COWLEY COUNTY – A Kansas woman died in an accident just before 2 p.m. on Tuesday in Cowley County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Chrysler Sebring driven by Claudine Lundy, 79, Burden, was southbound on U.S. 160 twelve miles east of Winfield.
The driver failed to yield at the junction and was hit by an eastbound semi.
The Chrysler rolled over into the southeast ditch.
Lundy was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Miles Funeral Home. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
The semi driver Luciano Enriquez-Arreola, 35, Wichita, was not injured.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A British 9-year-old has returned to Kansas City for the first of three surgeries for bone cancer after spending a fun-filled week in Florida.
The Kansas City Star reports Alexander Goodwin is scheduled to have the first surgery Wednesday to remove and replace his right femur and knee with prosthetics at the University of Kansas Hospital. See his Justgiving page
The Make-A-Wish Foundation helped send Alexander and his family to Walt Disney World and Sea World before having to deal with surgeries and recovery. Alexander’s father, Jeff Goodwin, says cancer has taken away a lot of his son’s childhood and it was nice to see him enjoy himself.
Alexander received a huge welcome from the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department at the Kansas City International Airport when he first arrived from the United Kingdom in December. His father is a police officer in the UK.
One person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries following an accident Monday at 4:40 p.m. in Hays.
According to the Hays Police Department, a 1999 Oldsmobile Silhouette driven by Brenda Robertson, 36, Hays, was traveling westbound on 27th St. and turned left in front of eastbound traffic and was struck by a 2007 Suzuki XL7 drive by Dawn Rupp, 42, Hays.
The collision pushed the Silhouette into a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac stopped at the stop sign at General Lawton Rd.
Hays Police Lt. Brandon Wright said one person was transported to Hays Medical Center by ambulance with minor injuries. Five others were uninjured.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A southeast Kansas man has been sentenced to 60 days in jail and three years of probation for striking and killing a Washburn University art teacher and administrator as she rode her bicycle.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that 38-year-old Todd Kidwell, of Chanute, was sentenced Monday for involuntary manslaughter and unlawful passing of a bicyclist in the June 2015 death of 60-year-old Glenda Taylor. She was hit while participating in an amateur time trial on a rural Crawford County road.
Kidwell’s attorneys had contended that the accident occurred when Kidwell swerved to the left to avoid a head-on collision with another truck at the same time that Taylor veered to her left.
Testimony at an earlier hearing indicated Taylor’s body was thrown 169 feet after she was struck.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a woman accused of killing a Wichita woman and abducting her newborn daughter has been served papers that would extradite her from Texas to Kansas.
Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said Tuesday that 34-year-old Yesenia Sesmas, who is being held in the Dallas County Jail, was served papers Friday.
Sesmas is accused of killing Laura Abarca-Nogueda at a west Wichita apartment in November. She then allegedly took Abarca-Nogueda’s newborn daughter, Sofia, who was six days old at the time.
After a nationwide search, a tip led investigators to Dallas. Authorities found Sofia safe at a home and returned her to her relatives.
Bennett said he expects another update from Texas officials next week. The extradition process is likely to take up to three months.
Law enforcement on the scene of Monday afternoon shooting-photo courtesy KWCH
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say a man killed in the city’s first homicide of 2017 was targeted by the shooters.
Authorities say cousins Bernadino and Andrew Ornelas were shot Monday after two vehicles stopped at an intersection. Bernadino died at the scene and Andrew is being treated at a Wichita hospital.
Wichita police Lt. Jason Stephens says the shooting was a “targeted” incident.
Investigators are looking for an orange or red Chevy Avalanche that left the scene after the shooting. They also are investigating whether other vehicles were involved.
Police have not released descriptions of possible suspects.
———–
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say one person is dead and another is in critical condition after shots were fired at their vehicle at a Wichita intersection.
The shooting was reported just before 4 p.m. Monday. Wichita police Sgt. Ed Brower says the passengers in another vehicle opened fired at the intersection, killing the driver of another vehicle and wounding his passenger. The name of the victim wasn’t immediately released.
Police are searching for a red Chevy Avalanche in connection with the shooting.
LILBURN, Ga. – The Fort Hays State women’s basketball team continued its climb towards the Top 25 in the WBCA NCAA Division II Coaches’ Poll, receiving votes for the fourth week in a row. The Tigers are the first team listed in the others receiving votes section of the latest edition of the poll, released Tuesday (Jan. 10) by the organization. The Tigers received 35 points in the voting process, four shy of 25th-ranked Adelphi University.
It is the sixth time the Tigers have been mentioned in the poll this season, reaching as high as 25th in the poll after their 6-0 start.
Fort Hays State is one of five MIAA schools recognized in the latest release. Emporia State maintained its spot at No. 2 in the country, while Pittsburg State climbed one spot to No. 5. Sixteenth-ranked Central Oklahoma took advantage of a pair of victories to climb four spots this week. Central Missouri is still receiving votes after falling to the Tigers last week. In total, 10 schools representing the Central Region are listed in the poll, including those also receiving votes.
In addition, the Tigers are ranked 22nd in the latest D2SIDA Media Poll, a poll voted on by sports information directors across the country.
The Tigers will play just once this week, a road contest at 5:30 p.m.Thursday (Jan. 12) against Nebraska-Kearney.
Below is the WBCA Division II Top 25 Coaches’ Poll for January 10, 2017.
Rank
School (First Place Votes)
Record
Points
Last Week
1
Ashland (22)
16-0
598
1
2
Emporia State
13-1
557
2
3
Virginia Union (2)
12-0
532
3
4
Bellarmine
12-1
499
4
5
Pittsburg State
14-1
489
6
6
Angelo State
12-0
485
5
7
Alaska-Anchorage
13-1
475
7
8
California (Pa.)
13-1
431
8
9
Lincoln Memorial
12-0
406
10
10
Colorado State-Pueblo
15-0
404
9
11
California Baptist
15-2
353
11
12
Drury
13-2
315
12
13
Arkansas Tech
9-1
297
13
14
Seattle Pacific
13-1
252
15
15
Bentley
12-3
228
17
16
Central Oklahoma
13-1
206
20
17
North Georgia
12-1
169
21
18
Minnesota State-Moorhead
13-1
159
24
19
Lewis
12-3
143
16
20
Winona State
13-3
125
14
21
Grand Valley State
10-3
98
21
22
Eckerd
12-2
78
RV
23
Wheeling Jesuit
11-2
77
18
24
Columbus State
9-1
68
19
25
Adelphi
13-2
39
RV
Dropped Out: No. 23 Clayton State (10-3); No. 25 Northern State (11-3).
Receiving Votes:Fort Hays State (13-2) 35; Glenville State (12-1) 31; Simon Fraser (14-2) 30; Queens, NY (12-3) 23; Kentucky Wesleyan (11-1) 21; Clayton State (10-3) 19; Northern State (11-3) 18; Limestone (9-3) 16; Central Missouri (11-2) 16; Anderson, SC (10-2) 13; Lander (9-3) 13; Saint Mary’s, TX (12-3) 13; Regis (Colo.) (12-2) 12; West Florida (10-2) 12; Wayne State (Neb.) (12-3) 10; Caldwell (12-3) 6.
[Note: 6 teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 29 combined points.]
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A University of Kansas assistant professor is claiming in a federal lawsuit that she faced anti-German discrimination and a hostile work environment at the school.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports Catherine Joritz filed the federal lawsuit Friday after filing a similar lawsuit in Douglas County Court last summer.
Joritz is an American but taught in Germany for 30 years before returning to the U.S. Her lawsuit says her students in the Department of Film and Media wrote anonymous critical evaluations that included anti-German comments, including accusing her of being a Nazi sympathizer. She says those comments became part of her record and eventually led to her being told she would not be retained after this school year.
The newspaper said university spokesman Joe Monaco declined to comment on pending litigation.
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — A woman charged with killing four people by driving her car into spectators at Oklahoma State University’s 2015 homecoming parade has been sentenced to life in prison.
Adacia Chambers agreed to a plea bargain Tuesday before her jury trial was to begin.
Chambers was sentenced after pleading no contest to four counts of second-degree murder and 39 counts of assault and battery.
Prosecutors say Chambers steered her car around a police barricade and sped up before plowing into spectators ahead of Oklahoma State’s game against the University of Kansas. Prosecutors say her actions showed intent.
Crash scene courtesy photo
Chambers’ attorneys say she has a mental illness and suffered a psychiatric episode at the time of the crash. Her father said she had received psychiatric treatment at an in-patient facility several years ago.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s annual State of the State address and budget issues (all times local):
12:20 p.m.
The Kansas House Appropriations Committee’s new chairman says tapping a $320 million state investment fund is an option worth considering amid the state’s budget woes.
Republican Rep. Troy Waymaster of Bunker Hill said Tuesday the possibilities include making a loan or sweeping the fund to help finance general government programs.
Kansas faces a projected $342 million shortfall in its current budget. Some lawmakers have said one-time accounting moves could close the gap to avoid immediate spending cuts.
Legislators created the investment fund in 2000 to boost the state’s interest earnings. State Treasurer Ron Estes has said it could realize about $40 million in investment gains if it liquidated the fund.
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback was giving the annual State of the State address Tuesday and outlining his budget proposals Wednesday.
On Monday at the Rockwell Administration Center, the Hays USD 489 Board of Education heard from four different construction firms vying for the job of the construction manager at risk for the district.
“Each presentation did a nice job of presenting information on their company and really tried to sell their company to us on why they should be selected for the CM at risk,” said John Thissen, USD 489 Superintendent.
Monday’s meeting was held in executive session due to an open meetings exemption created by Kansas House Bill No. 2267.
Thissen said all four firms would be great selections for the job, a large part of which will entail another bond issue to upgrade facilities district-wide. The district’s last bond issue, which sought $94 million for district improvements, failed soundly in June.
USD 489 Superintendent John Thissen
McCownGordon Construction, Hutton Construction, Crossland Construction and Nabotlz Construction were the four firms making presentations.
The presentations, however, are not the hard part in selecting which firm will get the job, Thissen said, but rather a point system the state signed into law in 2013.
“There’s a rubric that identifies different areas that those individuals (board members) will score based on a point system,” he said.
There will be six board members in charge of providing a point total to the firms in different areas such as company overview, experience/references, project team, reconstruction services, contingencies, cost management, local business utilization, construction plan, self-perform capabilities, site management, critical issues, and interview.
The only grading porting of the formula not handled by the board members is the fee portion for the score sheet, which is handled by a state employee.
At the first official board meeting of 2017 on Monday, Jan. 16, the six board members in charge of grading the different firms will present their score sheet and an action will be made on which firm to select.
“It will be an action item,” Thissen said. “Typically, it would go to whoever scores closest to 100, but it may not go that way.”
DLR Group, who was recently selected as the architectural firm for the district will also assist in the process of selecting the right firm for the CMAR position.
Thissen said there will still be an open discussion after the point totals are presented, but that that discussion should not be too long because of the formula.
“There are still many different pieces that need to be discussed or two firms may be so close that that would open up a discussion,” he said.
Thissen has experience working with Hutton when he was the superintendent at Herrington.
“It was a very good experience. They were very smart and, in my mind, did a very good job at keeping the project moving and on schedule and keeping the price in the original price range,” he said.
A CMAR is the best option moving forward, according to Thissen. In his one experience working with a CMAR, he said the project would not of been completed without them.
‘They do such a good job in keeping the project on pace,” he said. “There is no way the construction would of been done and the school would of been done and ready for when school began without them.”
The benefit of selecting a CMAR said Thissen is that they understand the process of construction better than an architect, but the best option for a budgetary plan is probably the CM at risk.
“To have both together really makes sense at the front end,” Thissen said.
Thissen feels hiring a CMAR will be instrumental in getting a successful bond campaign together.
One person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries following an accident Monday at 4:40 p.m. in Hays.
