WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Firefighters in Wichita believe a car in a driveway caused a fire that damaged two homes.
KAKE-TV reports that the fire broke out around 1:15 a.m. Friday on a street near West Shopping Center. Five people were inside the home with the most damage, but a mother was able to get everyone out safely.
Fire Capt. Derek Pierce says the car had been recently repaired. It apparently caught fire and the blaze eventually engulfed both homes.
Damage to the second home was apparently limited to melted siding.
HONOLULU (AP) – Kethan Savage sparked a late rally and scored 12 points to lead George Washington to a 60-54 upset over No. 11 Wichita State in the final of the Diamond Head Classic on Thursday night.
The Colonials (9-3) won their first in-season tournament since they knocked off Michigan State and Maryland in the 2004 BB&T Classic.
They trailed 50-43 with just under 7 minutes remaining when Savage twice swatted away a pass down the court and recovered the ball for a layup. Yuta Watanabe put the Colonials ahead for good with a 3-pointer with 3:32 remaining.
The Shockers (10-2) made only one field goal over the last 6 minutes. Fred VanVleet led Wichita State with 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting. The Shockers shot 34 percent for the game.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka man sentenced to more than 55 years in prison for killing a man is getting a new trial.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that 47-year-old Stephen Alan Macomber will be retried for the 2010 killing of Ryan Lofton. Lofton was shot during a dispute on a Topeka driveway.
The Kansas Court of Appeals reversed Macomber’s earlier conviction, ruling the trial court incorrectly allowed evidence about his prior convictions. The new trial starts March 9.
As he did the first time, Macomber will represent himself. A Topeka attorney will be his standby attorney.
Authorities have said that after Macomber shot Lofton, he shot and wounded a Marshall County deputy during a traffic stop in Blue Rapids, then held an elderly woman hostage during a police standoff.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Sorghum is traditionally thought of as a fodder plant, but there is a growing movement of food-grade sorghum.
The Hutchinson News reports that for the past three years at elevators in Brenham, Kansas, farmers have hauled in loads of food-grade sorghum. It is one of a few locations across Kansas taking in largely a white sorghum that is good for milling into flour.
Bobby Martin, general manager of Southern Plans Co-op, says the first year, about 12,000 bushels of white sorghum were binned at Brenham. Last year, it surpassed 100,000 bushels, and this year will reach that number, if not top it.
Brilliant, fun, a critical thinker, happy, and even a little difficult sometimes.
Those are just a few words Christie Brungardt uses to describe her late daughter, Jana Mackey. On July 3, 2008, the world lost that brilliant, fun, and happy girl in an act of domestic violence when Mackey was killed by an ex-boyfriend.
While the tragedy stung the Hays family, approximately a year and a half later, they decided to do something about it with the creation of Jana’s Campaign. The advocacy group, which has reached 19 states and hundreds of thousands of individuals, recently reached its five-year anniversary.
“When we started this thing, we didn’t know exactly what we were going to be doing, but we knew we had to do something,” Curt Brungardt said. “We knew we had a lot of learning to do and if we waited until we knew everything, we wouldn’t ever get started, so we came up with the strategy to learn and adapt.”
Curt and Christie Brungardt
The Brungardts announced the creation of Jana’s Campaign on Dec. 10, 2009, but Jana was working on the issue long before her death. Before that fateful day, she graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in Woman’s Studies and spent time in Topeka and Washington lobbying for legislation aimed at issues related to domestic violence. After Jana’s death, the Brungardts ended up using this as a calling to help defeat gender-based violence.
“Because of who (Jana) was, we knew we had to do something,” said Curt Brungardt. “Jana’s story makes it personal. If people can relate to a person, story or a face, we believe people will be much more responsive.”
Since its inception, the campaign has reached out to thousands of people in 19 states. The campaign has also supported initiatives such as Walk A Mile In Her Shoes, Jana’s Closet, the Hays Arts Council and Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services. They now have a board of directors and a staff, and are recognized as an official non-profit. Even though their work has touched many victims of gender-based violence, the Brungardts say their goal is to prevent it from happening in the first place.
“Historically, people have just thought about taking care of the victims,” said Christie Brungardt. “As important and critical as that is, there hasn’t been a lot of work in the area of prevention and education, so that’s what we’ve really focused on.
“It’s what we do and it’s what we believe is going to have to happen much more often if we want to eradicate gender-based violence.”
The Brungardts admit they did not believe the work of the campaign would grow to the point it has and attribute a large part of that success to the Hays community.
“People are recognizing how important this prevention and education work is and we’re so appreciative to this community here in Hays,” said Christie Brungardt.
“We were also so surprised with how much of a role the university has played in this,” Curt Brungardt added. “Our supervisors have been very supportive of our efforts, and they see it as an extension of our service-learning programming.”
As leadership instructors at Fort Hays State University, both Curt and Christie said they would be “hypocritical” if they didn’t do something about it after Jana’s death. The leadership classes at FHSU focus on service learning, where students help local and statewide non-profits with issues and programming.
“We both tell young people if something goes wrong in their home, school or community, they have an obligation to go do something about it and try to make that better,” said Christie Brungardt. “We both believed that we would be so hypocritical if something like this happened and we didn’t do something.”
As the organization continues to grow and educate others, the Brungardts hope their movement can grow to a national level.
“My goal is that we can build an organization that can work without Curt and Christie,” said Curt Brungardt. “Several organizations dwindle down once their founders run out of energy. It is my hope that when we retire, we can watch this organization from a distance.
“That is my deep desire–to build something that is powerful, impactful–and that Jana’s story moves beyond us. I hope we can sit back in rocking chairs and smile.”
Jana’s Campaign recently began a “Love Doesn’t Hurt”, a campaign for middle and high schoolers about the dangers of domestic violence.
TOPEKA — News that federal and state health officials are studying a new virus linked to the death of a Bourbon County resident caused little stir in the county Tuesday. But that could change once ticks return to the county’s woods and prairies.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced Monday it had joined the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in investigating the “Bourbon virus” that contributed to the death of a Bourbon County man last summer. The man died with symptoms like fever and fatigue common to other tick-borne illnesses, and state and federal health officials believe the new virus also is transmitted through the bites of ticks or other insects.
In a video posted by the University of Kansas Hospital, infectious disease specialist Dana Hawkinson said the virus is unlike anything ever seen in Kansas or even the United States.
“Its genome is similar to viruses that have been found in Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia, but no virus like that has ever been identified in the Western Hemisphere,” he said. “Those other viruses that it seems to be related to, there are very few cases reported to cause illness in humans and animals. Certainly nothing as we have seen here.”
Hawkinson said he and his team had few answers as the Bourbon County resident’s health declined.
“That caused a lot of frustration for myself and the other medical personnel caring for him because we just couldn’t answer questions to the family, and to ourselves, as to why this was happening to this gentleman,” he said.
It is not known if Bourbon virus was the cause of death or how much it contributed to the resident’s death, according to KDHE.
Without more cases to study, Hawkinson said it would be impossible to say if the illness is always that severe or if there are milder cases.
There are more than a dozen tick-borne illnesses identified in the United States, including Heartland virus, which was found in Missouri last spring.
The case history of the Bourbon County man who died has been reviewed. Now that the CDC has developed a blood test to confirm Bourbon virus, there are plans to test other residents with similar symptoms who also tested negative for the Heartland virus in the past year.
Investigators also will be testing ticks and other insects for the new virus.
A diagnosis, while a first step, does not provide many treatment options, Hawkinson said.
“There’s essentially no treatment available for a lot of our viral illnesses,” he said.
He and state officials encouraged prevention, including wearing long pants and sleeves and using insect repellent with DEET when in wooded or brushy areas. When returning from those areas, Kansans are encouraged to check themselves for ticks promptly.
In addition to symptoms such as fever and fatigue, those infected with Bourbon virus may experience muscle aches and severe appetite suppression that is akin to anorexia, Hawkinson said.
“They just don’t feel like eating,” he said.
Hawkinson said April to September is the usual timeline for tick season in Kansas, but in recent years warm weather has extended the season. The past two years, the Kansas Department for Wildlife, Parks and Tourism has disseminated tick warnings starting in April and May.
News of the Bourbon virus quickly spread to national websites in the United States and United Kingdom.
But in Bourbon County, with Christmas coming and the ticks long gone, all was quiet.
An employee at the Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department’s Fort Scott office said Tuesday she had received no calls about the virus from county residents.
Mary Winn, an infection prevention nurse at Mercy Hospital in Fort Scott, said she had not received any calls from concerned residents either, but that may change once the weather warms.
“Another tick-borne virus is worrisome, not only to health care providers but the population at large, because we are rural and people are out and about,” Winn said. “Farming and ranching is their business. It’s their livelihood.”
Andy Marso is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A tower at Kansas State University will be used in a 30-year-long project with the National Science Foundation.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the 26-foot tower at the Konza Prairie Biological Station in the spring will begin collecting data for the climate research project.
The $430-million project with the National Ecological Observatory Network project will collect information from more than 100 sites across the country.
Data from the project will be provided free to the public.
The Kansas State University tower will gather data on climate change, land use change and invasive species.
Crews in Kansas will study small mammals, mosquitoes, plants and soil.
Researchers also will focus on the spread of the hantavirus by deer mice and transmission of West Nile virus by mosquitoes.
Thomas More Prep Marian is discontinuing its dorm program next year.
Development Director Jeff Brull described the change as “unfortunate, but necessary, because the Catholic school can’t keep up financially with the maintenance needs of the high school boys and girls dorms.”
Instead, TMP is partnering with Nacel Open Door, a non-profit organization which places foreign students with American host families.
“We’re very fortunate in already having about 20 host families coming forward and saying they’ll host a student in their homes,” Brull said.
“We currently average between 50 and 60 boarders each year and we anticipate that might drop between 20 and 30 students.
“A lot of the kids have been at TMP for a year or two, and they love the school and the atmosphere, love the teachers, and they’ve decided they want to finish their schooling at TMP. Some of them have younger siblings who’ve said they also want to come to Hays and attend TMP.
“I think the issue is going to be not a lack of students interested in attending a host family school, but a need for more host families, and we do hope we’ll be getting a few more so we can maximize the number of students.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity for both the students and the families–the best way to learn a new language and new culture is to live with a local family.”
TMP-Marian High School will not renew its lease with the Hadley Center where resident girls are housed this academic year.
The female TMP boarders were temporarily moved into the Hadley Center this fall after the girls dorm was found to have major electrical deficiencies. Brull said that 10-month lease will not be renewed.
Anyone interested in becoming a host family for a TMP Marian student should contact Admissions Director Angie Roth at [email protected] or call (785)-625-6577.
Brull said financial compensation is available to families who meet the requirements.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Traffic-related fatalities and injuries in Kansas are up on roads with newly increased 75 mph speed limits.
The Kansas City Star reports numbers from the state’s transportation department show a 54 percent increase in highways deaths on those roads since the speed limit was raised. The number of crashes overall have been steady.
Injuries are up about 13 percent compared with the two years before the new speed limit went into effect in 2011.
Highways affected include I-135 north out of Wichita, and rural patches of I-35, I-70, U.S. 69 and I-470 near Topeka.
An Insurance Institute for Highway Safety spokesman says higher limits often lead to more accidents.
But state transportation officials say it’s too early to draw conclusions.
ANTHONY, Kan. (AP) — Kansas growers have been harvesting bumper crops of cotton this season. That is giving a boost in the state to a crop touted for its good profit margin and low water use.
The Hutchinson News reports that the uptick in yields is a positive sign for a crop that has been struggling to regain acreage since it spiked at more than 115,000 acres in 2006. Kansas has four cotton gins.
The Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service estimates cotton production in Kansas at 52,000 bales, up 27 percent from a year ago.
Cotton acres harvested in 2014 will be up 12 percent, with 29,000 acres cut. The average yield is forecast at a record 861 pounds per acre, or about 104 pounds per acre more than a year ago.
Timothy Lee “Tim” Taylor, age 34, of Ellis passed away Tuesday, December 23, 2014 at Hays Medical Center. He was born September 25, 1979 in Lexington, Nebraska to Charles James and Myrtis Kathleen (Titus) Taylor.
Tim was currently the Kitchen Manager at Casey’s General Store in Ellis. He was an artist enjoying drawing and animals especially his dog Misky.
Tim is survived by his parents of Ellis; a sister, Jemie Lemman and husband Charles of Ellis; nieces and nephews, Alaysia and Caleb Werteaberger, Dusty, Bailey and Hunter Lepper, Austin and Kendra Lemman; a great nephew, Aiden Werteaberger and his grandfathers, John Haver Taylor of Orleans, Nebraska and Thomas Lee Titus of Cozad, Nebraska.
He was preceded in death by his grandmothers, Karoline Taylor and Zelma Ilene Titus.
Funeral services will be 10:30 AM on Monday, December 29, 2014 at Christ Lutheran Church in Ellis. Burial will follow services in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Ellis.
Visitation will be Sunday4 PM – 8 PM at Keithley Funeral Chapel 400 E. 17th Ellis, KS 67637 and Monday 9:30 AM until service time at the church.
Memorial contributions are suggested to be used according to the wishes of the family.
Condolences may be sent by guest book to www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com or emailed to [email protected].
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Firefighters in Wichita believe a car in a driveway caused a fire that damaged two homes.
