ALLEN COUNTY- A semi driver died in an accident just after 7p.m. on Monday in Allen County five miles south of Iola.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2007 International Semi driven by Jayson L. Wessley, 52, Nevada, MO., was southbound on U.S. 169
The semi went left of center. It continued across the northbound lane, entered the eastbound ditch and came to rest after striking and becoming wedged in the underpass.
A 2014 Ford Escape driven by Craig K. Goodner, Chanute, was traveling northbound on U.S.169 and made an evasive maneuver to avoid the semi, entered the eastbound ditch and struck a delineator post.
Wessley was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Frontier Forensics. Goodner was not injured. Wessley was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
Today A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 10am. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 91. West wind 6 to 9 mph becoming south in the morning.
Tonight tMostly clear, with a low around 64. West wind 5 to 9 mph becoming south after midnight.
WednesdaySunny and hot, with a high near 101. South southeast wind 5 to 11 mph.
Wednesday NightClear, with a low around 69. South wind around 10 mph.
ThursdaySunny and hot, with a high near 102. South wind 8 to 15 mph.
HUTCHINSON — A preliminary hearing for a Kansas man jailed early New Year’s Day after he allegedly stabbed a man to death waived his preliminary hearing Monday afternoon and entered a plea to a lesser charge.
Kevin Wayne Ginn Jr., 34, Hutchinson, allegedly stabbed 24-year-old Deshamus Diron Lucky during a large disturbance just after 2 a.m. in the area of 8th & Madison.
Ginn was originally charged with voluntary manslaughter but in March, the state amended the complaint to murder in the second degree. They added two other counts of voluntary manslaughter and aggravated battery.
Ginn entered a plea to one count of involuntary manslaughter. The state dropped the other charges. As part of the agreement, he cannot seek any type of departure at sentencing and both sides will recommend 90 months or seven years and six months in prison.
On New Year’s Eve, after a night of drinking and bar hopping, Ginn and the victim attended a party in the 300 block of West 8th.
Police reported Ginn got into an altercation and Lucky was stabbed in his upper chest, collapsed on a porch and later died from his wound at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center.
Ginn was also taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries, then taken to jail.
Ginn is no stranger to the law with numerous other convictions in Sedgwick, Johnson, Labette and Wyandotte counties.
Although the two sides will recommend the seven years, six months, Judge Tim Chambers could sentence him to over 11 years in prison.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Two Kansas legislative committees will debate changes in education funding and school finance amendments to the state constitution in a joint meeting this week.
The House and Senate Judiciary committees Monday released the agenda for a two-day meeting that begins Thursday. The panels are meeting ahead of a special session beginning June 23.
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback called the special session to address a state Supreme Court order last month declaring that the state’s education funding system remains unfair to poor school districts. The court said schools will not be able to reopen after June 30 without further fixes.
The committees’ agenda shows that they could recommend changes in education funding. But they will also consider proposing constitutional amendments to curb the courts’ power in reviewing school finance issues.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The latest government snapshot of Kansas crops shows a slower than usual start to the state’s wheat harvest.
The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday that 5 percent of the winter wheat in Kansas had now been harvested. That is slightly more progress compared to this time a year ago, but it is still behind the 15 percent average.
It noted that wheat harvest has gained momentum in the southern parts of Kansas.
The agency also rated the condition of wheat still out in the field as 10 percent excellent and 51 percent good. About 31 percent is in fair condition, with 8 percent in poor to very poor shape.
Condition updates for the state’s corn, soybean and sorghum crops are listed as mostly good to excellent.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Health officials estimate that as many as 1,500 children in Kansas City and hundreds more in neighboring Kansas counties have lead poisoning from lead paint.
The Kansas City Star reports that although lead paint was outlawed in 1978 the problem persists, largely in poor neighborhoods. Effects of lead poisoning include hearing loss and learning disabilities. See the prevention video here.
Kansas City’s Project Lead Safe KC has removed lead hazards from about 2,500 homes by repainting and by replacing windows. But the program also has been hit by federal budget cuts.
In Kansas, the state’s lead poisoning prevention programs disappeared after the state lost federal funding to budget cuts. Kansas devotes almost no money to lead poisoning prevention, and when federal funding returned for some programs two years ago, Kansas didn’t apply for it.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal appeals court sided with Boeing and one of its suppliers in the whistleblower lawsuit brought by three ex-workers at the aircraft manufacturer’s former plant in Wichita.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed on Monday with a federal judge’s decision that the former workers failed to show Boeing defrauded the U.S. government in a $1.6 billion contract.
The three-judge appellate panel said it found no evidence Boeing knowingly submitted a false claim to the government. It upheld the 2014 summary judgment in favor of Boeing and California-based supplier Ducommun Inc., rejecting claims brought by former employees Taylor Smith, Jeannine Prewitt and James Ailes.
Their 2005 lawsuit alleged that Boeing defrauded the government in a contract for two dozen 737 Next Generation aircraft by using “bogus parts.”
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas judge has ruled that a woman accused in her 7-month-old stepson’s death is mentally fit to stand trial for murder.
Separately, Wyandotte County District Attorney Jerome Gorman confirmed Monday that remains found on a Kansas City, Kansas, property that the family was renting belonged to the boy.
Michael Jones and his wife, Heather, are charged with murder in the death of Michael Jones’ son and they are both jailed on multi-million dollar bonds.
Wyandotte County District Judge Michael Grosko last week found Heather Jones competent to stand trial in the killing.
Police investigating a disturbance last November found juvenile remains in a livestock area on the property. Authorities have not publicly confirmed media reports that the child’s remains were fed to pigs.
SEDGWICK COUNTY – A woman from Hutchinson and one from Newton were among three injured in an accident just before 3p.m. on Monday in Sedgwick County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Toyota Camry driven by Barbara Aileen McCune, 77, Newton, was northbound on 167th West at Kansas 96.
The Camry entered the intersection in front of a 2008 Chrysler driven by Dayvon Andre Williams, 20, Belaire, which was eastbound on Kansas 96. The Chrysler struck the driver’s side of the Camry.
McCune, Williams and a passenger in the Chrysler Brooke LeeAnn Whitford, 19, Hutchinson, were transported to St. Francis Medical Center.
All three were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
Miss Johnson County, Kendall Schoenekase, the new Miss Kansas 2016- courtesy photo
PRATT, Kan. (AP) — The newly crowned Miss Kansas says a personal experience inspired her platform to combat texting and driving.
The Hutchinson News reports that 22-year-old Kendall Schoenekase of Overland Park was a passenger in a car in June 2014, when the driver began to text. The driver crossed the centerline and collided with another vehicle. Schoenekase suffered minor injuries and a young girl was also injured.
Schoenekase, who is registered nurse, started an awareness campaign before the Miss Kansas pageant, using her position as Miss Johnson County to create public service announcements about texting and driving.
The 2016 Miss Kansas is now preparing for the Miss America pageant, where she will attempt to become the fourth Miss Kansas to win the national crown.
Several images surface as we dust off the cobwebs of our minds and reflect back on rural Kansas and those days of years gone by. Red barns, silver-steel windmills, cream separators, harvest crews, Burma Shave signs and certainly the outhouse come to mind.
While many have tried to describe (or forget) the typical Kansas privy, each was as different and original as the men whose job it was to build them. This column is dedicated to those prairie dwellers across Kansas who, in the middle of pioneering this great state, still took time for moments of contemplation.
Kansas outhouses were a reflection of its people – the region of the state where they settled and where they came from back in the Old Country. Each was a classic in its own right, inherent of early settler architecture – the sturdy and inspirational “Little House on the Prairie.”
To Midwesterners and High Plains dwellers the outhouse has always seemed a fitting memorial to the ingenuity and practicality of our forefathers – those restless, imaginative spirits who first caught the scent of opportunity in the westerly breeze. And for all its many charms, the privy has gone the way of the mail-order catalog which it had such a long and intimate relationship.
Heck, some old timers in the community I grew up in went so far as to label an outhouse the very seat of government – a place where equality of all people was perceptible and indeed undeniable.
Built with a few broad boards, wide sweeping strap hinges and a bold slice cut through the doorway, it was as solidly based as the distant barn itself. Usually a two-seater, it was equipped with flies, hornets, mosquitoes, spiders, corncobs or a Sears & Roebuck.
Normally it was located at a safe, but convenient distance from the main house, at the end of a cinder path and behind a lilac bush – hence the old expression, “I’m going out to smell the lilacs.”
Yes, at one time in our state’s history, a privy was certainly an interesting topic of discussion. Talk to today’s old timers or seniors and they’ll probably break into a broad smile and share an experience or two of their time spent in the privy.
While we always enjoyed indoor plumbing, I can remember Sundays at my Uncle Lloyd’s in Phillips County. His family still used an outdoor toilet.
I was less than thrilled about doing my business in this dark, dank establishment. To begin with, there was a distinct odor I wasn’t fond of. I could never relax while imagining the black widow spiders lurking below me just waiting to send me to an early grave.
One story I’ll never forget involved a certain Volga German who built an outhouse shrine to himself less than a stone’s throw from his family dwelling. This structure was built with notched corners, manly hinges and a husky thumb latch.
Strong and solid, this structure was a match for any prairie cyclone. The old gent loved his retreat and spent many an hour in his palace on the prairie.
His wife, on the other hand, considered this privy overbuilt, unnecessary and she remarked on more than one occasion that she wished the main house she lived in were as well built as her husband’s “s_ _ _ house.”
And one more story I recall became legend in northwestern Kansas. It was told about a special outhouse named Granny’s Glory. Built by Grandpa who adored his bride of 50-some years, this wonderful little privy faced the eastern Kansas sky and included a nice southern window that cast a soft light on Granny’s reading material.
The dear old dame made and hung the curtains herself. When the couple died, the grandchildren couldn’t bring themselves to tear down the decaying monument.
Yessiree Bob, the outhouse is a part of our rich Kansas heritage we will never flush away.
John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Many of Kansas’ state universities are asking the system’s governing board this week to approve tuition increases higher than first proposed a month ago.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports the University of Kansas wants tuition increased by 5 percent. That’s one percentage point higher than the school sought last month.
The state’s other universities propose tuition boosts ranging from 4.9 percent at Emporia State to 6 percent at Fort Hays State. Only the University of Kansas’ medical center and Wichita State did not increase their rate increase requests. They remain at 5 percent.
The revisions are in response to Gov. Sam Brownback’s signing last month of a state budget calling for additional higher education funding cuts.
The Kansas Board of Regents is to vote on the requests Wednesday.
BARTON COUNTY- Law enforcement authorities in Barton County are investigating four suspects on drug and burglary charges.
Deputies with the Barton County Sheriff’s office were executing a search warrant on South US 281 highway.
The search warrant was the result of an investigation stemming from a burglary report. An ATV was stolen from Transmission Exchange on South 281 highway, according to a media release.
Sheriff’s deputies developed suspects and were watching the area.
Officers observed a suspect vehicle with invalid registration and conducted a traffic stop.
The stop resulted in the arrest of Rebecca Ann Muckenthaler, 33 of Colorado. Muckenthaler was charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia, illegal registration and no proof of insurance.
Also arrested in the vehicle was Jerrod Espinosa, 30, Great Bend. Espinosa was booked on charges of possession of methamphetamine as well as an outstanding warrant for probation violation.
Further investigation led officers to the residence at 166 S. US 281 highway, which resulted in the arrest of Joshua Graves, 29, Great Bend. Graves was arrested for criminal damage to property and burglary. Graves also had six outstanding warrants from various jurisdictions.
Also arrested at the scene was Jennifer Lopez, 30, Great Bend, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, no tax stamp and aggravated child endangerment.
The stolen ATV was recovered. The Sheriff’s Office believes there will be further arrests stemming from the investigation.
The Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Great Bend Police Department detectives as well as the Great Bend Police Department K-9 unit.
ALLEN COUNTY- A semi driver died in an accident just after 7p.m. on Monday in Allen County five miles south of Iola.
Tonight tMostly clear, with a low around 64. West wind 5 to 9 mph becoming south after midnight.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Two Kansas legislative committees will debate changes in education funding and school finance amendments to the state constitution in a joint meeting this week.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Health officials estimate that as many as 1,500 children in Kansas City and hundreds more in neighboring Kansas counties have lead poisoning from lead paint.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal appeals court sided with Boeing and one of its suppliers in the whistleblower lawsuit brought by three ex-workers at the aircraft manufacturer’s former plant in Wichita.
SEDGWICK COUNTY – A woman from Hutchinson and one from Newton were among three injured in an accident just before 3p.m. on Monday in Sedgwick County.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Many of Kansas’ state universities are asking the system’s governing board this week to approve tuition increases higher than first proposed a month ago.
