Thursday Patchy fog between 8am and 9am. Areas of freezing fog between 7am and 8am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 31. East northeast wind around 9 mph becoming north northwest in the morning.
Thursday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 16. North wind 5 to 9 mph.
FridayPartly sunny, with a high near 38. Light and variable wind becoming southeast 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Friday NightA chance of rain before 9pm, then a chance of freezing rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31. East southeast wind 10 to 15 mph becoming southwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
SHAWNEE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges after an arrest.
Barnes -photo Shawnee Co.
Just before midnight Tuesday, police were dispatched to 2619 SW 21st in Topeka on a report of unwanted subjects intoxicated in the parking lot, according to Lt. Manuel Munoz.
Officers made contact with Sylvan Alexa Barnes, 26, who was attempting to drive away.
Further investigation by the officers revealed that Barnes was intoxicated and subsequently arrested for DUI.
Officers also located a firearm and narcotics in the vehicle. Barnes was transported to Shawnee County Department of Corrections and booked on requested charges of Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Possession of Marijuana and DUI, according to Munoz.
She has previous convictions for aggravated burglary, aggravated assault, violation of a protection order from abuse, criminal possession of a firearm, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
This is the 25th case in 2019 with a charge involving a felon in possession of a firearm reported by the Topeka Police Department.
PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. (AP) — About 1,000 people have signed a petition after a Catholic grade school in suburban Kansas City denied admission to a same-sex couple’s child.
The Rev. Craig Maxim told families in a letter last month that he sought guidance from the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas when the same-sex couple asked to enroll their child in kindergarten at St. Ann Catholic School in Prairie Village, Kansas. He said the archdiocese advised against accepting the child because the parents could not “model behaviors and attitudes consistent with the Church’s teachings.”
About half of the people who signed the petition to Archbishop Joseph Naumann and the archdiocesan schools superintendent are St. Ann members. Catholic schools nationwide are divided over whether to admit same-sex couples’ children.
HUTCHINSON — Motorists who have purchased gas at one of three Kwik Shops in Hutchinson have had their cars stop unexpectedly for what is apparently contaminated gasoline.
Several area car dealerships have reported numerous customers bringing in vehicles after purchasing gas this week.
According to service managers at both Midwest Superstore and Midway Motors, the gas has been contaminated with diesel fuel.
Alan Samuels Motors is also reporting both diesel and regular gas-powered vehicles having similar problems. Efforts to contact Kwik Shop were unsuccessful.
The three stores known to have sold the fuel are at 4th and K-61, 43rd and Plum and 17th and Lorraine.
There is no word about what is being done at this time to prevent any further damage to vehicles.
OTTAWA COUNTY, OK—Law enforcement authorities are investigating and have arrested two people on suspicion of counterfeiting thousands of dollars.
Joan Smith -photo Ottawa Co. SheriffScott Lowe-photo Ottawa Co. Sheriff
On Monday, police arrested 44-year-old Scott Lowe and 39-year-old Joan Smith in a hotel room in Miami, according to a media release.
Officers also found $3,000 in counterfeit $50 bills in the room and printing equipment during the arrest.
Officers also located numerous new consumer goods that were recently purchased by the pair.
The release says it appears the two printed and spent about $30,000 during the past month in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Missouri and Kansas, including more than $4,000 in bogus money during the weekend in Springfield, Missouri.
The U.S. secret service has been contacted about the case.
TOPEKA, KAN. – Two Kansas companies were indicted Wednesday on federal charges of safety violations that caused a greenish-yellow toxic chlorine gas cloud to form over the city of Atchinson in October 2016, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.
Huge Chemical plume over Aitchison Kansas in October 2016-photo courtesy Corie Dunn
A web page, a phone line and an email address have been set up for victims to provide and receive information on the case.
The indictment alleges more than 140 people sought medical attention after 4,000 gallons of sulfuric acid combined with 5,800 gallons of sodium hypochlorite to form a toxic cloud that covered the city for 45 minutes until emergency personnel arrived to turn off the flow.
Midwest Grain Products, Inc., of Atchison, Kan., and Harcros Chemicals, Inc., of Kansas City, Kan., are charged with Clean Air Act violations that put the public in danger.
The indictment alleges that on Oct. 21, 2016, a driver for Harcros pulled a truck into Midwest Grain’s facility in Atchison to deliver sulfuric acid. An operator for Midwest Grain helped the driver access the transfer equipment. When the driver mistakenly connected the sulfuric acid line to the sodium hypochlorite line, toxic gas began to form. The indictment alleges both men violated safety rules by failing to verify that the connection was correct and failing to monitor the transfer.
Victims can get more information on US v. Midwest Grain Products, Inc., by visitinghttps://www.justice.gov/usao-ks/victim-witness and filling out a victim questionnaire, leaving a message on a designated phone line at 913-551-6543 or emailing questions to [email protected] .
If convicted, the defendant companies face the following penalties: Count one, violation of general duty clause: A fine up to $500,000. Count two, knowingly releasing a hazardous pollutant: A fine up to $1 million. Count three (alternate to count two), negligently releasing a hazardous pollutant: A fine up to $200,000.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Three people died in an accident just after 12:30p.m. Wednesday in Sedgwick County.
Fatal crash scene in Sedgwick County -photo courtesy KWCH
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2019 Freightliner semi driven by Brandon M. Collier, 45, Wichita, was northbound Greenwich Road one mile east of Webb Road in Wichita.
A 2017 Ford Fusion driven by Terry L. Wehry, 41, El Dorado, was westbound on Kansas 254. The vehicles collided at the intersection.
Wehry and two passengers Renata A. Wehry, 44, and Lonnie W. Jesser, 68, both of El Dorado were pronounced dead at the scene. Both vehicles went into a ditch and caught fire.
Collier was not injured. The KHP did have seat belt information on the occupants of the Ford.
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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say three people have been killed in a fiery wreck in northeast Wichita.
The crash happened around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday on Kansas 254. Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Chad Crittenden says a northbound box truck collided with a westbound car while crossing Kansas 254. Both vehicles went into a ditch and caught fire.
Crittenden said the three people in the car died at the scene. The patrol is working to identify them.
The truck driver was hospitalized with what are believed to be minor injuries. Crittenden says it appears that the driver didn’t yield before crossing the highway.
The Ellis County Commission will not provide an additional $35,000 in budget authority for the county attorney to return his office to five full-time prosecutors.
Earlier this year, County Attorney Tom Drees asked the commission for the additional funds to bring his office back to the previous staffing levels. In November, Assistant County Attorney Chris Lyon, who was only considered a part-time employee stepped down from his position with Ellis County, leaving the county with four full-time attorneys.
Ellis County Attorney Tom Drees
Drees said the additional $35,423 would allow him to hire a fifth full-time attorney.
In February, several members of the attorney’s office and local law enforcement officials spoke in favor of re-establishing the fifth position.
At Monday’s meeting, all three commissioners acknowledged the importance of the work done in the attorney’s office but said the current budget situation made it hard for them to find the extra funds. Commissioner Butch Schlyer said the request was poor timing.
“The county’s financial situation is just really, really bad. Your timing on this is just atrocious,” said Schlyer. “I really have reservations, from my part in this, about allowing that extra $35,000 because it’s going to have to come from some other department somehow or somewhere.”
As part of his budget presentation last month, County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes presented the commission with a five-year projection that showed the county having a negative unencumbered cash balance of negative $509,000 at the end of 2021.
Schlyer
Smith-Hanes said they determined the county will need to reduce expenses and increase revenues by $2 million. Commission Chair Dan Haselhorst said Monday he’s not confident giving the extra money to Drees in their current situation.
“Just trying to decide where we’re going to come up with another $35,000 when we are $2 million short,” Haselhorst said.
Drees said he understands the position the commission is in and said they will continue to make do with what they are provided.
“This is reality. This is governing,” Drees said. “The commissioners have to allocate their money. We department heads take the money they’ll give and we do the best we can with it.”
But with the reduction in staff, the backlog in court cases is still expected to grow.
Drees said his office had nearly 1,500 reports last year and each prosecutor can work about 200 to 250 reports a year, so his office is left with a backlog that will continue to pile up.
He said he hopes to discuss the position during the 2020 budget process later this year.
In other business, the commission:
• Approved the sale of a 1-acre tract of land that was part of a half-section sold to a Victoria couple. The deed shows the county purchased the property in 1932 but there is no documentation as to why. The county paid $50 for it in 1932 and agreed to sell it for $800 Monday.
• Heard an update from fair officials on drainage issues at the fairgrounds.
• Approved the emergency operations plan, which lays out the responsibilities of each department in the event of a disaster.
INDIANAPOLIS – The Fort Hays State women’s basketball team sits second in the NCAA Division II Central Region rankings for the second week in a row, released Wednesday (March 6) by the league office. It is the final set of regional rankings that will be announced before the official NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship bracket is released on Sunday, March 10.
The 27-1 Tigers wrapped up the regular season with two more home wins last week, including a win over eighth-ranked Pittsburg State. Southwestern Oklahoma State, also 27-1 overall, sits atop the rankings after picking up a pair of road wins over the final week of the regular season.
There was a bit of shuffling in the rankings below the top two, with Central Missouri sliding back up to No. 3 after sitting at No. 4 last week. No. 7 Lindenwood and No. 8 Pittsburg State both moved up one spot after No. 9 Concordia-St. Paul dropped two slots. East Central enters the region ranks for the first time at No. 10, replacing Washburn.
The Tigers are 5-1 against teams currently ranked in the top 10 in the region, while SWOSU is 2-1.
The champions of the MIAA, GAC and NSIC tournaments will all earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Championship field, with the next five teams in the region also earning an at-large selection. The top team in the region earns the right to host the regional tournament, which will be held March 15-18.
After finishing the regular season with only one loss for the first time in program history, the Tigers will look to keep the momentum going into the postseason. Fort Hays State will open play in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Women’s Basketball Championship at 6 p.m. Thursday (March 7). The top-seeded Tigers await the winner of No. 8 Nebraska-Kearney and No. 9 Missouri Western.
The complete NCAA Division II Central Region rankings for February 27, 2019 can be found below.
Alonso-Espinoza / photo Butler County Sheriff’s DepartmentA Mexican citizen has been charged by federal prosecutors after allegedly being found with more than 20 pounds of methamphetamine in northwest Kansas.
Maria Alonso-Espinoza, 29, has been charged with one count of distributing methamphetamine, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.
According to court documents, the Kansas Highway Patrol stopped Alonso-Espinoza’s vehicle Feb. 26 on Interstate 70 in Russell County and found 21 pounds of meth.
If convicted, she faces a penalty of not less than 10 years and a fine up to $10 million. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Furst is prosecuting.
RILEY COUNTY —In the past week the Riley County Police Department has responded to three reports of apparent drug overdoses.
fentanyl -photo DEA
According to a media release from the RCPD, the investigations suggest that some of these incidents may have been related to the use of heroin containing fentanyl, an extremely strong synthetic opioid. One of these incidents involved a fatality and two other persons were hospitalized.
The use of illegal narcotics regularly produces negative consequences, but in the case of heroin containing fentanyl, the consequences can be deadly. The Riley County Police Department believes that the aforementioned incidents represent a significant public health risk to some members of the community and requests the public’s assistance in responding to this risk. For these reasons the RCPD is issuing this public safety announcement.
If you have any information about the sale, possession, or use of these dangerous drugs please call the Riley County Police Department at 785-537-2112 or in an emergency 911. You can also anonymously provide information through the Manhattan-Riley County Crime Stoppers program at www.p3tips/353 or 785-539-7777.
The No. 10 ranked Fort Hays State wrestling team will be sending one of their own to the NCAA Division II Championships this weekend (Mar. 8-9) in Cleveland, Ohio as junior Brandon Ball earned his way to his third-consecutive appearance at nationals. Ball will take on fellow Division II competitors for a chance at All-American stats and a national championship.
No. 1 ranked Brandon Ball will compete in the 141-pound weight class. He will battle Dylan Nace of East Stroudsburg in an opening-round match, or pigtail match, before entering the round of 16. This is the third-consecutive year that Ball will be competing at the NCAA Division II Championships. He earned a sixth-place finish and All-American status as a redshirt-freshman before finishing one round shy of placing last season.
Ball enters the championships with a 24-0 overall record and a 21-0 clip against Division II competition this year. He is coming off his second super regional title. In Ball’s weight class, there are seven other wrestlers who Ball has faced this season, two of which are on the top half of the 18-man bracket. Including top-ranked Ball, nine of the 18 players are currently ranked in the nation.
