HUTCHINSON — The USDA has expanded a recall of chicken, sold at stores nationwide, because of a possible listeria contamination. That includes all Dillons stores in Kansas.

Tip Top Poultry has recalled an undetermined amount of ready-to-eat poultry products that were used in additional products, including possibly being served from a deli counter in grocery stores.

The frozen cooked, diced or shredded, RTE chicken products were produced between Jan. 21 and Sept. 24. The products subject to recall can be found at www.fsis.usda.gov.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions because of consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.

By ANDREA TUDHOPE
Kansas News Service

A former high-ranking official of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, was sentenced Wednesday for misdemeanor battery against a female employee.

Former General Services Director Tib Laughlin faces 12 months of probation, and must attend anger management classes and continued mental health counseling.

After Laughlin’s conviction, UG Public Relations Director Mike Taylor told KCUR that UG officials were surprised by the jury’s verdict, because they had conducted an internal investigation of the incident, and “came to a different conclusion than the jury.”

Waldeck, however, felt that the UG condoned the harassment and physical assault she faced. In August, she sued the Unified Government, saying Laughlin engaged in a pattern and practice of gender discrimination, harassment and retaliation, and that the UG “failed to discipline” Laughlin, despite Waldeck’s repeated complaints.

Waldeck told KCUR the two years she worked with Laughlin were the “most stressful and heartbreaking of her professional life.” But in her victim impact statement Wednesday, Waldeck said it wasn’t entirely Laughlin’s fault.

“When an animal that hasn’t been trained properly repeatedly has an accident on the carpet, you don’t blame the animal. You blame the owner who didn’t take the time to show the animal there is a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things,” she said. “The Unified Government failed me. It failed Mr. Laughlin. It failed my family. And it failed our community.”

For his part, Laughlin said in his statement Wednesday that it had become “painfully clear” to him that pushing his employee against a wall was wrong. He made eye contact with and apologized directly to Waldeck, who he called a “valued colleague,” until the judge told him to turn around and address the court.

He called his behavior “stupid, impulsive and obviously wrong.”

“I let down friends, colleagues and myself. They all, especially Maddie, deserve better,” he said.

Waldeck told KCUR after the hearing that she appreciated Laughlin’s apology and that he accepted responsibility for his actions.

“I would like to hope what he said was true,” Waldeck said.

Andrea Tudhope is a reporter in conjunction with the Kansas News Service. Email her at [email protected], and follow her on Twitter @andreatudhope.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A computer software engineer accused of plotting cyberattacks on websites criticizing a Wichita attorney’s work has notified the court he plans to change his plea.

A docket notation on Wednesday in U.S. District Court says VIRAL Artificial Intelligence co-founder David Dorsett is set for a change-of-plea hearing on Oct. 21 in Wichita.

Dorsett and Wichita lawyer Bradley Pistotnik pleaded not guilty last year to federal charges of computer fraud and conspiracy. Pistotnik is also charged with making false statements to the FBI.

The indictment alleges that Pistotnik and Dorsett are responsible for cyberattacks on Leagle.com, Ripoffreport.com and JaburgWilk.com in 2014 and 2015. The indictment also accuses Dorsett of filling website inboxes with threats. Court records say one email demands that a webpage be removed or the hackers will target advertisers.

ROELAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A former suburban Kansas City mayor has become the third Republican to kick off a campaign to challenge freshman Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids.

Adrienne Foster announced her campaign this week for the GOP nomination in the 3rd Congressional District. Foster served one term as the mayor of Roeland Park, a community of about 6,800, before becoming executive director of the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission under Republican Govs. Brownback and Jeff Colyer.

During her tenure with the commission, she faced calls for her resignation over comments she made in support of then-candidate Donald Trump.

Also running in the Republican primary is Former National Down Syndrome Society CEO Sarah Hart Weir and Amanda Adkins, a Cerner Corp. executive with political ties to Brownback.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities are urging witnesses to a Kansas bar shooting that left four dead and five wounded to come forward as the hunt continues for one of the suspects.

Police continued searching Thursday for Hugo Villanueva-Morales, more than four days after gunfire erupted early Sunday at the Tequila KC bar in Kansas City, Kansas. Villanueva-Morales and 23-year-old Javier Alatorre are charged with four counts of first-degree murder. Alatorre was arrested hours after the shooting at a home in Kansas City, Missouri.

Officer Thomas Tomasic says officers don’t know whether Villanueva-Morales is in the area or has left. He says police are at a “slow point right now as far as information.” Police want to talk to any witnesses who were in the bar but left before officers arrived.