By Molly Hadfield

Topeka, KS- A Hoffman’s Two-toed Sloth born at the Topeka Zoo on Saturday is clinging to mom and doing everything a baby sloth should do. When new mom Jacque showed her new baby to the Zoo’s Animal Care Staff, the baby sloth was alert and clinging to mom in a good nursing position. Both mom and baby appear to be bright and alert and doing great. The baby was named Foley by the primary Zoo Keeper that works in the Zoo’s Tropical Rain Forest.

There are currently four sloths living in the Zoo’s Tropical Rain Forest. They include mother Jacque (age 27), father Mocha (age 19), Newt (age 1) and the newborn Foley. This is the 15th offspring of Jackie’s and the fourth of Mocha’s.

The Topeka Zoo has a long successful history with sloth reproduction largely due to the rain forest environment the sloths live in at the zoo. Zoo staff monitored the pregnancy closely but had high confidence that mom knew exactly what to do.

Native to a small area of Central and South America, Hoffman’s Two-toed Sloths are threatened by deforestation issues. Sloths are known for their slow moving, solitary arboreal behavior. Sloths do everything upside down – including eating, sleeping, mating and even giving birth.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A man charged in a deadly Lawrence shooting is arguing self-defense.

An attorney for Steven Drake III is asking the court to dismiss a first-degree murder charge in the September killing of Bryce Holladay.

The defense motion says Holladay was allowed into Drake’s duplex by his roommate. But Holladay appeared to be “tweaking” on meth and began rummaging through the house and stealing. The motion says Holladay punched Drake’s girlfriend as she and three others tried to push him out.

Drake says his use of deadly force was legal. But prosecutors argue that deadly force wasn’t reasonable because no one was at risk of great bodily harm or death. At the time, Holladay was awaiting trial in an unrelated auto burglary and theft case.

FORT SCOTT, Kan. (AP) — The mother of a 22-month-old boy who drowned in a fish pond at his foster parents’ home says the child died because of neglect, despite a ruling from the state that his death was an accident.

Conner Hawes died Aug. 18 in the pond at a Fort Scott home. A sheriff’s report says his foster father was watching television while Conner and three other foster children were outside before the drowning.

The Kansas Department of Children and Families and the Bourbon County Sheriff’s office ruled the boy’s death an accidental drowning.

The boy’s mother, Beth Hawes, disputes the finding that the death was an accident.

According to published reports, the DCF considers the death an accident, the agency won’t disclose records on how Conner’s death was handled.

JACKSON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a woman in connection with a domestic altercation and officer-involved shooting.

On Thursday, deputies arrested Erica Nicole Miller, 23, Holton, on a Jackson County District Court warrant on two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of domestic battery.

She was booked into the Jackson County Jail and was later released on $10,000.00 Bond. The warrant was issued as a result of an investigation by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office regarding an alleged domestic altercation involving a firearm between Erica Miller and her husband Patrick Wayne Miller in Holton.

The domestic altercation with a firearm is believed to have occurred in the late evening of Sunday December 3, in Holton.

Just after 3a.m. on December 4, deputies arrested Patrick Miller following a 3-hour armed standoff with law enforcement at 802 Ohio in Holton. Patrick Miller is accused of shooting at law enforcement including a Jackson County Sheriff’s K-9 vehicle in which Erica Miller had been seated. Patrick Wayne Miller remains in the Jackson County Jail on $1,000,000.00 bond.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office has concluded with its investigation of the Holton Police Officer who returned fire on Patrick Miller.  That investigation was forwarded to the Jackson County Attorney for review on Thursday.

SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for assault on a law enforcement officer and additional charges.

Just after 6p.m. Sunday, Shane Huddleston, 24, Salina, made four non-emergency calls to 911, according to police Captain Mike Sweeney.  Each call included a profanity-laced rant to the dispatcher.

Officers later located Huddleston in middle of the street in the 500 block of South Ohio. Huddleston appeared to be under the influence of intoxicating substances and became combative, charging at police, according to Sweeney.

Three officers tackled Huddleston and placed him in custody for disorderly conduct, giving a false alarm, pedestrian under the influence and assault on a law enforcement officer.

Huddleston has been arrested numerous times over the past two years for drugs and other charges, according to the Saline County Sheriff booking report.

TOPEKA, Kan. – Kansas is now experiencing regional influenza activity, with increased influenza cases in most regions of the state. Outbreaks in long-term care facilities have been reported to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). Four outbreaks have been identified so far during the 2017-2018 season.

While there has been an expected uptick in reported cases, influenza activity likely has not yet peaked in Kansas. KDHE urges people to get vaccinated to protect themselves and their family members from the flu. While flu vaccine can vary in how well it works, it is the best way to prevent flu illness and serious flu complications, including those that can result in hospitalization.

Influenza vaccine is recommended for nearly everyone six months of age and older. Receiving the influenza vaccine is especially important for anyone at high risk of complications including babies and young children, older persons, and people with certain chronic conditions. Even if a person is healthy, getting vaccinated protects the people around them. It is important for people caring for young children and those caring for persons with medical conditions, who are at a higher risk of severe complications, to get vaccinated.

Symptoms of influenza include fever, dry cough, extreme tiredness and muscle aches. Complications can include pneumonia, ear and sinus infections, and dehydration; influenza may also worsen other chronic conditions.

Depending on the severity of the influenza season, 5-20 percent of the population may get influenza each year. During the peak of the 2016-2017 influenza season in Kansas, approximately 10 percent of all health care visits were due to influenza-like illness in the clinics where KDHE conducts surveillance for flu. Influenza was the direct cause of 99 deaths and may have contributed to an additional 1,108 among Kansas residents during the 2016-2017 influenza season. Additional ways to avoid spreading influenza include covering coughs and sneezes, washing your hands and staying home when sick.

For information on receiving the influenza vaccine, please contact your health care provider or the local health department. Visit the KDHE web site for additional information about the flu.