GUTHRIE, Okla. (AP) — Police in Oklahoma say they found a rattlesnake, a canister of radioactive powdered uranium and an open bottle of Kentucky Deluxe whiskey during a traffic stop of a vehicle that had been reported stolen.

The traffic stop happened June 26 in Guthrie, about 30 miles north of Oklahoma City. Guthrie police Sgt. Anthony Gibbs told Oklahoma City TV station KFOR that police don’t know why the uranium was in the vehicle or how it was obtained, though uranium ore can be bought on Amazon.

Gibbs says police also found a gun in the console and a terrarium in the backseat containing a pet timber rattlesnake.

Gibbs says the driver, Stephen Jennings, was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, transporting an open container of liquor and driving with a suspended license.

Jennings remains jailed in Logan County.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A tractor-trailer hauling pig intestine has dumped its load across a downtown highway in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Missouri Department of Transportation tweeted that at least three lanes of westbound Interstate 670 were closed Thursday because of the spill, and that an emergency response truck with a snow plow blade was sent to the scene to help clean up the mess.

Transportation officials urged drivers to, “Find an alternate snout. Sorry, alternate route.”

Salina Post

SALINA — A Salina man wanted on active warrants out of Saline and Kiowa counties led law enforcement personnel on a chase Wednesday from Salina into Ottawa County before turning around and finally stopping near where the chase began.

Saline County Sheriff Roger Soldan said Thursday that at 10:52 a.m. Wednesday, a deputy was at the Red Carpet Inn, 222 E. Diamond Drive, to serve a warrant when he observed Lance Smith, 33, of Salina. Knowing that Smith had an active warrant from Saline County District Court for failure to appear, the deputy attempted to apprehend Smith, however, Smith took off in a 2010 Ford F150, Soldan said.

Smith then led the deputy and other law enforcement personnel on a chase along the following route, Soldan said.

• West on Diamond Drive, where he ran the stop sign at Ninth Street
• North on Ninth Street and continuing north when Ninth Street turns into Old 81 Highway, sometimes at speeds up to 100 mph
• East on Kansas Highway 18
• North through Bennington and continuing north
• West on Kansas Highway 106
• Back south on Old 81 Highway toward Salina

Soldan said Salina Police personnel set up spikes near the Saline River bridge, which took out the pickup’s tires. Smith continued south, finally coming to a stop in the middle turn lane of the 2400 block of North Ninth Street, which is just north of the Interstate 70 interchange, Soldan said.

After coming to a stop, Smith jumped out of the pickup and ran a short distance into a ditch, where he tripped and was apprehended, Soldan said.

In addition to the Saline County warrant and the warrant out of Kiowa County for probation violation, Soldan said Smith was arrested on suspicion of the following.

• Speeding
• Failure to stop at a stop sign
• Obstruction
• Flee and elude

By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post

GREAT BEND — The Associated Press reported that Kansas schools had more than 600 vacant positions last year. Low pay was blamed for many of the problems in attracting teachers to Kansas.

USD 428 in Great Bend, like many other districts in the state, have spent years going to job fairs in different states in hopes of luring educational professionals to start their careers in Great Bend. USD 428 Assistant Superintendent John Popp says Michigan used to be the state with an abundance of teachers, but that has shifted to New York.

“We will probably go back to Michigan, but it sounds like New York and the Pennsylvania area are more flush with teachers,” Popp said.

The Great Bend school district plans to attend a job fair in upper New York sometime during the 2019-2020 school year.

“There are some other districts in Kansas that have had luck pulling teachers out of there, so we’ll probably go to the New York area,” added Popp.

According to the National Education Association the 2017-2018 national average starting teacher salary was $39,249. The Kansas average was $35,769.

MULVANE (AP) — Some drivers got a surprise windfall when a malfunctioning toll machine spat out coins instead of accepting money near a Kansas casino.

The Wichita Eagle reports that Kansas Turnpike Authority spokeswoman Rachel Bell says the agency learned Tuesday morning about the problem with the machine at the Mulvane exit.

The agency inadvertently divulged details about the mishap when it sent a text alert to its public subscribers. The note said there was “NO WAY” to know the exact dollar amount that was taken.

KTA says the message was meant to be internal but made it out into the public realm after someone newly responsible for disseminating messages sent it to the wrong group of subscribers.

Bell wasn’t immediately sure how many customers used the machine while it was being generous.