LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A 30-year-old Topeka man will serve at least 20 years in prison for his role in the death of a Lawrence man last year.
Archie Robinson was sentenced Thursday to life in prison with no chance of parole for 20 years in the March 2014 shooting death of 39-year-old Patrick Roberts. Prosecutors say Roberts was killed when Robinson and another man burst into his apartment to rob him of money and marijuana.
Before he was sentenced, Robinson said he was innocent of the crime.
His co-defendant, Dustin Walker, was found guilty in February of aggravated burglary, but the jury could not agree on the first-degree murder charge. His scheduled to be retried on that charge beginning May 4.
On the latest episode of Community Connection, Eagle’s Mike Cooper finds out what the “Roll Out the Rain Barrel” project is all about from Kansas State University Watershed Specialist Stacie Minson.
Potential buyers will get an opportunity today to take a tour of a home built by North Central Kansas Technical College students that is up for auction later this year.
Twelve NCK Tech Carpentry and Cabinetmaking students have been working for the last year on the nearly 2,000-square-foot home that will be auctioned off on Saturday, May 23 at 10 a.m.
Doug Marrs, NCK Tech Carpentry instructor, said this is the third home students have built on the campus and since they began building the homes, the program has grown from three students to 12.
The students begin the first semester by designing the layout of the house. Marrs said he gives them a list of features that must be included in the house. They then chose the best designs and begin construction.
“It allows the students to take more ownership of the house because it’s their house, it’s not mine,” Marrs said.
He said when the students come into they do not know how to design a house so he helps them come up with the best layout.
Once the design process is complete, the students frame the house, from the foundation to the peak of the roof, according to Marrs.
By the end of the semester, they will have the floor joist down, built to interior and exterior walls and installed the windows and doors.
The second semester, they will finish the inside of the house, including all of the cabinet work, also built by the students.
It all it takes about eight months for Marrs and the students to build the house.
Marrs said the NCK Tech campuses in Hays and Beloit are the only schools where students get a chance to do hands-on work of this nature.
He said it allows students to “apply this knowledge that they are gaining and put it into a practical aspect and they turn it around and physically build (the house.)”
At the open house, people will get a chance to look at the layout and the quality of workmanship of the home.
The carpentry program is a one-year program with the option of returning for a second year to go through a additional training.
The open house is Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the NCK Tech campus, located at 2205 Wheatland Ave.
While some forecasts called for up to 2 inches of rainfall from Thursday’s storm front, the bulk of the precipitation again missed Hays.
Early reports showed, however, that Ellis County received up to a quarter-inch of much-needed rain south of Hays. Heavier rain was west of Hays, with a report near the Ellis-Russell county line showing more than a half-inch inch in the gauge.
Just more than a half-inch was reported at the Logan-Thomas county line. Check Hays Post as additional precipitation reports as they become available.
Heavier rain was reported in south-central Kansas, where Stafford County saw a report of more than 4 inches of rain.
The storm did produce large hail and tornadoes in far western Kansas, with reports of funnel clouds in Greeley and Hamilton counties.
More rainfall could arrive Friday, as forecasts call for a 60 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Gov. Sam Brownback has signed a bill authorizing $1 billion in bonds to bolster Kansas’ pension system for teachers and government workers.
The bill that Brownback signed Wednesday will give the pension system an infusion of cash and narrow a gap in funding for pension benefits. The state expects to earn more from investing the new funds than it would pay on the bonds.
But some lawmakers have expressed concerns that it could be risky and the votes to pass it in the Legislature were relatively close.
Democratic Sen. Laura Kelly from Topeka has said she believes the state was made the move in order to lower its annual pension payments as it faces budget shortfalls of nearly $600 million in the fiscal year beginning July 1.
Sixteen students from the Institute of Applied Technology at Fort Hays State University earned top honors at the recent International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA) 77th Annual Conference held in Milwaukee, Wis.
The students placed second in the live manufacturing and live robotics competitions coordinated by the Technology and Engineering Education Collegiate Association (TEECA) in conjunction with the conference.
In total, 15 universities were represented at the conference. The FHSU teams competed in the Live Manufacturing, Live Robotics, Live Commutations, Educational Display, Technology Challenge, Transportation and Problem Solving competitions.
“The FHSU/TEECA Organization had a great showing at this year’s national conference in Milwaukee. The TEECA students placed in several contests, including two national runner-up finishes,” said Eric Deneault, assistant professor of applied technology.
In the manufacturing competition, students designed, documented and implemented a continuous manufacturing system. Participants were judged according to their pre-production process, documentation and the overall quality of the final project.
“The live manufacturing team designed a production run and manufactured a reciprocating departmental promotional mechanism,” said Kim Stewart, executive director of the Institute of Applied Technology.
Parts for the mechanism were designed, anodized, 3D printed and laser cut on the FHSU campus prior to the conference. The production was completed “live” in Milwaukee. Deneault said FHSU’s mechanism was “by far the best product there.”
The final product was a type of fast-return actuator — a center dial spins and moves the lever. Stewart called the FHSU product a “show stopper.”
“Our team had an opportunity to interact with conference attendees and explain their processes and product. It was very rewarding seeing our students command the attention of the room in such a professional way,” said Stewart.
In the robotics competition, teams of students are tasked with designing and building a robot using parts from VEX Robotics Inc., Greenville, Texas. The students are given the challenge three to six months in advance. In that time, they use VEX parts to engineer their robot, which is designed to be driven two ways, autonomously and user-controlled.
This year’s challenge required students to build a robot capable of stacking yellow pegs on top of one another and then stacking blue cubes over the pegs. Students were free to design the robot however they wanted, but the robot was restricted to a starting size 18-inch cube that could grow to any size through the duration of the competition.
The final score was based on the robot itself and the project documentation.
“The robotics team was comprised of first-year freshmen who exceeded all my expectations for this competition,” said Deneault. “They will be a force to be reckoned with next year in this competition.”
Robotics equipment for the FHSU team was made available with an equipment fund grant from the Student Government Association.
TEECA is a pre-professional organization for college students interested in applied technology. The Milwaukee conference offered seven different competitions, each with an industry sponsor offering a $750 scholarship award to the winning team. Competitions include a variety of applied technology subjects, ranging from manufacturing to robotics. The competitions allow students to increase their experience, skill sets, and expand on networking opportunities.
TRIBUNE -There was no significant damage or injuries reported from the Thursday evening storms that rolled across the state.
Law enforcement and the National Weather Service reported tornadoes touched down in rural areas of Greeley and Hamilton Counties. The Hamilton County Sheriff’s office said they were fortunate the funnel cloud was only on the ground for a short time.
Widespread hail, from quarter to golf ball size, was reported from Kiowa and Edwards Counties to areas across north central Kansas.
Small hail covered the streets in Garden City on Thursday afternoon. The Finney County sheriff’s office reported the hail was small, the storm was brief and there was no damage.
Eastern Russell County reported .42 inches of rain. Portions of northern McPherson County had just over an inch of rain. Southwest Reno County had a report of 1.39 inches.
Check the post for additional rainfall totals as they become available.
Severe thunderstorms are expected to develop along and ahead of a dryline by afternoon and last into the evening. Large hail, up to golf ball size and damaging winds, are the main threat. A red flag warning is also in effect for parts of far southwest Kanas behind the dryline.
Today Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2pm. Some of the storms could be severe. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70. East southeast wind 8 to 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Tonight Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 4am. Some of the storms could be severe. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. East wind 8 to 13 mph becoming light south southeast after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
SaturdayA 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 7am. Partly sunny, with a high near 72. East northeast wind 9 to 15 mph becoming south southeast in the morning.
Saturday NightA 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. East southeast wind 8 to 11 mph becoming north northeast after midnight.
SundayA chance of showers, mainly before 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62. Windy, with a north wind 15 to 20 mph increasing to 21 to 26 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 36 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has asked a federal court to temporarily block the Quapaw Tribe from expanding its Downstream Casino in Oklahoma into southeast Kansas.
The request for a preliminary injunction filed Thursday contends the state will suffer irreparable harm if the tribe’s casino goes forward. It notes the tribe has already moved in construction equipment.
The state says it is considering proposals for a southeast gaming casino and the tribe’s competition lowers the value of the state’s facility.
Kansas contends the tribe misled the state and Bureau of Indian Affairs. It challenges a National Indian Gaming Commission decision to allow gambling on Cherokee County land now being used as a parking lot.
The tribe pulled out of a partnership with a proposed casino north of Pittsburg after the federal lawsuit was filed.
FHSU Sports Information
Fort Hays State Baseball’s final home series of the season has been moved to just Saturday and Sunday (Apr. 18-19) due to the forecasted weather in Hays this weekend.
The teams will now play two doubleheaders. Saturday’s doubleheader will begin at 2 pm, while Sunday’s doubleheader will begin at 1 pm.
Keep an eye on fhsuathletics.com for updates, should inclement weather cause further adjustments.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Kennys Vargas and Kurt Suzuki each hit a two-run homer, powering the Minnesota Twins past the Kansas City Royals 8-5 Thursday for their first series win this season.
Tommy Milone (2-0) picked up his second straight victory for the Twins, recovering from a rough start to log 5 1-3 innings.
Lorenzo Cain put the Royals in front with his two-run shot in the first inning, but starter Jason Vargas (1-1) was shelled. He gave up 10 hits and a walk, failing to get an out in the fourth and leaving with a 5-3 deficit.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – Kansas guard Brannen Greene had surgery Thursday to repair a torn labrum in his hip, and the extensive recovery will cause him to miss the World University Games in July.
The Jayhawks are serving as Team USA for the tournament in Gwangju, South Korea.
Greene’s surgery was performed by Dr. J.W. Thomas Byrd in Nashville, Tennessee. Greene will be on crutches for about eight weeks and will not return to the court for about five months.
That still puts him on pace to be ready for his junior season.
Greene started two of 35 games for Kansas last season, averaging 5.7 points. He shot 40.4 percent from beyond the arc, and went 5 for 5 from 3-point range while scoring a career-best 19 points in a 75-70 victory at Georgetown in December.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – A Topeka man charged as an accomplice in an alleged Fort Riley suicide bombing plot will be released to his parents’ custody.
A judge decided Thursday to release Alexander Blair. That is expected to happen by Monday. Blair’s attorney Christopher Joseph had argued that his client was not a flight risk because he had little money and no car, and said he had fully cooperated with the investigation.
John T. Booker Jr. was arrested in an FBI sting operation Friday as he attempted to arm what he thought was a 1,000 pound bomb outside Fort Riley.
Blair was arrested shortly thereafter and is charged with allegedly lending money to Booker as a part of a plan. Prosecutors allege he had full knowledge of the plot and didn’t inform the authorities.
