— A police chase in northeast Kansas has come to an end after a stolen box truck full of mattresses crashed into a guardrail on the highway.
Lawrence police chased the truck Wednesday after a delivery driver reported it was stolen.
The pursuit went west on U.S. Route 40. The Kansas Highway Patrol, the Topeka Police Department and the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office responded to the chase.
Authorities say stop-sticks were used and at least one tire on the vehicle was shredded.
The truck crashed into a guard rail just east of Topeka about a half-hour after the pursuit began.
The person suspected of stealing the truck 27-year-old Daniel Heneck was taken to a Topeka hospital to be treated for injuries. He has a previous conviction for Aggravated Assault, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Location of Friday afternoon quake-image Kansas Geological Survey
SUMNER COUNTY — The U.S. Geological Survey has reported 5 earthquakes in Kansas this week.
The most recent at 8:13p.m. Thursday measured a magnitude 2.7 and was centered approximately four miles southwest of Mayfield in Sumner County.
At 4:13 p.m. Thursday, a quake measured a magnitude 2.8 and was centered approximately 5 miles south of the Kingman County community of Spivey, according to the U.S.GS.
The agency reported a magnitude 3.2 quake centered approximately 4 miles northeast of Harper at 11:14p.m. Wednesday night
A quake at 10:15a.m. Sunday measured 2.3 and was centered near Argonia in Sumner County.
The USGS also reported quakes in Harper and Sedgwick County earlier in September.
There are no reports of damage or injury from Thursday’s quakes, according to the Sumner County Sheriff’s Department.
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — Salina has settled a lawsuit with a family whose 12-year-old daughter died several months after being shocked while playing in a rainstorm.
The civil suit filed by Jaymie Hicks and Jonni Cullison was settled for an undisclosed amount.
The couple’s daughter, Jayden, was 11 in May 2013 when she slipped in a puddle and fell onto an in-ground junction box at the entrance to a plaza in downtown Salina. The box had been installed without a grounding wire and contained damaged wires. Jayden underwent months of hospitalization and rehabilitation before she died in December of that year.
Her parents previously reached undisclosed settlements with the manufacturer of the junction box and company that installed it. Court records say the city never inspected the wiring.
GARDEN CITY – A man accused of forcing himself at gunpoint into a state judge’s home and holding the judge hostage for several hours while making demands of other state officials has been sentenced to life in prison for terrorism, according to Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
In July, a Finney County jury found Jason Linn Nichols, 34, of Garden City, guilty of one count of terrorism, one count of kidnapping, one count of aggravated burglary, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of criminal threat and one count of criminal restraint. The jury also found Nichols not guilty of a second count of terrorism. Senior Judge Jack Burr today sentenced Nichols to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 20 years. Nichols will serve his sentence in the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Schmidt filed criminal charges in June 2016 in connection with the incident that occurred May 31, 2016, in Garden City. Evidence presented at trial showed that while Nichols held the judge in his Garden City home he demanded a phone call be placed to the Kansas secretary of revenue. During that call, Nichols demanded the Department of Revenue provide to Nichols various types of information related to state taxes.
Kansas law defines terrorism to include the commission of a felony with the intent to influence government policy by intimidation or coercion or with the intent to affect the operation of any unit of government.
The charges stemmed from an investigation by the Garden City Police Department, Finney County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kansas Highway Patrol, Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Dodge City Police Department. Assistant Attorney General Jessica Domme of Schmidt’s office prosecuted the case.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse rulings by the state’s highest court that they say prevent the state from prosecuting immigrants in the U.S. illegally for identity theft.
Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in a news release three rulings last week by the Kansas Supreme Court said federal immigration law superseded Kansas law in those types of cases.
Schmidt said the Kansas court ruled the state can’t prosecute a defendant for falsifying state or private legal documents if that person put the same false information on federal forms for employment verification.
A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on whether to consider the Kansas appeal isn’t expected until later this year or early next year.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State students rallied against white nationalism after racist posters were plastered around campus.
The Kansas City Star reports that participants in the Thursday night solidarity rally also decried President Donald Trump’s decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Children Program, which allows some immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children to stay. About 800,000 people are affected by Trump’s decision to give Congress six months to end their limbo status.
The rally was organized after posters appeared on campus Wednesday. The school described the fliers as “unwelcome” in a statement.
The university also found several racist messages on campus during the spring semester, including a noose hanging in a tree. Kansas State created two new diversity and inclusion administrative positions over the summer.
Thursday chase and crash in Wichita-photo courtesy KWCH
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a pursuit has ended with a fleeing driver ramming into the cruiser of a Sedgwick County sheriff’s deputy.
The crash happened just before 10:30 a.m. Friday near McConnell Air Force Base in southeast Wichita. A Sedgwick County dispatch supervisor says one person is in custody. Authorities are looking for one other person who was in the vehicle.
Thurston Dee Goracke, 38, of Phillipsburg, Kansas, passed away at home on Sept. 12, 2017.
Thurston was born in Phillipsburg to Harvey and Sandy (Calhoon) Goracke on May 10, 1979. He attended Phillipsburg High School, where he was a proud member of the football and wrestling team.
Following graduation Thurston moved to Hutchinson, Kansas, where he attended Hutchinson Community College. He graduated with an Associate’s Degree in Business along with multiple programs which included certification as a machinist and welder. In addition to his business degree, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Management from Wilmington University.
Thurston was a veteran who served in the United States Marine Corp and the Air Force National Guards. He was involved with numerous Disabled Veterans, Homeless Veterans, and other outreach programs which help to ensure quality of care for fellow Marines.
In 2015, Thurston returned to Phillipsburg to help his dad on the farm.
Thurston Dee Goracke is preceded in death by maternal grandparents, Willis W. Calhoon and Ruby G. Calhoon; paternal grandparents, Francis Goracke and Tillie Goracke; and stepmom, Marilyn Goracke, all of Phillipsburg.
He is survived by his parents, Sandy Calhoon and family and Harvey Goracke of Phillipsburg; his sister, Tabetha Gray, and nieces and nephew, Alliyah, Tavian and D’Naeya Gray, all of Hutchinson, KS.
Funeral services will be held at Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017 at 10 a.m. in the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg, with Rev. Jon B. Gray officiating. Burial will follow in the Marvin Cemetery, Glade, Kansas with military honors by the U. S. Marine Corps.
Visitation will be Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the funeral home in Phillipsburg.
Memorial contributions may be given to Phillips County 4-H Shooting Sports or the Boys & Girls Club of Hutchinson.
Saturday, Sept. 16th at 10 a.m. at the Immanuel United Church of Christ in Herndon with Pastor Keith Reuther officiating
Burial:
Immanuel Cemetery (Evangelical Cemetery) east of Herndon
Memorial Fund:
In lieu of flowers, to the Herndon Alumni Museum, in care of the family or funeral home
Visitation:
Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Pauls Funeral Home in Oberlin
Family Service:
Friday at 7 p.m. at the Immanuel United Church of Christ in Herndon
In Loving Memory:
Donald Elmore Grafel was born Feb. 13, 1925, on his grandfather John Grafel’s homestead one and a half miles north of Herndon, in Richland township, to Henry and Myrtle “Mertie” (Bobinmyer) Grafel. He passed away Monday, Sept. 11, 2017, while working at the church cemetery northeast of Herndon.
Don was baptized and confirmed at the Immanuel United Church of Christ in Herndon and was an active member all of his life. In recent years he has led church services in his home. He attended Herndon schools and graduated from Herndon Rural High School with the class of 1943.
On July 25, 1948, Don married Beulah Gayle Franke at the Immanuel United Church of Christ in Herndon. They became the parents of five children: Keith, Kent, Kyle, Leah and Kurt and made their home on the Grafel homestead. Don enjoyed farming and raising cattle for many years and continued to help on the farm after retiring in 1990. He and Gayle moved to Herndon in 1987, and she preceded him in death on Sept. 17, 1991.
Don was united in marriage to Joan (Spiers) Nelson on April 16, 1994, at the Oberlin United Methodist Church. They made their home in Herndon and enjoyed family get-togethers and following their children and grandchildren’s activities, especially sporting events.
Don was also a very active and supportive member of the Herndon Community and Rawlins County all of his life. Don received a 65-year pin as a member of the Atwood Masonic Lodge No. 164 and was a member of the Herndon Chamber of Commerce. Over the years, he served as a mayor of Herndon, church council, 4-H leader, and board member for the Rawlins County Fair, USD 317, Rawlins County Hospital, Farm Bureau, and Rawlins County Extension. In addition, Don was an avid blood donor and spent summers organizing and coaching baseball and softball for the youth of the community for over 50 years.
He was personally driven by faith, family, living life to the fullest and serving others and will be remembered as a kind, caring and friendly man who was always smiling.
He is survived by his wife, Joan; five children and their spouses, Keith and Roma Grafel of Council Grove, Kent and Lorri Grafel of Culbertson, Nebraska, Kyle and Cindi Grafel of Herndon, Leah and Randel Atchley of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Kurt and Kristin Grafel of Natoma; three stepchildren, Steve and Susan Nelson of Oberlin, Nanette and Kevin Philbrick of Casper, Wyoming and Todd Nelson of Denver, Colorado; 18 grandchildren: Rusty Grafel, Egan Grafel, Teryn Grafel, Sydney Gulley (Xavier), Saeger Grafel, Kathryn Grafel, Kristyn Clapp (Kris), Karolyn Grafel, Benjamin Grafel (Mariah), Sarah Greenwood (Josh), Rachel Grafel, Christine Atchley, Emily Williams (Zach), Miriam Atchley, Moses Atchley, Keaston Grafel, Kayla LaToush, Kourtney Grafel; three step-grandchildren: Ryan Philbrick (Liz), Brett Philbrick (Brenna), and Makenzie Nelson; 18 great-grandchildren; one step-great-grandchild on-the-way; and many other relatives and friends.
In addition to his parents and first wife, Don was preceded in death by three sisters, Reva Grafel (infant), Virginia Portschy and Eunice Brenning; and a great-grandson, Jasper Kendall Grafel.
Ruth Ann (Lemon) Lech, 75 of Mount Sterling, Kentucky, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. She was born Aug. 28, 1942 in Portsmouth to John and Dorothy (Taulbee) Lemon.
A 1960 graduate of South Webster High School, Ruth was an adventurer who loved traveling, gardening, and reading. She was a member of Rolling Hills Church of Christ in Mount Sterling, and taught Bible classes for many years. She was known to everyone as the lady who always gave everybody hugs.
Ruth is survived by her husband, Stephen Lech; sons, Stephen J. (Agnes) Lech, Jr. of Liebenthal, Kansas, and Donald (Robin) Lech of Texas; sister, Penny Castle of Springfield, Ohio; five grandchildren, Teri and Alexandra Lech, Jeffrey and Greg McAlister, and Crystal Medina; eight great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents.
A memorial service will be 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017 at Rolling Hills Church of Christ in Mount Sterling with Danny Murphy and Eddie Ingram officiating.
A gathering of friends will be held from 9:30 to 11 a.m. on the day of service. Arrangements are being handled by D.W. SWICK-NELSON FUNERAL HOME in New Boston, Ohio. Online condolences may be shared at www.DWSwickNelsonFuneralHome.com.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Department of Labor says the state’s unemployment rate rose to 3.9 percent in August, an increase of two-tenths of a percent from July.
The unemployment rate in August 2016 was 4.3 percent.
The department said Friday the increased unemployment was related mostly to manufacturing layoffs and revised government job estimates.
Economist Emilie Doerksen said nonfarm employment grew by 800 jobs last month and the service-providing sector added nearly 2,000 jobs. But that was offset by temporary layoffs in manufacturing and decreased government job estimates.
Officials say Kansas has lost 9,000 seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs, including 6,300 private-sector jobs.
State Rep. Cindy Holscher, right, an Olathe Democrat, hands U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos a packet of statements from groups like Stand Up Blue Valley that oppose her position on school choice. CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos touted the importance of making higher education accessible Thursday while on a whirlwind tour of vocational classrooms at Johnson County Community College.
The highly orchestrated two-hour visit included stops to view spaces used for teaching automotive, electrical, welding, nursing and culinary programs.
The stop was part of a six-state tour in which DeVos has traveled to public and private schools, highlighting themes ranging from services for children with autism to Native American education.
Asked how Thursday’s focus on career and technical education at the Johnson County college fits with her agency’s proposal to cut more than $165 million from federal funding for career and technical education, DeVos said the U.S. Department of Education is dedicated to ensuring students have opportunities beyond high school.
“We are actually supporting career and technical education at nearly the same level from the last fiscal year, and the focus is administration-wide on supporting career and technical education as part of a holistic look at higher education,” she said. “For too long, I think we’ve done a disservice to young people in suggesting that four-year college or university was the only way that they could be successful as adults.”
Earlier this year, DeVos put forth a budget proposal with the Trump administrationthat included more than $165 million in cuts to career and technical education. Kansas schools received $10.2 million from that budget in 2016.
A summary of the budget on the U.S. Department of Education website says “a decrease is necessary to align with overall Budget priorities” but adds that states would continue to have spending flexibility for those dollars.
During her short tenure, DeVos has met with fierce criticism from public education and civil rights advocates, in part for her policies relating to higher education.
She’s seen as sympathetic to for-profit colleges on fraud and loan regulations that had been intended to protect students and recently announced a review of Title IX regulations against sexual discrimination on campuses. Advocates fear a rollback that will shield perpetrators of sexual assault, though some faculty have expressed concern with Title IX’s implementation.
‘Energized’ by the opportunity
DeVos’ JCCC visit came late in the afternoon — 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. — meaning some classes already had ended. She greeted and spoke briefly with small groups of students working in the automotive and electrical labs. In the health care lab, where class was over, she heard from a professor and two students who described what they had done that day.
Afterward, health care professor Kathy Carver said she had been excited for DeVos’ visit —“energized that we would have an opportunity to share what we’re doing here at the college.”
“I want her to know that we are creative, we are cutting edge,” Carver said.
Asked about the controversies surrounding DeVos, Carver said those aren’t the point.
“I’m not really speaking to her in that level. I really want to appreciate her being a representative of our government,” she said. “She’s come here to get information about who we are, and I think that’s valuable, because they can’t make decisions if they don’t know who they’re making decisions about.”
Several students expressed a similar sentiment, saying they appreciated the opportunity to showcase their school.
“It’s a great opportunity for her to see our campus and show her what a great example of public education is, so she has that exposure,” said Ryanne Pritchard, a student of American history with a concentration in African American studies. “I try to stay away from the political aspect. I’m only here because I’m a student and I want her to see the positives.”
Fellow student Derek Benson hoped DeVos would come away knowing the value of community colleges.
“I think it’s good to show her how affordable college can actually be,” he said. “You can actually spend like $2,000 a year to go to a community college and still get the same education — or even a better education at that.”
School choice a hot topic
As DeVos wrapped up her visit with by mingling with students in the culinary building, state Rep. Cindy Holscher, an Olathe Democrat, slipped into DeVos’ hands a folder full of statements from public education advocacy groups.
Holscher said the letters express concern about DeVos’ proposals to use federal funding for school choice programs that are a perennial source of debate in education and political circles. The agency’s budget proposal this year included $1.4 billion to advance public and private school choice.
To say she and I are on different pages in regard to our view of public education is probably an understatement,” Holscher said afterward. “I am the product of public schools, my children go to public schools, 90 percent of our children go to public schools in the United States, so to me that’s where we need to be making the investment.”
National media have reported that DeVos attended private school and chose the same option for her children, a detail that rankles public education advocates who fear she doesn’t support their schools.
Asked about criticism that she focuses too much attention on private instead of public schools, DeVos said she has visited “a wide array of schools.”
The focus for her current six-state tour, she said, is visiting schools “that are doing things creatively and innovatively.”
“We are highlighting all schools that do a great job at meeting the needs of their students,” she said. “There are all kinds of educational opportunities — a wide range — that I would hope that we could focus less on what word comes before ‘school’ and more on what we need to do to meet the needs of all individual students and give them the greatest opportunity to personally succeed.”
Public details of DeVos’ six-state itinerary have been sparse and came on short notice, an approach that Education Week has observed repeatedly and says is meant “to thwart potential protestors.”
On Thursday near the JCCC campus, a small group of protesters held signs with messages opposing public funding for private school tuition, DeVos’ stance on Title IX and other policies.
Protests continued Friday morning on the other side of the state line, where DeVos visited a small private school. The school is known for embracing inclusion and the rights of LGBTQ students. DeVos has rescinded federal guidance supporting the rights of transgender students.
Celia Llopis-Jepsen is a reporter for the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics. You can reach her on Twitter @Celia_LJ.
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WASHINGTON—U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos brought her “Rethink School” tour to Kansas Thursday.
She visited with students at staff at Johnson County Community College. A few who disagree with her and the Trump administration held signs in protest of the visit.
The tour is designed to highlight the innovative and groundbreaking work happening in schools across America.
The “Rethink School” tour will showcase creative ways in which education leaders are meeting the needs of students in K-12 and higher education.
“There are so many new and exciting ways state-based education leaders and advocates are truly rethinking education,” said Secretary DeVos. “It is our goal with this tour to highlight what’s working. We want to encourage local education leaders to continue to be creative, to empower parents with options and to expand student-centered education opportunities.”
The Rethink School tour started in Wyoming. She also made stops Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri and Indiana.
Candace Sage, second-grade teacher at Wilson Elementary School, has received a $500 grant from author James Patterson to support her classroom library. Scholastic Book Clubs will match each dollar of Patterson’s donation with “bonus points” that Sage can use to acquire books and other materials for her classroom.
Sage was selected from 82,622 applications for the funding grant.
Earlier this year, James Patterson announced a personal pledge of $1.75 million to save classroom libraries in the third installment of his School Library Campaign in partnership with Scholastic Book Clubs.
He is distributing these funds to 3,500 teachers across the country in individual grants of $500, matched with “Bonus Points” from Scholastic Book Clubs to further assist teachers in acquiring books and other materials needed in their classrooms.
While past campaigns awarded funding to school libraries, this year’s program focused specifically on teachers, who will use grants to enhance and supplement their classroom libraries. The pledge drew a record 82,622 applicants – more than three times the amount received in 2015 and 2016 combined.
In addition, 500 runners-up will receive a collection of age-appropriate James Patterson titles for their classrooms. The full list of grant recipients is available online at www.scholastic.com/pattersonpartnership.
“We saw a huge increase in the number of applications to this year’s campaign, and it was both humbling and concerning to see just how many teachers lacked basic materials — most notably, books — for their classrooms,” Patterson said. “The incredible response demonstrated just how resourceful teachers are, and how vital to they are to student development. I’m happy to be able to acknowledge their contributions in some way, and in doing so, hope to bring more awareness to the clear and immediate need for school funding.”
The Patterson Pledgeprogram was launched in 2015 in partnership with Scholastic Book Clubs as part of an ongoing effort to keep books and reading a priority for children in the United States. To date, Patterson has personally donated $5.25 million to school libraries. These grants have been used to purchase new books, add bookshelves, make improvements to catalog systems and expand programing. With this third round of donations, Patterson and Scholastic aimed to give even more children in America access to books, whether or not their schools have a functioning central library.
“Classroom libraries are unique in their ability to provide kids direct access to high-quality books every day, but many people may not realize that it is typically the individual teacher’s responsibility to find the resources—often using their own personal money—to fill their classroom libraries,” said Judy Newman, president of Scholastic Book Clubs, a division of Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company.
“At Scholastic Book Clubs, teachers tell us that now, more than ever, they desperately need help to build robust and inviting classroom libraries filled with new books and classics that are just right for their students. We were blown away by the more than 82,000 entries we received from teachers for this year’s Patterson Pledge grant, underscoring the significance of James Patterson’s personal commitment to helping kids discover a love of reading. Jim’s passion and generosity in awarding these grants to classroom teachers are making a real, lasting impact, and fulfill our joint mission to foster a community of readers in the classroom, at home and beyond.”
As exemplified by the record number of applicants, the need is dire – on average, classroom libraries across the country contain only half the recommended amount of books per class size, and are often funded by teachers themselves. Findings from the Scholastic Teacher & Principal School Report: Equity in Education reveal that regardless of school poverty level, 31 percent of teachers have fewer than 50 books in their classroom libraries and more than half of teachers (56 percent) use their own money to purchase books.
Patterson hopes that teachers and students will share their experiences in their communities using #pattersonpledge. Applicants were asked to share in 50 characters or less how they planned on using $500 dollars and 500 “bonus points” to help build their classroom libraries. All teachers in grades pre-K through 12 in U.S. schools could apply for the grant. All funds are being personally donated by James Patterson. To learn more about the program and see the full list of grant recipients, visit: www.scholastic.com/pattersonpartnership.
