TOPEKA, KAN. – A Kansas contractor was indicted Wednesday on charges of selling more than $7,000 worth of methamphetamine to undercover investigators, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.
Etherton -Photo Geary Co.
Gerald W. Etherton, 59, Junction City, is charged with six counts of distributing methamphetamine. According to court records, in April 2018 the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies began investigating Etherton, who owned Jerry’s Construction at 305 E. 8th in Junction City. Undercover agents made a series of buys from Etherton ranging in amount from an ounce of meth for $600 to a quarter of a pound for $2,000.
If convicted, Etherton faces a penalty of not less than 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $10 million on five of the six counts, and up to 20 years and a fine up to $1 million on one of the counts. The KBI investigated with the assistance of the Geary County Sheriff’s Office, the Junction City Police Department and the Geary County Attorney’s Office. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Skip Jacobs is prosecuting.
GOVE COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just after 5p.m. Wednesday in Gove County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Suzuki motorcycle driven by Jonathan Andrew Hejny, 32, Hays, was eastbound on Interstate 70 three miles east of Grinnell.
As the rider passed a semi, the wind blew the motorcycle off the road as into the median. The driver lost control causing the motorcycle to flip twice.
Hejny was transported to Gove County Medical Center. He was not wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.
WELLINGTON, Kan. (AP) — A 29-year-old Kansas woman who was arrested after her boyfriend was stabbed to death has been released from jail after she claimed the killing was self-defense.
Pearson -photo Sumner Co.
Sumner County Attorney Kerwin Spencer says Ashley Pearson was arrested on suspicion of murder after her boyfriend, 25-year-old Kyle Hill, died Saturday morning at a home the two shared.
Spencer says Pearson gave a statement two days later saying she acted in self-defense. He said Wednesday the investigation is continuing but her story fits the definition of self-defense under Kansas law.
No further information was released.
Kansas corrections records show Hill had convictions in 2013 of criminal threat, aggravated battery and aggravated assault.
DICKINSON COUNTY — A small plane made an unexpected landing just before 1:30p.m. Wednesday in Dickinson County.
Location of the emergency landing Google map
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a Fixed-wing Piper piloted by John Albert Wilesky, 77, Solomon, was made an emergency landing in the 1000 Block of north Van Buren in Abilene due to running out of fuel.
Wolesky was not injured. The KHP released no additional details.
SEDGWICK COUNTY —A driver has been charged with running into a Kansas sheriff’s deputy while intoxicated and breaking the deputy’s leg.
April crash scene -photo Sedgwick Co. Sheriff
The driver was charged Tuesday with two counts of aggravated battery while driving under the influence in the crash in east Wichita, according to Sedgwick County sheriff’s Lt. Tim Myers.
Just before midnight on April 28, the driver struck Deputy Nick Wohler’s patrol car before striking the deputy as he was outside the vehicle conducting a traffic stop, according to Myers.
A civilian with the Citizens Police Academy was a passenger in the patrol car and sustained a concussion from the impact. The suspect had minor injuries. The suspect’s name will be released after he makes a first appearance. An arrest warrant is pending.
Royalty finalists for Homecoming 2018 at Fort Hays State University have been announced by the Homecoming Committee.
“This year there were 29 Homecoming Royalty nominees representing 20 different student organizations and groups,” said Brittney Squire, from FHSU’s Center for Student Involvement. “Each nominee’s application was reviewed and scored by members of the Homecoming Coordinating Committee in order to select the top five finalists for king and queen.”
This year’s Homecoming Royalty Finalists are:
Queen:
• Anna-Lura Frisbie, McDonald senior, representing Alpha Kappa Psi. She is an accounting major.
• Kaylin Haines, Topeka senior, representing Students for Life. She is a management major.
• Cassidy Locke, Wichita senior, representing Delta Zeta. She is an English education major.
• Lucille Partlow-Loyall, Colorado Springs, Colo., senior, representing Alpha Gamma Delta. She is a social work major.
• Kelly Strecker, Highlands Ranch, Colo., senior, representing the University Activities Board. She is a physics major.
King:
• Adam Daniel, Arriba, Colo., senior, representing Collegiate DECA. He is a tourism and hospitality management major.
• Cyrus Haynes, Hays senior, representing Alpha Kappa Psi. He is a tourism and hospitality management major.
• Hayden Hutchison, Hays senior, representing the VIP Ambassadors. He is a management major.
• Roy Koech, Russell junior, representing the Criminal Justice Club. He is a criminal justice major.
• Dane Murzyn, Brighton, Colo., junior, representing University Activities Board. He is an organizational leadership major.
A new event at this year’s Homecoming schedule is the Homecoming Week Kickoff from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 24, sponsored by the Office of the President, the Center for Student Involvement and the University Activities Board.
FHSU President Tisa Mason will deliver a welcome, finalists for Homecoming royalty will be introduced and guitarist Sam Burchfield will provide the music.
The student body vote for king and queen will be from 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, until noon Friday, Sept. 28 on TigerLink. Students can also vote in the Memorial Union from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 26, and Thursday, Sept. 27.
The royalty finalists will lead the Victor E. March to the Tiger Pep Rally Thursday night. The Victor E. March starts at 7 p.m. at Tiger Village and Stadium Place Apartments and will weave through campus before arriving at Gross Memorial Coliseum for the start of the pep rally at 7:30.
The finalists will also participate in the Homecoming Parade through downtown Hays on Saturday, Sept. 29. The parade starts at 1 p.m.
The king and queen will be announced at halftime of the Homecoming football game against Central Oklahoma University on Saturday, Sept. 29. The football game kicks off at 7 p.m.
BARTON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on breach of privacy allegations.
Driscoll -photo Barton Co.
Tracy Driscoll, 35, entered pleas of no contest to the six counts of breach of privacy Wednesday morning in Barton County District Court, according to Barton County Attorney Amy Mellor.
Driscoll waived his right to a preliminary hearing and then entered his please to the charges. Two other counts of breach of privacy were dismissed by the prosecution.
Driscoll remains free on bond pending sentencing, now set for November 9. The judge ordered that a pre-sentence investigation take place with information from that investigation presented to the court and to the parties prior to the sentencing date.
The entry of pleas and the resulting convictions resulted from an investigation that began when officers were called to the E-Z Tanning salon in Great Bend following complaints that the defendant had been photographing or taking videos of customers while they were undressed. An officer contacted Driscoll and seized his cell phone when it became apparent that the device contained evidence of crimes.
A later examination of the phone’s contents revealed photographs of other individuals who were undressed while tanning. A list of customers showed that while they were in one room, Driscoll was in the next room over and used his phone camera to take the photographs or videos.
The Great Bend Police Department investigated the case while the Kansas Bureau of Investigation provided technical assistance.
JEWELL COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and asking for help to locate suspects.
According to a social media report, on September 15, the Jewell County Sheriff’s Office took a report of around 200 pumpkins stolen from a pumpkin patch located 3 miles east of Randall.
If anyone has any information please call the Sheriff’s Office at 378-3194.
There is a $500 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
KANSAS CITY (AP) — A former prosecutor and chairman of Missouri’s Democratic Party has been sentence to two years and three months in federal prison for misusing campaign funds for personal expenses and vacations.
Mike Sanders -Photo by Sam Zeff -photo Kansas News Service
Mike Sanders also was ordered Wednesday to forfeit $40,000. He pleaded guilty earlier this year conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Sanders had been on a trajectory to run for statewide or congressional office before resigning two years ago as head of Jackson County government. In his guilty plea, Sanders acknowledged converting $62,000 in political campaign funds into cash in a check-cashing scheme involving a disabled friend from high school.
While some of that cash went for political purposes, Sanders admitted using $15,000 to $40,000 of the cashed checks for personal use. Sanders will begin serving his sentence Nov. 5.
Mitchell “Mitch” Lee Curtin, 53, Atwood, Kansas passed away September 18, 2018 at his home. Mitch was born February 23, 1965 and grew up on a farm as the son of Larry and Joann (Sunley) Curtin.
Growing up on a family farm south of Atwood, Mitch learned to farm, ride horses, and raise cattle at a young age. He attended school in Atwood where he graduated in 1983. Mitch went on to Goodland Vo-Tech mechanic school and applied his diesel mechanic skills to harvest crews and as a John Deere mechanic. In 1992, Mitch returned to the family farm to once again fulfill his love of raising crops and caring for the land until his death. He also enjoyed hunting and was very proud of his black lab, Harley.
On March 23, 1994, a daughter, Alexia Lea, was born to Mitch Curtin and Sherri VanHorn.
On February 23, 2008, he married Cindy Skolout in Kauai, Hawaii. After a short stay in Hawaii, they returned to Atwood.
Survivors include his wife of 10 years, Cindy, mother, JoAnn Curtin of Atwood, KS, daughter, Alexia and husband Christian Hadley of St. Francis, KS, one brother, Craig “CJ” Curtin of Arvada, Colorado; three sisters, Marla and husband Dennis Delaney of Wildwood, MO, Lisa and husband Charles Keller of Albert, KS, Julie and husband David Tuttle of Overland Park, KS, step-daughter, Amber Barnett, step-son, Dustin Barnett and grandchildren Odin, and Dreyken Hadley, step-grandson Sage Barnett, and many nieces, nephews and friends.
He was preceded in death by his father, grandparents William and Bernice Curtin, Paul and Hazel Sunley, and niece, Bridget Delaney.
A celebration of life will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, September 21, 2018 at The Skyline Ballroom, East Hill Dr, Atwood, KS. A private family burial will take place later at Chardon Cemetery.
Memorial contributions in the memory of Mitch will be contributed to his medical expenses and can be mailed to: 502 South 7th Street, Atwood, KS 67730.
A rose from a bush infected with a virus called rose rosette.
By JANET McCONNAUGHEY Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The outlook for American-grown roses is becoming a bit less rosy, with the spread of an incurable virus that’s causing major damage to the nation’s $250-million-a-year rose business.
U.S. rose bush producers account for the bulk of that business and face a growing challenge from rose rosette disease, which can kill roses within three years. Its many symptoms include super-thorny stems and clusters of stems called rosettes or witches’ brooms.
One producer spent $1 million getting rid of rose rosette disease and some smaller nurseries have had to destroy 10,000 plants, said Dr. David Byrne of Texas A&M University, leader of a $4.6 million multistate project to study the virus and the mite that spreads it, and to find resistant rose varieties.
“It moves real easily and it’s hard to detect initially. … That’s really scary for someone in production,” Byrne said. “If it gets in their pots in their production areas, they’ve got to eliminate thousands of plants. Even then they don’t know if they’ve got rid of it.”
He also said, “I think we’re seeing it in more areas now than 10 years ago.”
The virus, spread by wind-blown mites about half the length of a grain of salt, has been found in at least 30 states, including eastern and south-central Kansas.
In Texas, the Fort Worth Botanic Garden had to replace its entire rose collection. The virus recently was found to have spread in northwest Louisiana, including the home city of the American Rose Society and its gardens — the largest U.S. park devoted to the national flower.
Rose rosette has been known since the early 1940s — and was once hailed as a possible way to eradicate an invasive plant.
The disease was first identified on wild multiflora roses in California, the Rocky Mountains and Manitoba, Canada. In the 1990s and even the early 2000s, scientists considered it a possible way to control those invasive plants.
It became recognized as a problem for cultivated roses only in the last decade or so, Byrne said.
It’s the latest blow to the business. South American competition forced most U.S. growers out of the cut flower market over the past several decades. That market has withered from $200 million in 1990 to $22 million in 2015.
This virus threatens the rose bush business, valued at more than $200 million in 2015. It appears to be a growing issue as more and more cultivated roses are used in landscapes, according to a website created by a coalition of rose producers and scientists.
In Louisiana, where rose rosette disease was first detected in 2015, it’s spreading at an alarming rate in commercial and residential plantings in Bossier City and in Shreveport, where the rose society’s American Rose Center is located, said Dr. Raj Singh, an LSU AgCenter plant pathologist.
The center’s 40 acres with rose gardens are free of the disease so far, said the society’s executive director, Laura Seabaugh.
Unless an infected bush is removed, experts say, mites will spread the virus throughout a garden and beyond.
That can mean hard choices, said Dr. Mark T. Windham, who’s testing plants at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville to find resistant varieties.
“I’ve had people tell me, ‘The bush that has it, it’s the only surviving clone of my great-grandmother’s rose.’ I hate to say it, but are you going to try to save that rose and put your 500-bush rose garden in jeopardy?” he said.
The Fort Worth Botanic Garden uprooted about 2,000 bushes in 2015, rosarian Jeffrey Myers said. He said their close-set rows let mites “crawl through like a highway from rose to rose.” The botanic garden now has about 350 rose bushes, set at least 3 to 4 feet apart, with other plants in between as mite roadblocks.
Byrne says some large landscapers are not using roses because it’s too expensive to maintain them.
Customers still want them but won’t pay to replace infected plants, said Joe Ketterer, with Ruppert Landscape of Laytonsville, Maryland, which works in six states and the District of Columbia. He said his company uses roses but prunes out affected branches, using hormones to stimulate growth in parts of the same plant without symptoms.
At Tennessee-Knoxville, the University of Delaware and Oklahoma State, researchers lodge infected, mite-infested twigs in the foliage of healthy plants to see which stay well.
“So far we have 20 roses that look good. This is their fourth year,” Windham said. But their test won’t be over until they’ve lasted a full four years without infection, he said.
MORRIS COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities have identified the driver who ran over and killed a man on a Kansas highway just after 1:30a.m. Sunday in Morris County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Ford Escape driven by Joshua R. Williams, 37, Herringon, was eastbound on U.S. 56 ten miles east of Herrington.
The Ford ran over Shawn Irons, 56, Herrington, who was lying in the middle of the road and then departed the scene.
Irons was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Zeiner Funeral Home. Williams and a 12-year-old passenger in the Ford were not injured.
The accident remains under investigation.
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MORRIS COUNTY — One person died in an accident early Sunday in Morris County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a vehicle was eastbound on U.S. Highway 56 ten miles east of Herrington.
The vehicle ran over Shawn Irons, 56, Herrington, who was lying in the middle of the road and then departed the scene.
The KHP reported the accident occurred between1:21and 01:44 a.m. Sunday. Irons was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Zeiner Funeral Home.
