million dollars bring safe rooms to Kansas schools, protecting students from dangerous weather and tornadoes. The month is coming from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as part of its Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). The school districts that will receive funds for tornado safe rooms are:  El Dorado/Butler County Community College  Unified School District 402 (Augusta)  Unified School District 473 (Chapman)  Unified School District 609 (Southeast Kansas Education Service)

The Kansas Lottery's Holiday Millionaire Raffle is officially sold out. The lottery office says ticket number 150,000 was sold at 5:28 p.m. on December 27. The $20 tickets went on sale on October 1. This is the second year for the raffle which has a grand prize of $1 million.  There are also five $50,000 prizes and 500 $500 prizes. Someone is currently holding a raffle ticket that will be worth $1 million on December 30, 2010 when the Kansas Lottery announces the winning numbers.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can cause someone to have difficulty coping with everyday life. It's usually caused by a traumatic event and for troops fighting in a war those types of events can be hard to escape. "In combat, we saw all sorts of things," Chaplain Major Cliff Short said. He treats people suffering from PTSD at McConnell Air Force Base. "People burned, people blown up, gun shot wounds, people who were barely alive. " Health care professionals at McConnell say it's important to prevent PTSD from effecting someone before going off to war. "If you know what may happen before you go into a situation," Lt. Col. Andrew Cruz explains, "that gives them a little bit of an understanding like 'hey this is normal, there's nothing wrong with me, I'm not crazy.

It appeared to be a safe place. In a parking lot, in the middle of the day. Saturday, police say a Wichita family selling their Playstation-portable on Craigslist met a potential buyer in a Taco Bueno parking lot. But instead of an exchange, a woman and two teenage boys were robbed at gunpoint. The suspect brought a briefcase with him and stole her purse, three cell phones and the Play station-portable. "You are taking a risk anytime you meet a stranger in a strange place," says Sgt. John Hoofer.

You may worry about your children and strangers, but statistics show kidnappings don't happen as often as you may think.      The United States Department of Justice reports kidnappings make up less than 2% of violent crimes against juveniles reported to police.      The National Crime Information Center estimates  kidnapping occurs to about 8 out of every 100,000 kids. New studies show it's okay to let your kids do things on      their own; researchers say it builds problem-solving skills and self-esteem.

By Denise Hnytka (WELLINGTON and WINFIELD, Kan) When the tornado sirens go off, most of us know to go to a safe place. But for many people, that's not as easy as going down to their basement. Now federal stimulus money helps build new shelters where they're needed, places like the Wheat Capitol Manor in Wellington. When you walk into the room, you may not even realize its a shelter. There's a colorful mural on the wall and quaint cafe chairs in the corner. But don't let the serene setting fool you. "I was told that if the building collapsed from this direction onto the storm shelter, and two semis hit it from both ways, it would be standing," explained Melissa Hamlin, Executive Director for the Wellington Housing Authority.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announces the largest crib recall in US history. It says cribs with drop down sides can be dangerous. 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs have been recalled.  The recall includes 147,000 Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. pictures of the crib where the cribs were sold A free repair kit is available.  It converts the drop-side of the crib to a fixed side. get a repair kit The CPSC says parents need to stop using the cribs until they fix the cribs with the repair kit.  They should find another safe place for babies to sleep until the repair is made.

By Rebecca Gannon (WICHITA, Kan.) Hundreds showed up at another Wichita church Friday evening. While Dr. Tiller's murder brought them together, the purpose the meeting was bigger than one man. The faiths, like the languages, mingled at Wichita's First United Methodist Church Friday afternoon. "All of the faiths were coming together to pray for peace and reconciliation," said Moti Rieben of the Mid Kansas Jewish Federation. Sprinkled in the pews were followers of Catholicism, Judaism, Methodists and Baptists.

Media Statement The Reformation Lutheran Church family is shocked and deeply saddened by the violent murder of Dr. George Tiller, a longtime member of our congregation, that occurred in our church home May 31. Our congregation strives to be a safe place for all people.  We deplore the violence that took place within the walls of our church.  Further, we reject any notion that violence against another human being is an acceptable way to resolve differences over any issue.