SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspect in connection with a shooting and related disturbance on Tuesday evening.
Murphy photo Sedgwick Co.
Just after 5:30p.m., police responded to a disturbance with shots fired at a home in the 500 Block of South Glen in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.
At the scene, police observed a 1992 BMW that had crashed into the garage of a vacant home. The vehicle was unoccupied. A short time later, police responded to another reported shooting in connection with the earlier call. When police arrived near the intersection of Harry and McClain Street, they found a 22-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his head, according to Davidson. EMS transported him to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Investigators determined19-year-old Arienna Harwood of Wichita, a 15-year-old girl, two children and the 22-year-old shooting victim arrived at the home on South Glen. A disturbance occurred between these individuals and two 18-year-old men and a 16-year-old at the residence, according to Davidson.
During the disturbance, 18-year-old John Murphy fired multiple shots at the BMW which wounded the victim. The vehicle left the residence and crashed into the garage of the abandoned home down the street. A family member of the victim picked up the occupants of the BMW.
Harwood photo Sedgwick Co.
Near the intersection of Harry and Mclain, the individuals from the residence and those involved in the crash encountered each other a second time and another disturbance occurred, according to Davidson.
When police arrived, they detained several individuals and arrested Murphy on requested charges of aggravated battery, aggravated assault, criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied dwelling and theft, according to Davidson.
They also arrested Harwood,19, on requested charges of aggravated child endangerment, battery and theft.
Davidson did not release the victim’s name. This was not a random incident and both groups were acquainted with each other.
Colby crews made great progress restoring more than a dozen downed poles on 230th Ave., north of Celebration Church in Hays.
HAYS POST
From Midwest Energy:
FINAL UPDATE 5:30 p.m.: From 7,000 without power this morning, crews made tremendous progress!
There are currently just 10 without power 20 hours later.
All but a handful of residential customers in the Hays area are back online at this time.
Great Bend district crews have restored all of their outages.
In the Hays area, we want to thank our crews from Colby, Oakley and WaKeeney for the extra help!
Thank you to everyone for your patience and understanding today… it’s not been an easy day, but when folks appreciate what you do, you go the extra mile to get them back online. Have a safe and enjoyable evening!
TOPEKA ― Aetna remains in hot water with the state of Kansas, which recently threatened to cancel the company’s Medicaid contract.
In late July, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment gave Aetna Better Health 10 days to resolve a laundry list of long-running problems.
But on Tuesday, the agency said the insurer’s reply doesn’t cut it, “nor does it present a clear path to compliance.”
Aetna gets another shot at fixing what health care providers describe as chronic issues with payment, among other concerns.
Aetna provides health insurance to around 100,000 Kansans under KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid system. It’s one of three companies with contracts to do so, and replaced one of the previous insurers in January.
The state health department did not provide a copy of Aetna’s compliance plan, explaining it is not yet a public document in its current unfinalized state. But in a cover letter that Aetna filed with the state on Aug. 7, says the company says it has fixed several issues and that many of the other problems “are well on their way to compliance.”
State health officials plan to meet with Aetna leaders, who asked in their letter for an in-person conversation in the event that Kansas remains unsatisfied. As for setting a new deadline for Aetna, officials intend to meet with company leaders first.
Complaints against Aetna include that the company doesn’t reimburse correctly or on time. Providers say they sometimes don’t get paid because Aetna demands advance permission for certain basic procedures. They also complain that the company hasn’t put together a complete directory of physicians and specialists that it covers.
The state’s written complaint to Aetna in July said that doctors and others struggle to secure provider credentials from the insurer, and that discrepancies in Aetna’s records mean Kansas can’t judge the adequacy of the company’s provider network for Medicaid recipients.
Aetna didn’t grant requests last week and this week for interviews, but said in an email that it will work with Kansas to “enhance” its corrective plan and “add a greater level of detail.”
Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health and education for the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @Celia_LJ or email her at celia (at) kcur (dot) org.
Windows were blown out of classrooms on the west side of Hays Middle School on Tuesday night. The first day of school was rescheduled to Thursday.
“I wanted to give our students a better start than having to paddle their way to the first day of school.”
By CRISTINA JANNEY Hays Post
Ron Wilson
New Hays USD 489 Superintendent Ron Wilson spent what was supposed to be the first day of a new school year assessing empty schools for storm damage.
The storm that barreled through Hays on Tuesday night, bringing winds of up to 78 mph, blew out windows in a classroom at Hays Middle School. The school’s gymnasium took on water, although Wilson said school officials did not think the floor was damaged. Hallways at HMS also were flooded with water.
Lincoln Elementary School, which is in an older, low-lying area of Hays, also had flooding issues. Water blew in under doors and in through Lincoln’s aging windows. A hallway and several classrooms also took on water. Covers were blown off the school’s roof, which Wilson said also contributed to the school’s water issues.
The Learning Center in the basement of Rockwell Administration Center also flooded.
The rest of the schools took on smaller amounts of water, but Wilson said all schools will be open for business for a second try at the first day of school Thursday.
“At this point, I feel really good we have been able to get everything where it needs to be, so we are ready to roll tomorrow morning,” he said.
Elementary students will go for a half day on Thursday and middle and high school students will go a full day on Thursday.
Wilson said he took in several factors when deciding to close school Wednesday.
Not only were several buildings dealing with damage and power outages, he was concerned about the ability of parents, children and staff to get to school safely considering the street flooding, downed power lines and tree damage of Tuesday night.
“I wanted to give our students a better start than having to paddle their way to the first day of school,” he said.
He also hoped to give the students and staff the opportunity to help their families with cleanup at their homes.
Wilson also praised the custodial and maintenance staff who where at the schools past midnight and back at the schools early Wednesday morning working on cleanup.
“They left their homes and families in the middle of the night to attack the issues in the buildings,” Wilson said. “I can’t understate these are great people doing great things for our schools. I can’t give enough credit for what they do at our schools. I want everyone to know that the custodial and maintenance crew were amazing last night.”
Wilson said he did not have an estimate at this time of the total cost of the damage in the district.
SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are longer seeking the public’s help in locating 29-year-old Deputy Derik A. Chandler or his vehicle, according to Lt. Tim Myers.
He was reported missing Monday after being identified as a suspect in a case jointly investigated by the Wellington Police Department and the Summer County Sheriff’s Office,
Chandler’s location has been determined to be outside of the United States of America, according to Myers.
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SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are conducting a felony investigation and asking for the public’s help in locating 29-year-old Sedgwick County Deputy Derick A. Chandler.
Suspect vehicle photo courtesy Wellington Police
He was reported missing Monday after being identified as a suspect in a case jointly investigated by the Wellington Police Department and the Summer County Sheriff’s Office, according to Lt. Tim Myers.
Chandler is listed as a missing person and is wanted for questioning in a felony investigation. We believe he may be a harm to himself or others, according to Myers.
Chandler was possible seen early Monday morning in Wichita driving a 2015 Dodge Charger, white in color with a black stripe. There is a 60-day temporary tag on the vehicle.
Deputy Derick A. Chandler photo Sedgwick Co.
If anyone sees him, citizens should call 911 and report the location to their local law enforcement agency. Citizens should not take any action themselves, according to Myers.
Chance for additional storms returns in the coming days
By JAMES BELL Hays Post
The storm that moved through Hays on Tuesday brought hurricane-force winds with it, damaging homes and business throughout Ellis County and the region. But even though the storm did not produce tornados in the area, it demonstrates the destructive power of thunderstorms and associated winds.
“People see severe thunderstorm warning and get almost complacent,” said Bill Turner, lead forecaster at the National Weather Service in Dodge City. “They see the warning and think ‘Big deal, I have been through 84 million of those.’ ”
“When you get winds of 80 mph, we put different wording in the warnings, but it’s hard to get the message across that this wind is 80 mph,” he said. “There is a world of difference between a wind of 80 mph and a wind of 60 mph. It’s exponentially worse.”
Discussions about the destructive winds associated with Tuesday’s storm began early Tuesday morning, and the NWS had issued watches and warnings in advance of the approaching storm.
“The watch was up for damaging winds. Social media was covered with stuff,” Turner said. “I think we proved to a lot of people that you don’t need a tornado to rip some stuff down.”
The level of damage seen in Hays, he said, was directly related to the length of the wind gusting.
“One of the things that made this worse, that was working against us yesterday, wasn’t just the initial wind guests and then it was over, the initial wind gust hit and it continued to gust in some cases 20 to 30 minutes,” Turner said.
At the Hays airport, he said two wind gusts up to 70 were recorded for 20 to 25 minutes.
“There is a big difference between gusting for a few seconds than gusting for 30 minutes,” Turner said. “That’s a long time to batter stuff so stuff weakens and breaks, and the damage is amplified.”
The power transmission lines coming down near Interstate 70 was particularly telling of the strength of the winds.
“It probably took 10 to 15 minutes of hurricane-force winds to take those down,” Turner said.
Because the wind associated with the storm was so significant, warnings were issued long before the storm front moved into Ellis County in order to give people time to prepare, he said.
“Sometimes we issue a warning and there is nothing going on,” Turner said. “(But) we had 100 percent confident that the thunderstorm complex was going to happen.”
But forecasters were not sure exactly which path those storms would take as they moved across Kansas. Tuesday’s storm began to pick up strength after two storm cells merged around Colby and traveled down the I-70 corridor.
“We weren’t exactly sure if it was going to go south toward Dodge, down 283 or go toward Hays,” he said. “One of the computer models we use a lot took it toward Hays, but it was off on its own, it wasn’t supported by anything else so we broad-brushed the thunderstorms for everybody.
“The details are what really get us in this industry,” Turner said, even with the current technology. “Exactly where that storm is going to go an hour or two in advance is tricky.”
With the severity of the storm Tuesday, Turner said Wednesday night in Hays will be “a lot quieter.”
“After these big events, it takes the atmosphere so time to recover,” he said but added a few small storms could pop up around the Colorado border.
Severe weather could be moving back into the Hays area on Thursday or Friday, Turner said, once the atmosphere has time to reload.
BARTON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are continuing the investigation into the shooting death of a Great Bend man Tuesday night.
Just after 8:30p.m. sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a report of a disturbance and shots fired at 397 Grove Terrrace near the airport west of Great Bend, according to Sheriff Brian Bellendir.
Sheriff’s deputies and members of the Kansas Highway Patrol checked the residence and discovered the body of a 34-year-old Charles G. Rousey of Great Bend at the rear of the building, according to Bellendir. He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Deputies were able to develop suspect information from witnesses and an “attempt to locate” was broadcast.
Members of the Great Bend Fire Department who were returning from an accident scene, had heard the broadcast and spotted the vehicle on South Main St. in Great Bend. The fire department notified 911 dispatchers who in turn sent law enforcement to the area. Members of the Barton County Sheriff’s Office and the Great Bend Police Department stopped the vehicle on Railroad Avenue between Washington Street and Main Street. The suspect Nicholas A. Pethel, 23, of rural Great Bend was taken into custody without incident.
Deputies booked Pethel on a requested chargeof murder and he is being held in lieu of a $1 million bond, according to Bellendir.
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BARTON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting in Great Bend.
Just after 8:30p.m. Tuesday, sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a report of a disturbance and shots fired at 397 Grove Terrrace near the airport west of Great Bend, according to Sheriff Brian Bellendir.
Sheriff’s deputies and members of the Kansas Highway Patrol checked the residence and discovered the body of a 34-year-old white male at the rear of the building. The victim had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Deputies were able to develop suspect information from witnesses and an “attempt to locate” was broadcast.
Members of the Great Bend Fire Department who were returning from an accident scene, had heard the broadcast and spotted the vehicle on South Main St. in Great Bend. The fire department notified 911 dispatchers who in turn sent law enforcement to the area. Members of the Barton County Sheriff’s Office and the Great Bend Police Department stopped the vehicle on Railroad Avenue between Washington Street and Main Street. The suspect Nicholas A. Pethel, 23, of rural Great Bend was taken into custody without incident.
Deputies booked Pethel on a requested chargeof murder and he is being held in lieu of a $1 million bond, according to Bellendir.
The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation will be assisting with homicide investigation.
Glade resident Doyle E. Johnson passed away Tuesday, August 13, 2019 at the Phillips County Retirement Center in Phillipsburg, KS at the age of 91.
He was born June 16, 1928 in Phillips County, the son of Arthur F. and Minnie I. (Eller) Johnson.
He was united in marriage to Illa M. Chestnut on September 16, 1961 in Phillipsburg. She preceded him in death on April 2, 2015.
Survivors include two sons, Curtis of Plainville, KS and Kelly, of Lawrence, KS; daughter, Janet Wahlmeier, of Burlington, KS; and six grandchildren.
Cremation was chosen. A memorial service will be held Saturday, August 17, at 11:00 a.m. in the Community Church of God, Phillipsburg, with Pastor Robin McCollough officiating. A private inurnment in Marvin Cemetery, Glade, KS, will be held at a later date.
Friends may sign the book Friday, August 16th, from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. at the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Community Church of God or Hospice Services, Inc.
Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, P. O. Box 563, Phillipsburg, KS 67661 is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences: www.olliffboeve.com.
Fort Hays State head wrestling coach Chas Thompson will welcome eight student-athletes to campus next week that make up the 2019-20 Tiger Wrestling signing class. This year’s incoming class includes one transfer and seven freshmen.
“I’m very happy with this group we have coming in for the upcoming 2019-20 season,” said Thompson. “The guys that are coming in are all middle to upper weights, and that is where we were a bit thin this past season. I feel like these guys are all a great fit, and I am looking forward to see them mixing it up with our returners in our room.”
Colten Ballentine is an incoming freshman from Hershey High School in Hershey, Neb. He is projected to wrestle at the 165 pounds after qualifying for state as a senior at 160 pounds.
Jarod Camacho will be a freshman after wrapping up at Cypress Ranch High School in Cypress, Texas. Camacho placed sixth in the Texas 6A state championship as a junior at 195 pounds. He is set to contend at either 184 pounds or 197 pounds.
LJ Flax is a true freshman from Goddard Eisenhower High School in Goddard, Kan. He was a two-time state qualifier at 220 pounds and projects to wrestle at 285 pounds for the Tigers.
Tereus Henry heads to Hays from Montwood High School in El Paso, Texas. The projected 184-pound wrestler was the Texas 6A state champion at 182 pounds as a junior in 2018 before finishing second at the same weight class in 2019.
Clint Herrick is an incoming freshman out of Raymore-Peculiar High School in Raymore, Mo. Clint was a three-time state qualifier in Missouri, finishing third in Class 3A at 182 pounds as a senior. He is projected to hit the mat at 184 pounds.
Nick Lucas is the lone transfer in this year’s recruiting class, moving to Hays after two years at Pratt Community College in Pratt, Kan. The Pratt native is a two-time national qualifier at the JuCo level, earning All-American honors as a sophomore after a sixth-place finish at 165 pounds in 2019. Lucas was a three-time Kansas 4A state qualifier, finishing runner-up as a senior in 2017 while placing fifth as a junior. Lucas projects to compete at 174 pounds in 2019-20.
Elias Robles is a true freshman from Montwood High School in El Paso, Texas. The projected 197-pounder was high school teammates with fellow incoming freshman Tereus Henry. Robles advanced to the Texas 6A regional tournament three times.
Caleb Willis will be a freshman after a successful wrestling career at Bonner Springs High School in Bonner Springs, Kan. Willis was a four-time state qualifier in Kansas, taking the 4A title at 220 pounds as a sophomore in 2017 before finishing runner-up as a junior and placing third in 5A as a senior. He is projected to hit the mat at either 197 pounds or 285 pounds.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -Police announced Wednesday that a woman’s body has been found in Arkansas after police fatally shot her estranged rifle-toting husband the day before near a popular shopping area in Kansas City, Kansas.
Pearson courtesy Cass Co. Sheriff
The body of 49-year-old Sylvia Ussery-Pearson was found Tuesday night in northwest Arkansas’ Benton County, police said during a news conference in Overland Park, Kansas, where she was from. The discovery was made hours after 51-year-old Charles Pearson, a 21-year veteran Army Ranger who had completed two combat tours in Iraq, walked into a Country Inn & Suites and told the general manager that he killed his wife.
Pearson said he was armed and heading to the nearby Legends Outlet shopping district.
Police in Kansas City, Kansas, said that when law enforcement confronted Pearson at a nearby intersection, he fired several shots at officers, who returned fire and killed him.
Ussery-Pearson had been missing since Monday after leaving her home with her husband, who lived in nearby Lenexa, Kansas. Overland Park Police Chief Frank R. Donchez Jr. said her family filed a missing person report later that day and contacted her husband on Tuesday. He agreed to be interviewed and his home and car were searched.
Donchez said Pearson later called family and friends and said he was suicidal before going to the shopping area, where the shooting happened.
A note found in a Lenexa residence later led law enforcement to his wife’s body. Donchez said her death is believed to be a homicide but the cause hasn’t been released. He said no other suspects are being sought. He said the couple had been estranged since February.
Cass County, Missouri, officials on Tuesday searched a patch of land outside of Harrisonville that belonged to U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler. Police said the reason for the search was that Ussery-Pearson’s phone had pinged on Hartzler’s land about 40 miles (64.37 kilometers) south of Kansas City.
Hartzler’s spokesman, Steve Walsh, said Wednesday the Hartzlers didn’t know the missing woman or Pearson.
Johnson County District Court online records show Charles Pearson was charged last year with misdemeanor criminal damage to property after an incident in Lenexa on Oct. 8, 2018, that referenced a woman named Sylvia Pearson, according to The Kansas City Star.
Charles Pearson, who allegedly broke a mirror, was booked into the Johnson County jail and released the next day after posting bond. The court records indicate a diversion agreement in the case was signed Nov. 28, 2018.
Donchez said he didn’t know whether Pearson had PTSD from his military service.
“We need to do more for our veterans that return from combat,” he said. “This may or may not be an unfortunate circumstance of his service.”
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police have identified a man they fatally shot near a popular Kansas City-area shopping area after he said he had killed his wife.
Pearson photo Johnson Co.
Police on Wednesday said 51-year-old Charles Pearson, of nearby Johnson County, Kansas, was the man who walked into a Country Inn & Suites Tuesday and told the general manager he killed his wife. He said he was armed and heading to the nearby Legends Outlet shopping district.
Kansas City, Kansas, police spokesman Jonathon Westbrook said when law enforcement confronted Pearson at a nearby intersection, he fired several shots at officers, who returned fire and killed him.
Overland Park police said Tuesday they were searching for 49-year-old Sylvia Ussery-Pearson, who hasn’t been seen since leaving her home Monday. Ussery-Pearson is listed in 2018 property records as Pearson’s wife.
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By MARGARET STAFFORD
Kansas City, Kansas, police shot and killed a man on Tuesday who told a hotel manager that he had killed his wife and was heading to a popular shopping and restaurant area.
Officer-involved shooting scene photo courtesy KCTV
The “very angry and distraught” man entered the Country Inn & Suites near the Legends Outlet shopping area said he had killed his wife, said Jacob Honeycutt, general manager of the business.
“He said ‘I’m heavily armed and very dangerous. I’m going to Legends. You better call police,'” Honeycutt told The Associated Press.
The man was not armed when he entered the Inn, said Honeycutt, who tried to follow the suspect but couldn’t catch him before he got into a car and sped away, driving through stop signs before the confrontation with police.
Officer Jonathan Westbrook told The Kansas City Star the gunman was waiting at an intersection for police to arrive.
“We were able to locate him so quickly because he was stationary,” Westbrook said. “Given the information that he was heavily armed and dangerous, our officers were very tactical in how we approached the subject.”
The man raised an assault-style rifle at officers, who tried to convince him to put it down, Westbrook said. Eventually the man fired several shots at the officers and they fired back, he said.
The number of rounds fired by the unidentified gunman and officers was not immediately known. No officers or bystanders were injured.
Law enforcement authorities were investigating to determine if the man had committed any earlier crimes, Westbrook said.
Honeycutt said he and a front desk manager were the only people in the front desk area of Inn when the man arrived. He praised police for their quick response to the situation.
“I was worried about the safety of my guests and employees but also all the people in the rest of the shopping area,” he said “We wanted to try and stop them but unfortunately we couldn’t so we got ahold of the police as quickly as possible.”
The man was stopped before he made it into the Legends, which is full of stores and restaurants in a rapidly developing area in western Kansas City, Kansas. The County Inn & Suites is on a road that surrounds the shopping area, located near other businesses such as Cerner and Cabela’s and the stadium for the Sporting KC soccer team.
All the businesses were reopened and operating normally about two hours after the man was shot.
Doris Winifred Stephens Gilbert passed away August 13, 2019 at Decatur Health Systems.
Doris was born and raised in Jennings, Kansas to Clyde Stephens and Flora Barnett Stephens on March 9, 1925 in Jennings. Doris attended Oberlin High School where she met James. After his stint in the Army, they were married September 12, 1944 in Clayton, KS. They then moved southeast of Achilles, Kansas where James farmed and raised cattle until his passing in 2004.
Doris was a partner with James in farming. After the children were raised, she worked for a number of years at Duckwall’s in Oberlin, then Doris became an Avon Representative. While James was away in the Army, Doris worked at Remington Arms in Colorado.
Doris was an active member of the “Hello There” Hobby Club, active with Atwood Farm Bureau, an excellent seamstress, and loved to cook, bake and knew her way around her kitchen.
Doris had been a resident of Good Samaritan Society for several years. Prior to that, she resided at Wheat Ridge Terrace. After her husband James’ passing, she was very happy to move into the city of Oberlin and to Wheat Ridge joining in all their activities.
Doris is survived by her two children, James C. Gilbert of Vero Beach, Florida and her daughter, Marsha J. Colby of Garfield, Washington. Also surviving her are grandsons, Michael and James Jeffery; great grandson, Aaron Gilbert; granddaughter, Melissa Hunt; great granddaughter, Alexandria Martinez; sisters-in-law, Marion Dempewolfe and twins Donna Otis and Karon Scott. Also surviving Doris is her good and helpful friend, Ivis Hanson and her love ones from Wheat Ridge Terrace. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, James and her sister, Clara Mae Yakowenko.
Doris loved everybody and everybody loved her. She will surely be missed by her family and many friends. We wish to thank Dr. Richard Akromis and the staff at Decatur Health, and the wonderful care given to Doris at The Good Samaritan Society.
Graveside services will be held 11:00 am Saturday, August 17, 2019 at Oberlin Cemetery. Visitation will be 9:30-10:30 am Saturday, August 17 at Pauls Funeral Home, Oberlin. Memorial contributions may be made to United Church of Oberlin, Good Samaritan Society of Decatur County or Wheat Ridge Terrace. Condolences may be left at www.paulsfh.com
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has found prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Kansas City, Kansas, improperly listened to recorded communications between inmates and their defense attorneys in a ruling that could upend hundreds of federal convictions and sentences.
Photo by Sol Rosenberg
U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson in a ruling handed down late Tuesday set up what she called a roadmap for reviewing federal cases for potential violations of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Robinson also found the office in contempt of court for violating her orders to preserve evidence and turn over documents to the court-appointed special master investigating the practice.
Robinson said she would impose monetary sanctions against the government as punishment.
The ruling also cited internal dysfunction in the U.S. attorney’s office, saying prosecutors distrusted current and past management “to the point of insubordination.”
