A defendant who was being sentenced in a child molestation case attacked District Attorney Keith Schroeder Wednesday afternoon in a Reno County Court room.
At around 2pm, 27 year old Michael W. Sherman was being sentenced in District Court Div 2 by Judge Buck Lyle.
Sherman was being sentenced on 1 count of Aggravated Criminal Sodomy on a child less than 14. Judge Lyle had just sentenced Sherman to 25 years to Life under Jessica’s Law. Sherman, with his attorney Kelly Driscoll, was standing at the defense table and Judge Lyle instructed them to sit down.
Reno Co Jail Deputy Lance Francis stepped away from Sherman so he could sit down at which time Sherman lunged 3 -5 feet, jumping on top of Prosecutor Keith Shroeder who was sitting at the prosecution table. Sherman, who was restrained in leg irons and belly chain, was immediately subdued by Jailer Francis, Judge Lyle and KBI Agent Jeff Newsum who had been in Judge Tim Chambers Office and heard the commotion.
Schroeder received a slight abrasion to his forehead during the attack.
Sherman was taken back to the Reno Co Jail and reports will be sent to the Kansas Attorney Generals Office for charges.
Police are investigating a theft at the John Deere dealer in Hays. According to Lt. Ron Rounkles, “An aluminum lawnmower trailer was stolen from the Carrico lot
Photo provided by Hays Police Department
last month. The trailer is approximately 77 inches wide by 12 feet long.
A newly formed citizens group in WaKeeney is hosting a public meeting Thursday evening to talk about financial issues affecting the county-owned hospital and nursing home.
The meeting, organized by “Community Coalition,” will start at 7:30p.m. at Western Electric Cooperative.
Trego County Lemke Memorial Hospital has struggled with a financial deficit, although representatives reported a return to profitability during Monday’s county commission meeting.
Trego County has issued nearly $1.8 million in no-fund warrants and voters approved a one-percent sales tax to help reduce the hospital’s budget deficit.
The county also contributes $50,000 a year to the Trego Manor nursing home.
Clint Black is in a romantic mood on his new album, When I Said I Do, coming exclusively to Cracker Barrel Old Country Store August 5. The project features three brand-new songs as well as Clint’s duet with his wife, Lisa Hartman Black, on the previously released title track. Clint’s other hit love songs, including “Something That We Do,” “Like the Rain” and “One Emotion,” round out the 14-track release.
He says, “It’s exciting to have new music available for the fans. I hope listeners love the new songs and enjoy rediscovering the ones we’ve previously released.”
Fans can also purchase When I Said I Do at CrackerBarrel.com and select digital outlets.
(AP) — Pork prices could rise in the next few months because of a virus that has migrated to the U.S., killing piglets in 15 states at an alarming rate in facilities where it has been reported.
Colorado Department of Agriculture official Dr. Nick Striegel says the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus was thought to exist only in Europe and China.
Colorado and 14 other states began reporting the virus in April, and officials have confirmed its presence in about 200 hog facilities around the nation.
Striegel says it’s unclear how many pigs have died from the virus that causes severe diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration, but it has been devastating for pork producers where it has been diagnosed.
He says the disease is not harmful to humans and there is no evidence that it affects pork products.
The virus has been confirmed in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Dakot
(AP) — The Kansas Department of Education wants to study a proposal to make it easier for out-of-state teachers to become licensed in Kansas.
A national organization of state education agency officials issued a report listing 10 recommendations for how states could improve the teaching profession. One of those calls for allowing reciprocity across state lines.
That organization is now making grants available to states to study implementing the recommendations.
Kansas Education Commissioner Diane DeBacker says the education department is applying for one of those grants. She says the grant application would not commit the state to changing any of its licensing regulations.
(AP) — Wichita police arrested a 26-year-old woman after she left her three young children in the car alone on a day when the heat index reached 110 degrees.
A bystander called police Tuesday after noticing the children in the car for six to seven minutes with the windows rolled down. The mother left a 6-year-old girl and boys ages 3 and 1 while she went into a nearby business.
The children were placed with relatives.
The temperature reached 107 in Wichita Tuesday, the hottest day in the city so far this year.
On July 1, Greg Schwartz was elected by fellow board members to serve as president of the USD 489 board of directors. Since then, two members of USD 489
USD 489 School Board President Greg Schwartz
Administration have announced their retirement. Superintendent Will Roth will leave on October 1, and Deputy Superintendent Richard Cain will be leaving September 1.
Schwartz told Hays Post today, “As for Dr. Roth, the board in fact did ask for him to move up his retirement date and he did that. I cannot go into any details as far as why that happened or the timeline of that.
As to Richard Cain, the board had no involvement in that. I received a call from Will Roth at 11:30 a.m. (Tuesday). He advised that he had received Richard Cain’s letter of resignation. He inquired as to whether, as board president, I wanted this added to the agenda next week or announce it at a later date. I advised that we needed to go ahead and put it on the agenda as we do anything else.
In my discussion with him (Roth), he indicated that Mr. Cain had been contemplating this for 3 or 4 months. That was the only thing, I had not seen his letter of resignation. I do understand that there is a letter but I have not seen it at this time.”
Are there other USD 489 administrators who will also be announcing retirement plans?
“There are no plans that I’m aware of or any others going to resign or has the board asked for any other resignations.”
What is the next step for the School Board and the District going forward?
“Well, we’re going to have to look at filling those positions. My understanding is that the board is going to look at interviewing and exploring the option of a search firm to assist in finding the full time replacement of the superintendent.
I sent a request to Will today requesting that that this item be placed on the work session a week from Monday (July 22) and to provide me the information of the names we had considered previously when we replaced Fred Kaufman.
At that time we explored the option of using an outside firm. There were three of them. One was the Kansas Association of School Boards (KASB.) I want to contact them to get some information on what our options are. I have spoken to KASB about assisting in finding an interim Superintendent. I will be presenting that information to the board at a later date.
I assume the board will discuss at Monday’s meeting the Richard Cain resignation and how the board wishes to go forward in filling or handling that position.
On the timeline to fill the Interim Superintendent’s position.
We don’t have any timeline but personally I hope we do it sooner rather than later. What KASB does is they have a pool of resumes and they are going to search those and find those that they think meet our needs. We can explore all of our options in and outside the district and then decide which way we want to go.
RandyTravis‘s condition has stabilized and he is showing signs of improvement, according to a statement from his physicians, Dr. William Gray and Dr. Michael Mack, at The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano in Plano, TX.
Travis was admitted to Baylor Medical Center in McKinney, TX last Sunday after suffering from a viral upper respiratory illness for about three weeks. Doctors subsequently diagnosed him with presumptive viral cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure. Cardiomyopathy is a weakening of the heart muscle.
After doctors installed a device to help Travis’s heart pump blood more efficiently, the 54-year-old singer was transferred from McKinney to Plano for a higher level of specialized care.
The physicians also thanked Travis’s fans for their support and affection.
Apple, Inc., has been found liable for violating antitrust laws by conspiring with major U.S. publishers to fix the prices of e-books, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced today.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that Apple “played a central role in facilitating and executing” the conspiracy to raise e-book prices, and that Apple’s orchestration of the conspiracy was necessary to its success. The case against Apple was brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and 33 states, including Kansas.
“Kansas pursued this case because the evidence showed that Apple had violated the law, resulting in Kansas consumers paying more for e-books than they would have paid in a competitive marketplace,” Schmidt said. “Protecting Kansas consumers from unlawful business practices is one of our priorities at the attorney general’s office.”
At trial, the states and the federal government demonstrated that Apple and its executives were unwilling to compete on price with other retailers of e-books, and instead conspired with the publishers to fix and raise prices. The next phase of the litigation will focus on recovery of damages for consumers harmed by the conspiracy.
The publishers, Hachette Book Group, Inc.; HarperCollins Publishers, LLC; Simon & Schuster, Inc.; Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC, d/b/a Macmillan; and Penguin Group (USA), Inc., had settled the states’ claims against them prior to trial, resulting in consumers nationwide receiving over $166 million in compensation.
Scotty McCreery has been hit with a lawsuit by a music industry veteran who says he served as Scotty’s manager but was never paid.
In a suit filed in Chancery Court in Nashville last week, Todd Cassetty says that he served as McCreery’s manager from October 2012 to April 2013, during which time he was promised the industry standard 15-20 percent of McCreery’s gross earnings. But he alleges that he was never paid.
Furthermore, he claims that when he severed ties with McCreery, Scotty’s mother, Judy, stepped in and changed the terms of the prior deal, offering only two percent of gross revenues for the period.
Cassetty and McCreery never memorialized their agreement in writing — although Cassetty’s complaint cites e-mails hashing out the specifics and notes that last November McCreery approved a press release announcing Cassetty as his “exclusive manager.”
The suit accuses Scotty, his mom and his management company with breach of contract, “unjust enrichment” and fraud. Cassetty is seeking actual and punitive damages from McCreery as well as payment of his legal costs.
McCreery claims there is no truth to these allegations, calling them “an attempt to embarrass me and my family.”
The singer says in a statement, “I have offered to pay Todd more than once, but he wanted an unreasonable amount for only five months of work. Anyone who knows me knows how I conduct myself, so I am not worried they will believe any of this.”
McCreery adds, “The facts will come out when we have our day in court.”
Applications for permits to carry concealed weapons in Kansas set a record in the fiscal year ending June 30, more than doubling the record set in the previous year.
Attorney General Derek Schmidt says Wednesday that 25,340 applications for permits were filed with the state between July 1, 2012 and June 30. The old mark was 12,408 applications in the fiscal year 2012.
Kansas has been issuing permits since 2007 with 63,455 active licenses in the state as of July 1, an increase of nearly 20,000 from the previous year.
New changes taking effect July 1 expand the number of public places where concealed guns are permitted, including state and municipal buildings, unless adequate safety measures such as guards and metal detectors are installed.
