MCPHERSON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged threat at a school in McPherson County.

Just before 3p.m. Monday, the Inman Police Department was dispatched to the 300 block of South Locust in Inman, according to a media release.

A 911 report of a juvenile walking away from the Inman High School making possible threats of violence was reported and a brief description of the juvenile was given to police.

Due to the initial caller’s information about the nature of the alleged threats and the close proximity to the Inman High School, Officers of the Inman Police Department, as well as administration from the Inman School District, placed both the high school and grade school into lockdown until the validity of a threat could be assessed and the juvenile located.

At about 3:23p.m.. Law Enforcement located the 14-year-old boy who was overheard possibly making threats and was taken into custody at his residence.

At 3:24 P.M. the Inman Schools were released from lockdown and students allowed to leave school.

As of Monday afternoon, there was no evidence of an actual plan, agenda, or motive of violence towards the school or school district, including students and faculty have been uncovered.

This nonspecific threat was not made to any specific person nor was it made on school property.

The 14-year-old boy remains in custody pending charges through the McPherson County Attorney’s Office.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers have approved tougher penalties for making false calls to police three months after an officer fatally shot a Wichita man during a deadly hoax emergency call.

The bill makes fake calls that result in death a felony comparable to second-degree murder. Any false call for emergency help would be at least a misdemeanor, becoming a felony if the caller uses a fake identity or electronically masks their identity.

The practice is known as “swatting,” and occurs when someone makes a call to police with a false story of an ongoing crime in an attempt to draw a large number of police officers to a particular address.

The bill is named the Andrew Finch Act, after the man killed by Wichita police as they responded to a hoax emergency call in December that they thought was a hostage situation. The legislation was championed by his mother, Lisa Finch.

“Perhaps passing this bill will give her a little bit of peace,” Sen. Lynn Rogers, D-Wichita,

The bill is headed to Gov. Jeff Colyer after the Legislature passed it on Tuesday. The Senate approved House Bill 2581 on a 40-0 vote. The House approved it unanimously in February. The governor has 10 days after receiving legislation to sign or veto it.

Rogers read a statement from Lisa Finch on the Senate floor: “He loved his children the most and he was dedicated to making sure his family and the others he let into his life were comfortable and felt safe. He was everyone’s protector.”

Tyler Barriss, 25, of Los Angeles, has been charged with manslaughter in Finch’s death for allegedly making the bogus call.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Prosecutors say a former Pratt elementary school secretary has been indicted on federal firearms charges.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Kansas says Claudia Rodriguez-Oviedo was indicted Tuesday on two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by an immigrant who is illegally in the United States.

The 33-year-old Mexican national is serving a one-year sentence after her January conviction in Pratt County District court on charges related to a bomb threat to the high school in Pratt high.

Rodriguez-Oviedo was a secretary at Southwest Elementary School, and had a work permit at the time.

After her local arrest, she allegedly admitted she owned a handgun and a search of her residence found a Remington handgun and box of ammunition. A federal criminal complaint was initially filed against her in December.

By STEPHEN KORANDA

Lawmakers in the Kansas House rejected an effort Monday to allow medical marijuana in the state.

But they advanced a plan to allow the sale of some products made from cannabis — if the high-producing compounds have been removed.

The discussion over legalizing cannabis for medical purposes came as lawmakers considered regular updates to the state’s drug laws.

Democratic Rep. Cindy Holscher offered an amendment that would have created a medical marijuana system in Kansas.

She said that her daughter was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and that the side effects of some of her medications have been severe. Marijuana, she said, might offer some relief.

“Please don’t make us lawbreakers,” Holscher said. “Give us an option for something that has been proven to work.”

Marijuana offered a safer alternative to medications such as opioids, Holscher argued.

Republican Rep. Abraham Rafie called research on the issue “noisy.” He said studies had shown medical benefits from medical marijuana use but had also showed dangers of using cannabis.

“There’s a motivation to find what each side wants to see in the research,” Rafie said.

Rafie also raised concerns about other complications from medicinal marijuana, such as greater availability of cannabis to minors and driving under the influence.

Several lawmakers lined up during the debate to offer stories of people fighting cancer or other ailments who could benefit from medical marijuana.

Republican Rep. Troy Waymaster said he had known someone with ovarian cancer who had used medical marijuana to ease pain. However, Waymaster said such a major policy change should not have been brought up through an amendment on the floor.

“I do acknowledge the benefits of it, I’ve seen it,” Waymaster said. “But to bring this forward in a 116-page amendment is not the right process.”

Other supporters of the amendment said the normal process hadn’t given medical marijuana a fair hearing in the legislature. Democratic Rep. Steven Crum serves on the House health committee and said the bill had not been given a chance to advance.

Crum said the proposal had been in the Legislature for multiple years.

“Yes, it’s in a 116-page amendment right now, but we have all had access to read what’s in this plan,” Crum said.

The proposal came up short of the 63 votes needed, failing on a vote of 54-69.

However, the underlying bill advanced. It contained a provision allowing the sale of some products containing a cannabis extract, cannabidiol, commonly called CBD. Those products can’t contain THC, the compound in marijuana that gets people high.

That measure survived a fight in the chamber. Republican Rep. John Barker tried to strike the CBD provision out of the bill. He said the product is illegal under federal law.

He said it would be easy to smuggle illegal THC-containing products into Kansas along with CBD products.

“It could be what we used to call in the old days a bootlegger’s paradise,” Barker said.

That’s not a realistic scenario, said Republican Rep. Willie Dove. He said the factories that manufacture the product are regulated and have oversight.

One of the uses of the CBD oil is treating seizures. Families have asked lawmakers to legalize the product to treat their children.

Republican Rep. Erin Davis said a friend had used the oil to treat seizures in his son, Eli. She said the treatment had cut down on his seizures and allowed Eli to take part in activities he never could before.

“Just this weekend, he participated in a Special Olympics basketball tournament,” Davis said. “Eli went from having several seizures per week to having none.”

House members still need to take a final vote on the bill. If they approve it, there will be conference committee including House and Senate lawmakers. When the legislation passed the Senate it did not include the CBD provision.

The legislation was also amended in committee to remove kratom from the list of illegal drugs. It’s a supplement used by people trying to wean themselves off opioids.

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for KPR a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda.