PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — Police in the southeast Kansas community of Pittsburg are investigating the alleged assault of a disabled man in one of the city’s parks.
Pittsburg police Maj. Brent Narges says police were notified Monday that two videos were circulating on social media that showed a man being slapped and choked in Schlanger Park last week.
Narges says the victim is a dependent adult and the suspect is a 15-year-old boy.
The juvenile was arrested. Investigators have recommended charges of aggravated battery.
The videos prompted at least six complaints to Pittsburg police.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Pittsburg City Manager Daron Hall thanked those who notified police of the video, which he said shocked and sickened him.
Crawford County Attorney Michael Gayoso said he expects to file formal charges shortly.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Fort Hays State track and field team kicked off the 2018 NCAA Division II Track and Field Outdoor Championships Thursday (May 24), with four student-athletes competing against the nation’s best. Three individuals ran in preliminary races on the track, while one athlete competed in the pole vault finals.
Brett Meyer advanced to Saturday’s finals of the 1,500m run after finishing fourth in the first heat, crossing the line in 3:52.41. The junior hung in the back of the pack until the final stretch, passing multiple runners in the final straightaway to secure a spot in the finals.
Kelly Wycoff earned a spot in the finals of the 400m dash after placing third in her heat, completing her lap in 54.47. She had the seventh-fastest time in the preliminary round, advancing thanks to posting the second-fastest time among runners that did not finish in the top two of their heat.
Amber Forbes finished fifth in the second heat of the 100m dash prelims, running in 11.93. The senior posted the 12th-fastest time on the day, securing second team All-American honors.
Selam Ball was the lone Tiger to compete in the finals of an event on day one, placing 14th in the pole vault after clearing the 11-11.75 bar on her second attempt.
Seven Tigers will compete on day two of the national meet on Friday (May 25), including Wycoff and Forbes taking to the track once again in the 200m dash prelims. A full daily schedule can be found HERE.
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A second man has pleaded guilty to kidnapping and raping a suburban Kansas City sheriff’s deputy.
Luth and Newman-Caddell
Twenty-three-year-old Brady Allen Newman-Caddell entered the plea Thursday to aggravated kidnapping, two rape counts and aggravated criminal sodomy.
Another man, William Luth, was sentenced previously to more than 41 years in prison for abducting the deputy in October 2016 from the parking lot of a detention center in Olathe, Kansas, as she arrived at work. She wasn’t in her uniform. She was released in the Missouri suburb of Lee’s Summit two hours later.
Newman-Caddell and Luth are both from suburbs on the Missouri side.
MCPHERSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged school shooting threat and have filed a juvenile complaint, according to County Attorney Greg Benefiel.
On Tuesday, the Moundridge Police Department received report of a text message sent to to the High School of an impending school shooting that day, according to USD 423. An investigation that included the FBI and McPherson County Sheriff determined the threat a hoax, according to Benefiel.
The McPherson County Attorney’s office has filed a juvenile complaint charging the person who sent the text message.
Based on the investigation, authorities don’t believe any threat of violence ever existed, according to Benefiel.
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MCPHERSON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities and school district officials are investigating an alleged school threat Tuesday morning, according to a statement from USD 423 Superintendent George Leary.
“An anonymous threat was made referencing a possible shooting at Moundridge High School this morning, ” according to Leary.
Just after 11:30a.m., the USD 423 reported the McPherson County Sheriff’s office and Moundridge Police Department were continuing their investigation and following up on several leads.
The district also informed parents if they had picked up and student from school, they are not to return to school at any time Tuesday, according to Leary.
Any students who has any tips or information related to this case, please contact the Moundridge Police Department at (620) 345-2777, the McPherson County Sheriff’s Office at (620) 245-
1267, CRIMESTOPPERS at (620) 241-1122 or the USD 423 District Office at (620) 345-5500.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) this week joined a group of colleagues to introduce the Transporting Livestock Across America Safely (TLAAS) Act.
Currently, overly-strict trucking regulations from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) require mandatory rest time that put livestock at risk, especially during summer and winter months. This bipartisan legislation would give American agriculture the flexibility it needs to safely transport livestock.
“In Kansas, our economy and ability to create jobs relies upon the success of our agriculture industry,” said Sen. Moran. “This bipartisan legislation provides a permanent solution that will give our livestock haulers flexibility to the hours-of-service rules that have threatened the ability of drivers to get safely to their destinations without causing unnecessary stress to the animals. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation that will make transportation easier on livestock, haulers and ranchers.”
Sen. Moran was joined by U.S. Senators Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) as sponsors of the legislation.
Background:
Sen. Moran has been a vocal advocate for a permanent solution to provide flexibility to hours-of-service rules that have a negative impact on Kansas livestock carriers while also leading efforts to delay implementation of the ELD mandate.
On December 18, 2017, the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) required commercial vehicle drivers to install an electronic logging device (ELD) in their truck to track compliance with Hours of Service (HOS) rules. FMCSA exempted livestock haulers from this requirement until March 18, 2018 and a congressional delay has extended through September 30, 2018.
Currently, for livestock and insects, HOS rules require that haulers turn on their ELD after they cross a 150-air mile radius of the origin of their load (such as cattle). After crossing a 150-air mile radius, haulers must start tracking their on-duty time and can only drive 11 hours before taking a mandatory 10-hour rest time.
The inflexibility of these regulations will be costly for haulers and place the well-being and welfare of insects, cattle, hogs and other livestock at risk. The current law does not allow flexibility for livestock and insects to reach their destination given the vast geography of production and processing facilities, most often spanning from costal states to the Midwest. Extended stops for a hauler, which would be necessitated by these HOS regulations, are especially dangerous for livestock during summer or winter months; high humidity and winter temperatures with below freezing windchills cause significant stress on livestock.
The Transporting Livestock Across America Safely (TLAAS) Act addresses these problems and eases the burden of these far-reaching HOS and ELD regulations for haulers of livestock or insects.
Specifically, the TLAAS:
Provides that HOS and ELD requirements are inapplicable until after a driver travels more than 300-air miles from their source. Drive time for HOS purposes does not start until after 300-air mile threshold.
Exempts loading and unloading times from the HOS calculation of driving time.
Extends the HOS on-duty time maximum hour requirement from 11 hours to a minimum of 15 hours and a maximum of 18 hours of on-duty time.
Grants flexibility for drivers to rest at any point during their trip without counting against HOS time.
Allows drivers to complete their trip – regardless of HOS requirements – if they come within 150-air miles of their delivery point.
After the driver completes their delivery and the truck is unloaded, the driver will take a break for a period that is five hours less than the maximum on-duty time (10 hours if a 15-hour drive time).
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man involved in a fatal road rage incident has been sentenced to life in prison.
Rhoiney- photo Topeka Police
Shawnee County District Court Judge David Debenham on Thursday sentenced 23-year-old Andre Rhoiney Jr., for first-degree felony murder in the October 2016 road-rage shooting death of 28-year-old Michael Stadler He was sentenced to life plus 13 months.
Rhoiney was convicted in March after a mistrial was declared in an earlier trial.
A co-defendant, Daniel Askew, previously testified that Rhoiney fired two shots at a van Stadler was in after people in the two vehicles had exchanged words and rude gestures. Askew said Rhoiney meant to scare the people in the other car.
RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas man for alleged drug distribution.
Rookstool-has a previous drug conviction, according to the Kan. Dept. of Corrections
Just after 2:30p.m. Wednesday, police arrested 48-year-old Samuel Rookstool, 48, of Clay Center, in the 4400 block of Kauffman Drive in Manhattan, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report.
He was arrested on a Riley County District Court warrant for distribution of methamphetamine.
Rookstool is being held on $10,000.00 bond, according to the RCPD arrest report.
He has a previous drug conviction, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating more than a dozen suspects following another sex trafficking sting.
On Wednesday, Vice Detectives, Patrol South officers and members of the Wichita Police Department Broadway Corridor team conducted a sex trafficking sting along south Broadway, according to officer Charley Davidson.
The sting targeted those who had gone to the area to purchase sexual relations.
During the assignment, officers made 15 arrests. This is the 9th sex trafficking assignment since August of 2017, according to Davidson. Police have made 85 arrests during that time including 15 women and 69 men, according to Davidson.
GARDEN CITY – High Plains Public Radio (HPPR) has filled the executive director position with an experienced leader who will be officially taking the reins in June.
Bob Davis is coming to HPPR from the Anniston Star, in Anniston, Alabama, where he worked for the past 12 years as editor and then publisher/editor.
In his role at the newspaper, Davis oversaw a news operation of more than two dozen employees in two newsrooms, where he helped the publication make its transition from print to digital, while developing the newspaper’s social media presence. He also played a part in the newspaper’s advertising, circulation, new product launches and other revenue generating initiatives.
He also served on the board of Consolidated Publishing Company, the Anniston Star’s parent corporation.
Prior to working at the Anniston Star, Davis worked as a design editor and OpEd/Sunday editor at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in Texas.
Davis has a national reputation and contacts in journalism and with journalism organizations, but has a strong understanding about issues facing rural communities.
When asked why he decided to change directions and pursue a position with a public radio station, he said he had been looking for the right opportunity for a couple of years and felt that HPPR fit the bill.
“I’ve had a lifelong fascination with radio and I worked in radio as a college student and I’m quite fond of the medium as a way to connect to people,” Davis said.
In talking with HPPR staff and board members, Davis said another thing that attracted him to the position was the idea of community interwoven throughout HPPR’s approach to regional programming, including news, information and music.
Davis believes in managing organizations so they “punch above their weight class” and believes HPPR can be such an organization.
“At all the news organizations I’ve worked for, we’ve always wanted to aim high,” he said, adding that it has always been his aim to go after stories that oftentimes no one else is going to report. “We’re going to be fair and we’re going to put things in the proper context. And we’re also going to be open to criticism and open to hearing both sides. And that idea fits in with the caliber of folks I’ve encountered at HPPR.”
He also believes that listeners should “hear themselves” in HPPR, through regional programming.
Davis replaces Deb Oyler, who left HPPR in December to take the director position at the Finney County United Way, after serving as HPPR’s executive director for nine years and being with HPPR for a total of 18 years. Oyler remains active as an HPPR volunteer.
Davis said it is Oyler’s legacy that he believes will help him and the rest of the staff take HPPR to the next level.
“She’s going to be a hard act to follow,” he said. “A lot of care and thought had been put into the operations and management of HPPR and that’s the recipe for success.”
He will arrive in Garden City in early June.
He is married to Lisa Davis, an award-winning newspaper columnist and former Alabama public radio commentator. They have two children, Libby, 19, and Hugh, 17. In his spare time, Davis enjoys reading, cycling, hiking and watching politics.
High Plains Public Radio began broadcasting in 1980 with a single station, KANZ-FM, serving southwest Kansas and studios in the former Pierceville, KS grade school. Since then, HPPR has incrementally expanded its service area through local initiatives and capital campaigns. HPPR currently operates 19 FM stations and translators serving 78 counties across a five state region of the High Plains.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is canceling the planned June 12 summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, citing the “tremendous anger and open hostility” in a recent statement from North Korea.
A letter from the President to Chairman Kim Jong Un: “It is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting.” pic.twitter.com/3dDIp55xu1
Sec. of State Mike Pompeo with North Korean Leader Kim Jung Un-photo courtesy White House
Trump says in a letter to Kim released Thursday by the White House that based on the statement, he felt it was “inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting.”
The president says the North Koreans talk about their nuclear capabilities, “but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used.”
