Rep. Nancy Boyda (D) !(Joplin Globe) Boyda fields Medicare questions in southeast Kansas: Marjorie Fields, Galena, was among the 50 or so older Kansas residents who traveled to the Columbus Community Center on Wednesday for a Medicare enrollment forum with U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Kan. Fields said after the meeting that she didn’t hear anything at the forum that she didn’t already know. She said she doesn’t seem to qualify for any type of assistance. “I’ve been through it, and I’m not happy with it at all,” she said of her experience with the drug plan. Boyda said many seniors are happy with their prescription plan, but she also has heard from many who are not. “I need to hear what’s actually working on the ground and what’s not working,” she said. Sen. Pat Roberts (R)!(AP) Former Topeka congressman won’t take on Roberts in Senate race: Former congressman Jim Slattery says he won’t take on Kansas Republican Pat Roberts in next year’s U.S. Senate race. Slattery, a Democrat who represented the Topeka area 12 years in the 1980s and early 1990s, had spent the past three months considering a bid. He was considered the best hope that Democrats had to challenge the popular two-term senator. Slattery currently works as a lawyer and lobbyist in Washington. He did not explain why he decided against running, but raising enough money could be a factor. Roberts already has more than $2 million in the bank. No other Democrats have stepped forward to run for the Senate.Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R) !(Wichita Eagle, by Carrie Rengers) Columnist: Tiahrt staffer to become hotel manager: In a heartfelt letter e-mailed Wednesday to “friends, family and all of those I have met or worked with over the past seven years,” Chuck Knapp announced his resignation as communications director for U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt. R-Goddard. That wasn’t the surprising part. The jaw-dropping part is that Knapp, who has worked in politics for 17 years, is leaving to manage the new Holiday Inn Express in Andover. “Well, I’ve seen all of those commercials about how much smarter you become,” he jokes about the hotel chain’s advertisements. Knapp knows his decision is surprising. “When I tell people I’m leaving my job to go manage a hotel, they’re not sure if I’m joking or not,” he says.