CRAWFORD COUNTY-A Kansas man died in an accident just after 8p.m. on Wednesday in Crawford County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1993 Ford truck driven by Darryl D. Skaggs, 59, Pittsburg, was southbound on south 220th Road two miles south of Pittsburg.

The vehicle left the roadway, entered the ditch, hit a junction box, a tree and caught fire.

Skaggs was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Frontier Forensics.

He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

 

SALINA — The Sears store in Salina will be closing this spring. According to a release from Sears Holding, the Central Mall location will be closing by the end of March. It appears to be the only Sears in Kansas to close.

Sears has been at the Central Mall since the mall opened in the 1980s. Before then, it was located at the corner of Santa Fe and Prescott and what was known as the Sears Center. The release indicates the Sears Auto Center in Salina will not be closed. Two Kmart stores will be closing in Kansas, one in Leavenworth and the other in Wichita.

The following statement is from a media release from Sears Holding.

“Sears Holdings will continue to strategically and aggressively evaluate our store space and productivity, and accelerate the closing of some unprofitable stores as the company has previously announced. As such:
•
On Wednesday, January 4,
2017, the company informed associates at 78 Kmart stores and 26 Sears stores that their stores would be closing this spring.
•
On Tuesday,
December 27, 2016, the company informed associates at 30 Kmart stores and 16 S ears stores that their stores would be closing this spring.

The decision to close stores is a difficult but necessary step as we take actions to strengthen the Company’s operations and fund its transformation. Many of these stores have struggled with their financial performance for years and we have kept them open to maintain local jobs and in the hopes that they would turn around. But in order to meet our objective of returning to profitability, we have to make tough decisions and will continue to do so, which will give our better performing stores a chance at success. Eligible associates impacted by these store closures will receive severance and will have the opportunity t o apply for open positions at area Kmart or Sears stores.”

Liquidation sales will begin as early as January 6 at all closing stores.

HARVEY COUNTY— An 18-year-old Halstead teen is facing charges after the Halstead Police Department executed a search warrant at a home in Halstead over the New Year’s weekend.

Daniel Smith, 18, was arrested for cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and contributing to a child’s misconduct.

Any formal charges will come from the Harvey County Attorney.

A juvenile male was also taken into custody for possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

His charges will go through juvenile court in Harvey County.

SALINA – A fire caused significant damage to a multiple occupant, 4-bedroom home in Salina on Wednesday.

Just after 5:30 p.m., Fire crews were dispatched to the residence at 622 S. 9th Street, according to a media release.

Fire was confined to the upper floors, with water and smoke damage in the rest of the building. No one was injured.

Residents are not able to live in the building. The fire was blamed on a items placed near a wall heater, according to Salina Fire Marshall Roger Williams.

Estimate of damage was not available late Wednesday.

 

 

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A proposed class-action lawsuit argues that thousands of lottery players who were allegedly cheated by an insider’s long-running scheme to rig jackpots should be reimbursed for their losing tickets.

Lawyers filed the fraud case Wednesday against the Multi-State Lottery Association, the Iowa-based nonprofit that helps administer games that are offered by state lotteries for games in Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

It alleges the association failed to prevent games from being rigged and failed to operate them in accordance with their own rules.

The association’s former security director, Eddie Tipton, is charged with installing software on lotteries’ random number generators that allowed him to predict winning numbers on three days of the year. The scheme allegedly lasted for years.

The lawsuit says that anyone who played in drawings on those days should get their money back, plus interest.

In testimony during a May 2016 hearing in the case, a friend of Tipton’s said she was given a winning Kansas Lottery ticket worth $15,000 in 2011 as an engagement gift.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City transport van driver accused of sexually molesting a young woman who is developmentally disabled has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years of probation.

The Kansas City Star reports that 75-year-old Terry Mize Curry was sentenced Tuesday in Johnson County for mistreatment of a dependent adult. He’ll also be required to register as a sex offender.

Surveillance video captured Curry kissing and touching a 20-year-old woman who was a participant in a program for young adults with special needs. Court documents say he was heard on the video telling her he would lose his job and she would be taken out of the program if anyone found out.

Curry drove for the company that the Olathe school district contracted to provide transportation.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A former University of Kansas graduate student who falsely claimed on his visa application that he served as a translator for the U.S. Army in Iraq has been sentenced to two years in federal prison.

The U.S. attorney’s office says 35-year-old Goran Sabah Ghafour was sentenced Wednesday for visa fraud and aggravated identify theft.

The Iraqi man lived in Lawrence while he was a student. He admitted through his plea that he applied for a visa under a program allowing Iraqi nationals who worked for or on behalf of the U.S. government in Iraq to qualify for a visa. Prosecutors say he fabricated a letter from an Army officer who didn’t know him to support the claim.

Ghafour graduated in May with his doctorate.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A group representing electronic cigarette retailers in Kansas is fighting to prevent the state from enforcing a new tax on vaping fluid.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that a lobbyist for the Kansas Vapers Association argued during a legislative committee meeting Tuesday that the bill imposing the new tax on e-cigarettes was drafted poorly and made the original intent unclear.

The association told the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and Regulations that legislators should revisit the law before allowing the Kansas Department of Revenue to enforce the tax.

A provision to a tax bill passed in 2015 imposed a new tax on vaping fluid of 20 cents per milliliter of “consuma