WAKEENEY — Jury selection was scheduled to conclude today in the first-degree murder trial of Scott Robert Bollig in Trego County District Court, according to court dockets.
In addition to the murder charge, Bollig also faces charges of aggravated battery, distribution of adulterated food, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery.
Those charges were brought after Bollig, a WaKeeney resident, allegedly put a drug in his former girlfriend’s food that terminated her pregnancy before the tenth week. Investigators say Bollig, age 30 at the time of his February 2014 arrest, is accused of obtaining the abortion-inducing drug, mifepstrone, then crushing and sprinkling it on pancakes that were later eaten by the woman.
Testimony is scheduled to begin Thursday, and the trial is scheduled through Nov. 20. District Judge Glenn Braun is presiding over the case.
An accident at approximately 1:15 p.m. Tuesday sent one man to the hospital and closed westbound traffic on 27th from Broadway to Vine following a collision between a motorcycle and a truck at the intersection of 27th and Plaza.
Unconfirmed eyewitness reports said the motorcycle was on 27th heading East when the truck turned onto Plaza. The rider was unable to stop in time and collided with the passenger side door of the vehicle. The truck then drove over the rider. Hays Police Department officers at the scene declined to comment as to the cause of the accident.
The rider was taken to Hays Medical Center. His current condition is unknown at this time.
By 1:45 p.m., traffic had reopened on 27th, but was still being directed around the parked truck on Plaza at the intersection.
GOVE COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just before 10 a.m. Tuesday in Gove County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Chevy passenger vehicle driven by John Bojan, 77, Sand Springs, Okla., was westbound on Interstate 70 six miles east of U.S. 25.
The vehicle swerved out of the driving lane to avoid hitting a westbound semi.
The driver lost control and hit the semi at the fuel tank on the tractor.
The Chevy traveled across the interstate and came to rest facing eastbound in the median.
Bojan was transported to Logan County Hospital. The driver of the semi, a Georgia resident, was not injured.
Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
Authorities locked down the KSU campus in the early morning hours of September 4
MANHATTAN – A Kansas man appeared in Riley County Court on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing in connection with the September 4, aggravated robberies near the KSU campus.
Detectives with the Riley County Police Department arrested Johnathon Elliott, 20, Manhattan, on September 11.
Elliott was booked for two counts of Aggravated Robbery, Contributing to a Child’s Misconduct and theft. He was held on a $130,000 bond.
Three other suspects, Carson Buckley, Janir Vega and Sean Johnson, were also arrested for their alleged involvement in the robberies.
According to testimony by RCPD Detective Brian Johnson, Elliott admitted to police that he agreed to drive the other three around in order to commit random robberies.
During the hearing, Ransom Gardiner testified being approached from an alleyway after walking home from Aggieville in the early morning hours of September 4.
Gardiner said a man ran up to him with what looked like a black semi-automatic handgun.
The man, who Gardiner said he only saw for a split second, had him get on the ground where he took his phone and wallet at gunpoint.
Gardiner noted that he could not recognize the man who robbed him, but did see a second man in the alleyway talking with the robber.
Cody Kohler and Nathan Becker also testified about being robbed during the preliminary hearing.
Walking into their back yard after coming home from Aggieville they saw two African American men, one acting sick. The second stranger asked them for a glass of water, and after they came back out from the house with the glass they were held up at gunpoint.
A third individual, whom Detective Brian Johnson testified was Elliott, came around from the side of the house and participated in the hold up.
Judge Malcolm held Elliott over for arraignment following the hearing, which will be held on December 14 at 9 a.m. with Judge Stutzman.
A motion to reduce bond or allow work release was denied.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State’s Brian Ness has been named the MIAA Men’s Soccer Athlete of the Week. Ness provided the game-winning goal for the Tigers in a 1-0 win over Lindenwood, helping the FHSU complete the regular season at 12-5-1 overall. Ness took a through pass from Killian Gorman and beat a defender and then the keeper one-on-one to score the matchs lone goal in the 32nd minute. He was the only Tiger with a goal for the week as the Tigers went 1-1 in a pair of 1-0 matches.
The 5-10 sophomore forward is a native of Olathe, Kan.
CHEYENNE COUNTY – A Kansas man was injured in an accident just before 8 a.m. Tuesday in Cheyenne County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Dodge truck driven by Dustin Eugene Wiley, 33, St. Francis, was westbound on County Road I five miles south of U.S. 36
The driver failed to yield the right of way at County Road 25 and collided with a southbound Peterbilt semi, the KHP reported.
The truck came to rest in the east ditch.
Wiley was transported to Swedish Medical Center in Denver. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
The semi driver, James Earl Baxter, 52, St. Francis, was not injured.
DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress has passed a $607 billion defense bill that bans moving Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States — something Barack Obama has been trying to do since he was sworn in as president.
The Senate’s vote of 91 to 3 gave final legislative approval to the measure. The House has already passed it with a veto-proof majority, 370-58.
Obama does not like the Guantanamo provisions. But so far, the White House has not threatened to veto the bill.
The legislation has become a lightning rod for debate over whether the president needs congressional approval to move some of the remaining 112 detainees from the U.S. detention center in Cuba to the United States, or if he could do it with an executive order.
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DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is expected to pass a bill that bans moving Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States — something Barack Obama has been trying to do since he was sworn in as president.
The Senate plans to vote Tuesday on the $607 billion defense policy bill, which passed the House last week, 370-58.
While current law and the new bill prohibits Obama from moving Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States, lawmakers are voicing opposition to the prospect that Obama could do it through executive action.
The Pentagon is expected soon to release a report that addresses the possibility of housing some of the remaining 112 detainees in Colorado, Kansas or South Carolina prisons.
Congress has repeatedly thwarted Obama’s effort to fulfill a campaign promise to close the prison.
SALINA- Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a case of identity theft.
Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying and locating a suspect wanted for stealing a woman’s purse from her residence on October 25, and unlawfully using her credit cards.
The suspect used one of the stolen credit cards to make purchases at various locations in Salina, according to police.
He was observed driving a white 4-door vehicle.
Alleged suspect’s vehicle
If you have any information concerning who committed this crime, call Crimestoppers at 785-825-TIPS, text SATIPS to CRIMES (274637), or visit www.pd.salina.org and follow the Crime Stoppers link to submit a web tip. You may receive a cash reward of up to $1,000 and you are not required to give your name.
One of the moderators for tonight’s fourth GOP presidential debate is Hays native Gerald Seib. The event at the Milwaukee Theatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is hosted by Fox Business Network and the Wall Street Journal.
Seib is the WSJ Washington Bureau Chief. He is a 1974 graduate of TMP Marian High School and earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas in 1978. Seib was part of the team from the Journal that won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize in the “breaking news” category for its coverage of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Seib and Fox Business Network anchors Trish Regan and Sandra Smith, will moderate the second tier debate from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. CT.
Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee, who had each participated with the top-tier candidates in the three prior primetime debates have been bumped down into the lower tier, along with Bobby Jindal and Rick Santorum.
Eight candidates will participate on the main debate stage: Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich and Rand Paul from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. CT. The moderators will be Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo and Neil Cavuto and Wall Street Journal Editor-in-chief Gerard Baker.
The debates can be seen live on TV on the Fox Business Network as well as online at foxbusiness.com and wsj.com.
The cold front that is expected to bring strong winds — but little precipitation — into Ellis County Wednesday is bringing something completely different to the far northwest portions of Kansas.
The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for Rawlins, Sherman, Thomas and Wallace counties in Kansas, as well as eastern Colorado counties and southwest Nebraska.
The warning is in effect from 4 a.m. Central on Wednesday to 6 p.m. Central on Wednesday.
Snow accumulation of 2 to 6 inches is expected, coupled with strong wind that could cause visibility issues.
The NWS said there is the possibility for road closures, power outages and dangerous travel conditions.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The family of a Topeka homicide victim have put up two billboards in hopes of getting information leading to an arrest in the case.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Juan Solis was shot and killed in 2013 during what police said was a home invasion.
The victim’s mother, Dina Garcia, wants the billboards to remind people that her son’s killer remains at large.
She says she also hopes that a $20,000 reward will help convince anyone with information to come forward. Family and friends have been raising money for the reward, which has increased since Solis’s death.
Garcia says a third billboard will go up in a couple weeks.
The Ellis County Commission approved the sale of the former Emergency Medical Services Building, located at 1009 Cody Ave., at Monday’s meeting.
EMS Director Kerry McCue presented the commission with two bids. The commission approved the high bid of $216,175 from Augie Windholz, owner of Augie’s Repair of Hays.
Last month, the county’s rural fire, emergency medical services and emergency management departments all moved into the new emergency services building located at 1105 E. 22nd.
County Counselor Bill Jeter will draw up a sale contract for the commission to approve at a later date.
Similar to the sale of the Rural Fire Building, the money from the sale will go into the EMS equipment fund.
As the Public Building Commission, they approved a change order for $37,303 for carpet and tile in the Law Enforcement Center. Commissioner Dean Haslehorst said the floor covering was removed by his predecessor, as a way to bring the project in under budget.
In other business the commission got an update on fair activities. Fair Board Jill Pfannenstiel told the commission they plan to replace the electronic thermostat system at the buildings. They also plan to rebuild the current bathrooms and install a permanent lean-too on to the rabbit and poultry.
Agreed to join, at no-cost to the county, a lawsuit with Johnson County dealing with notification of taxpayer of change in classification or appraised valuation of property. Johnson County is covering the costs but asking counties to join the suit.
Jeter updated the commission on the tax foreclosure sale that they are currently working on. Jeter said they have had a number of people who were on the list pay their taxes. Currently he estimated they have between $140,000 and $150,000 still due. Jeter said the sale will be in either March or April. People who owe taxes have until the day before the sale to pay back taxes.
The commission also decided to change the meeting schedule back to the first three Monday’s of the month. They had been meeting every Monday while construction continued on the two projects. Now that construction at the Emergency Services Building is complete and the Courthouse/LEC construction is nearing the end, the commission believes they do not need to meet every Monday.
