KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Two 34-year-old men have been accused in the death of a 33-year-old Kansas City, Kansas, woman 17 years ago.

Wyandotte County District Attorney Jerome filed charges Thursday against Jason Lanell Rucker of Kansas City, Kansas, and Torry Mashone Johnson, currently incarcerated in the Crossroads Correctional Center in Cameron, Missouri.

The two were charged in the Juvenile Division of Wyandotte County District Court with first-degree murder in the October 1997 death of Vicky Ernst inside her home.

Rucker was 17 and Johnson was 16 at the time of Ernst’s death. Gorman says the charges came after police followed up on newly developed leads.

Johnson is being held in Wyandotte County jail on $1 million bond.

Neither man had obtained an attorney Thursday afternoon.

MERRIAM – A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just after 9:30 p.m. on Thursday in Johnson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2000 Honda Accord driven by Ladeesha Katrice Brown, 24, Kansas City, was northbound on Interstate 35 at 75th Street when a large piece of cardboard flew up onto the windshield and blocked the driver’s view.

The driver steered into and hit the concrete barrier wall.

Brown was transported to Shawnee Mission Medical Center.

The KHP reported she was properly restrained at the time of the accident.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has once again refused to dismiss charges against a man accused of a suicide bomb plot at a Wichita airport just because the explosives used in the undercover sting were fake.

Terry Loewen was arrested in December 2013 when the former avionics technician allegedly tried to bring a van filled with inert explosives onto the tarmac at Mid-Continent Airport. He is charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, attempting to use an explosive device to damage property and attempting to give material support to al-Qaida

U.S. District Judge Monti Belot on Thursday denied a motion to reconsider his decision refusing to toss out the bomb-related charges.

Defense attorneys argued that because the explosives were inert their client could not have committed the crimes. Belot disagreed.

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — Fort Leavenworth is holding a disaster response exercise April 14.

The Army post announced Thursday that it will conduct a full-scale training exercise for soldiers stationed there simulating a response to a train derailment. The drill will evaluate the base’s readiness to respond to a derailment that causes a dangerous chemical spill.

It will also test the Army’s standard operating procedures in response to such an incident.

The fort said in a statement that the exercise will have minimal impact on daily activities at the facility.

About 6,000 military personnel are stationed at Fort Leavenworth. It is the oldest continuously operating regular army base west of the Mississippi River.

It also houses the Army Combined Arms Center, a leadership training academy for both military and civilian students.

By KHI NEWS SERVICE

The National Committee on Quality Assurance recently recognized three Via Christi Clinic patient-centered medical home pilot sites with its top rating.

The Via Christi Clinic in Newton and two Wichita sites — Via Christi Clinic on West 21st and Via Christi Clinic at 21st and Reflection Ridge — received three-year designations as Level 3 patient-centered medical home facilities last month.

The committee’s assessment is one of the most widely used national quality evaluation and recognition programs in the U.S. health care system.

Level 3 is the highest recognition that it awards. The medical home approach, which is being expanded throughout Via Christi, provides patients with more coordinated medical care, increased access to preventive services and better management of chronic diseases.

“Recognition of the medical homes is important because it gives more than 100 clinicians and staff members validation of their incredibly hard work,” said Dr. Terry L. Mills, who practices at the Newton clinic and has overseen the pilot project.

“They have been crucial in transforming these clinics from typical practices to high-functioning medical homes.” Primary care physicians like Mills lead care teams that include advanced practice professionals, care coordinators and clinical pharmacists to help patients better manage chronic illnesses.

Via Christi said its patient-centered medical home model has reduced the annual cost of care for patients in the pilot project by 11.9 percent, avoidable emergency room visits by 31.5 percent and inpatient hospital costs by 17.3 percent.

Changes at the pilot sites included adding care coordinators to manage patients’ transitional care, sharing a pharmacist trained in outpatient care, establishing patient advisory councils and relocating patient service representatives in the clinics to better connect with care teams.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is asking the state’s highest court to invalidate a new, voter-approved ordinance in Wichita lessening criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana.

Schmidt filed a petition Thursday with the Kansas Supreme Court. He warned city officials last month that the ordinance would conflict with state law and said it could not be enforced.

His action came a day after the city filed a lawsuit in Sedgwick County District Court, asking for a ruling on whether the ordinance is valid. Voters approved the measure Tuesday.

The ordinance imposes no more than a $50 fine for first-time possession of a small amount of pot. State law deems it a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

EUREKA – Two people were injured in an accident just after 10:30 a.m. on Thursday in Greenwood County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1994 Chevy 1500 driven by Clifford l. Jones, 89, Sevrey, was southbound at the U.S. 400 and Kansas 99 South Junction.

The vehicle failed to stop at the stop sign.

A 2007 Chevy Silverado driven by James W. Hutchinson, 71, Wichita, was eastbound on U.S. 400 and collided with the 1500 on the passenger side.

Jones and a passenger in the 1500 Elizabeth Hutchinson, 71, Wichita, were transported to Eureka Hospital.

The KHP reported all were properly restrained at the time of the accident.

LISA RATHKE, Associated Press

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A judge has rejected a proposed settlement between Northeastern U.S. farmers and the Dairy Farmers of America over an alleged effort to drive down prices paid to farmers.

U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss opposed the $50 million settlement because of opposition from farmers who said the payments would be inadequate. They also said some farmers’ lawyers would be the primary beneficiaries of the proposed settlement if legal fees and costs are approved.

The judge’s March ruling came in a 2009 class-action lawsuit that accused the cooperative, its marketing arm and Dallas-based Dean Foods with trying to monopolize the market for raw milk in the Northeast.

The settlement would have provided about $4,000 to each of about 7,000 dairy farmers. Dean Foods agreed to a separate $30 million settlement.