Hutch Post

HUTCHINSON — A 30-year-old inmate at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility  was found guilty Wednesday on a charge of battery of a law enforcement officer for an incident last year at the prison.

Authorities say Douglas Anthony Kling attacked prison officer Jason Garcia.

During the trial, Kling chose to represent himself with the assistance of a public defender. After an hour and 15 minutes, the jury found him guilty.

Kling was convicted in Marshall County for attempted murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery, aggravated assault and criminal threat. He also has convictions for burglary in Nemaha County.

He is not eligible for parole until November 2040.

He will be sentenced in the new conviction on May 8.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has blocked former aerospace workers from appealing the dismissal of their long-running age discrimination lawsuit against the Boeing Co. and Spirit AeroSystems.

U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren said Wednesday that the plaintiffs’ attorneys have not shown “excusable neglect” for failing to file their notice of appeal on time. He also says the court has lost confidence in the reliability of anything plaintiffs’ counsel tells it.

The attorneys had sought to appeal Melgren’s decision in January that tossed out the claims of the remaining 26 plaintiffs as a sanction for their refusal to obey a court order to give their tax returns to the companies.

The case has spanned nine years. When the courts rejected the collective action claims, the former workers filed individual age discrimination complaints.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas spent nearly $7,800 on ridding a state office building near the Capitol of pests in December and January, partly because bedbug-sniffing beagles were called in.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Wednesday that the costs of eradicating bedbugs and fleas from the Docking State Office building were detailed in documents obtained through an open records request.

Schendel Pest Services billed the state $5,510 for eradicating bedbugs in December. Department of Administration spokesman John Milburn said the company used trained beagles to inspect three floors later treated with chemicals.

The company treated the building again in January at a cost of $2,250 after fleas were thought to be living in two areas.

The state plans to demolish the 1950s building by March 2016 after moving state workers to different locations.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An Associated Press analysis shows that fewer Kansas veterans are experiencing long waits for care at VA hospitals and clinics than their counterparts in many other states.

At the state’s 19 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs facilities, 1.8 percent of appointments were delayed longer than 30 days from September to February. The national average was 2.8 percent.

But problems persist after a scandal led to a $16 billion law overhauling veterans’ health care. Wait times didn’t decline over the six months the AP examined. They actually increased in January and February.

Also, there were 221 Kansas appointments that were delayed longer than 90 days, including 102 at the Eastern Kansas VA-Colmery-O’Neil in Topeka and 93 at Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A 56-year-old Lawrence man has again been found guilty of first-degree murder for the death of his wife in their home in July 2004.

The Lawrence Journal-World  reports it took jurors five hours Wednesday to convict Martin K. Miller in the death of 46-year-old Mary Miller. He was convicted of the same charge in 2005, but the Kansas Supreme Court overturned the verdict because of an erroneous jury instruction.

Miller’s lawyer argued there was no evidence Mary Miller’s death was a homicide. Testimony from investigators, Miller’s children and Miller’s former mistress last week indicated Miller denied being in the room the morning of the death.

The couple’s children testified that they heard their father’s voice in their parents’ bedroom the night their mother died, and she was under duress.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is giving his health care law an eight out of a 10, and calls a lawsuit hanging over it “the last gasp” from opponents.

Obama tells ABC News he doesn’t give it a 10 is because things can always be improved.

He says the biggest challenge is getting more states to expand Medicaid coverage. He says “stubbornness” among state leaders who aren’t using the benefit is “based on ideology, not on wise public health policy.”

The Supreme Court is expected to rule by late June whether the subsidies are legal in most states.

Obama tells CNN he doesn’t anticipate justices “would make such a bad decision” to rule against the subsidies. He says such a ruling would force millions to lose insurance they can’t afford without subsidies.

GRAY COUNTY– A Kansas man died in an accident just before 3 p.m. on Wednesday in Gray County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Toyota Camry driven by Carlos Rodriguez, 52, Dodge City, was westbound on S Road near the Ford County Line where the pavement turns into dirt.

The vehicle began to fishtail, entered the north ditch and struck a telephone pole.

Rodriguez was transported to Western Plains Medical Complex where he died.

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

KANSAS CITY -Southwest Airlines officially launched its new daily nonstop flights between Kansas City International Airport  and New York – LaGuardia Airport according to a media release.

The first flight from Kansas City departed Wednesday afternoon from Southwest’s Terminal B gates.

Southwest announced in November that the carrier will begin service to New York – LaGuardia, ranked 10th in daily passengers each way from KCI.

Southwest operates the flights on modern Boeing 737-700 equipment.

“Southwest’s new service to New York City will benefit both business and leisure flyers in Kansas City and the surrounding region,” said Director of Aviation Mark VanLoh. “Over the last three years, Southwest has shown their commitment to Kansas City by adding seven new nonstop routes from Kansas City, including Washington, Houston, Minneapolis and Ft. Myers, among others.”

Southwest Airlines currently operates 68 daily departures from Kansas City with nonstop service to 24 destinations.