SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for aggravated assault after an arrest.
England -photo Sedgwick Co.
Just after 5 a.m.Sunday, police responded to a disturbance with a weapon call at a residence in the 3400 block of south Illinois Street in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.
Upon arrival, officers observed 59-year-old David England, of Wichita, on the front porch of the home with a gun in his hand.
Officers gave England verbal commands to put the gun down. England complied and he was taken into custody without further incident. Upon England’s arrest he was found to be in possession of three handguns and marijuana.
The investigation revealed a 40-year-old man and a 50-year-old man of the home were asleep along with their three juvenile children.
England, who was unknown to them, woke them by banging on the front door. The family observed England talking out loud and watched him fire two shots from the handgun into the air.
England is being held on five counts of aggravated assault and one count of criminal discharge of a firearm, according to Davidson.
GREAT BEND – All things “butterfly” will be the focus of the Kansas Wetlands Education Center’s (KWEC) Butterfly Festival from 9 a.m. to noon on Sat., Sept. 15. From puppet shows to tagging monarch butterflies, kids and adults will find plenty to do during this free and educational event.
New this year, the StoneLion Puppet Theatre will present “Bubba and Trixie,” a story of a scaredy-cat caterpillar too afraid to leave its leaf until it meets a fearless lady bug. Through their adventures – including the caterpillar’s transformation into a butterfly – they form true friendship and face their fears. StoneLion Puppets will present three 30-minute shows at 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., with a puppet craft in-between shows and walking puppets.
“We’re excited to have StoneLion Puppet Theatre present,” said Curtis Wolf, KWEC site manager. “And we’re hoping for a lot of monarchs for everyone to catch and tag, too.”
Nets and tags will be available for those who want to capture and tag monarch butterflies. Participants will receive information about the tagging process before heading out with a tagging leader to search for the butterflies. In the last three years, 16 tagged monarchs released at KWEC have been recovered from winter roosts in Mexico.
“It’s shaping up to be a good year locally for monarch butterflies,” said Pam Martin, education specialist for the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. “We’ve been finding lots of caterpillars and adults in the KWEC pollinator garden.”
Weather permitting, an exhibit bee hive will be on display in the insect zoo in addition to fluorescing scorpions, giant walking stick insects, butterflies, caterpillars and chrysalises. Plan to spend the morning, as door prizes will be presented around noon, along with free milkweed plants (one per family). Information on butterfly-friendly plants and composting will also be available, courtesy of the Barton County Master Gardeners group, along with examples of butterfly-friendly plants in the KWEC pollinator garden.
Kids can play in the mud and make a seed bomb (soil mixture and native flower seeds) to take home to plant. Then, find your inner insect by taking your photo at one of the monarch butterfly or caterpillar photo boards and dress-up area. Kids can also create caterpillar and butterfly crafts in the class room, then refuel as a family with light refreshments and drinks.
DICKINSON COUNTY— One person died in an accident just before 9p.m. Sunday in Dickinson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2000 Ford Econoline Van driven by Scott L. Rowan, 58, Aurora, Co., was westbound on Interstate 70 just west of Rain Road.
The van rear-ended a 2002 Ford Expedition driven by Elizabet Douglass Baker, 71, Philadelphia, PA., that was traveling at approximately the minimum posted speed limit.
The collision caused the Expedition to enter the north ditch and roll.
Baker was transported to the hospital in Abilene where she died.
Rowan was possibly injured but the KHP did not report where or if he was treated. Baker was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder and his Democratic challenger are having a hard time keeping their political footing on immigration issues, complicating their efforts to win a competitive swing House district in Kansas that President Donald Trump narrowly lost.
Kansas Congressman Kevin Yoder, FILE PHOTO / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
Yoder is under pressure from the right despite an endorsement from Trump, and he backed away this week from supporting a Democratic proposal to ensure that immigrants fleeing domestic and gang violence can claim asylum.
Sharice Davids courtesy photo
Democrat Sharice Davids continues to battle GOP ads that say she supports abolishing ICE. She did say that during a liberal podcast interview in July but has disavowed that position, including in a recent television ad.
“The sweet spot is so hard to find, even in the best of times,” said Frank Sharry, the executive director of the pro-immigrant America’s Voice, a frequent Trump critic. “The Sharice Davids-Yoder race is kind of a microcosm.”
Davids and Yoder are running in a Kansas City-area district that has fast-growing, conservative suburbs; older, centrist suburbs, and diverse, heavily Democratic city neighborhoods. More than 81 percent of its residents are white; 11.7 percent are Hispanic, and 8.6 percent are black. Democrat Hillary Clinton’s margin in the 2016 presidential race was 1.2 percentage points.
Davids is generating national attention because of her unusual profile as an LGBT and Native American lawyer and mixed martial arts fighter. Yoder, seeking his fifth term, became chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on homeland security in May, boosting his visibility on immigration issues and role in funding decisions.
Yoder received Trump’s tweeted endorsement in July after House Republicans unveiled legislation including money for Trump’s wall on the Mexican border.
On the left, Yoder already was considered a solid Trump ally. Weeks before, several hundred pro-immigrant demonstrators had rallied outside a district office and local officials had pressured him to demand the end of the Trump administration’s soon-to-be dropped policy of separating parents and children when families tried to cross the Mexico border illegally.
But the homeland security funding measure that cleared committee also contains Democrat-backed provisions on immigration law that have riled Breitbart News and hard-right commentators such as Laura Ingraham and Ann Coulter. Conservatives attacked the asylum proposal, and Yoder said this week it will be dropped; Davids’ campaign called it a flip-flop.
“I’m trying to find something that can pass Congress that will be consistent with our hopes and promises to have better border security while recognizing that legal immigration is an important part of our economy and our country’s future,” Yoder said during in a recent interview.
The district’s mix of voters includes Republicans like 45-year-old Andrea Baker, an optometrist who said she favors strong borders.
“And I would expect the same if I went somewhere else, to another country, that I would go through the proper processes,” said Baker, who hasn’t decided which candidate to support.
Davids has said she favors comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents. She worries that debates too often treat all immigrants as a potential national security problem, dehumanizing them.
The first-time candidate stumbled over whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement should be abolished, a rallying cry on the left that has polled poorly . Her answer in the July podcast prompted a post-primary GOP super PAC ad; she responded with an ad saying she does not support abolishing the agency.
Davids also immediately pivoted to family separations at the border.
Yoder decried the policy publicly and wrote a critical letter in June to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions shortly before the practice was dropped. But Davids has criticized him for not going further, and she said he’s not been a leader on bipartisan immigration reforms.
In addressing the July podcast, Davids issued a statement: “What I also believe — and what I was addressing — is that the practice of ripping families apart at the border is inconsistent with our core values as Americans and an ineffective deterrent to illegal immigration.”
Rachel Chick, a 35-year-old Democrat and mother of two, does not support abolishing ICE but called family separations “extremely hard to watch.”
“I don’t want to disregard that people are looking for opportunities here and are trying to make things better for themselves,” she said.
Meanwhile, critics of the homeland security funding bill Yoder helped craft remain vocal on the right — and include Kris Kobach , the GOP’s conservative nominee for governor.
The funding bill contains $5 billion for physical barriers along the Mexican border.
But the legislation also would protect young immigrants from deportation and allow visas year-round for guest agricultural workers, rather than making the visa program seasonal.
Critics consider the asylum provision problematic, arguing that asylum is legally designated for refugees persecuted for their race, ethnicity, religion or political views.
They also contend the immigration provisions collectively undercut border security.
“You’re creating these problems, and then you’re trying to sort of patch those problems up by doing better border security?” said David Inserra, a policy analyst for the conservative Heritage Foundation. “You’re sort of canceling out your own efforts.”
KANSAS CITY– A Kansas City man with a prior federal felony conviction for possessing child pornography was sentenced in federal court for printing obscene images from a computer at a local public library, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Buie -photo sex offender registry
David R. Buie, 63, of Kansas City, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 10 years and one month in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Buie to a lifetime of supervised release following incarceration. The sentence in this case must be served consecutively to a four-month sentence imposed for violating the terms of his supervised release in an earlier, unrelated federal conviction for possessing child pornography.
On May 8, 2018, Buie was found guilty at trial of one count of possessing obscene images of the sexual abuse of children. Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Buie printed images of child obscenity from a computer at a public library. On July 11, 2017, Buie printed about 50 pages from a computer he was using at the Mid-Continent Public Library at 9253 Blue Ridge Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. Buie didn’t realize that the printer stopped because it was out of toner, so his print jobs were interrupted and only about half of his pages were printed. After Buie left the library, the toner in the printer was changed and the remaining pages of his original print job were printed. As one of the librarians was cleaning up, she removed the remaining pages and observed they were color copies depicting minors from a graphic sex comic.
Library staff contacted the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department to make a report. Buie was identified because his library card was associated with the print job. Security cameras within the library showed him using a computer at the time of the printing.
The U.S. Probation Office was also contacted, because Buie was on supervised release for a prior federal felony conviction for possessing child pornography. When probation officers searched Buie’s residence, they found the images of child obscenity that Buie had printed at the library. Buie told investigators that he visited various public libraries about once a week to view child obscenity anime. Buie said he often printed the images on the library’s printer.
According to court documents, Buie violated the terms of his supervised release on several occasions prior to his criminal offense at the library by possessing incest-like storybooks, “barely legal” pornography and failure to register as a sex offender. While on supervised release, Buie was provided numerous opportunities to avail himself of treatment related to his sexual attraction to minor females, including individual therapy, group therapy, re-directive therapy, and inpatient therapy. He made no progress in therapy and was discharged.
PRATT – The same strong storm systems that ruined many dove hunts came at a perfect time for this year’s teal season. Many wetlands have been filling since Sunday. The combination of improved habitat, a cool front, and hunting seasons in northern states has brought thousands of blue-winged and green-winged teal to Kansas. Some of the best hunting will be on public wildlife areas managed for waterfowl.
The Low Plains Duck Zone early teal season runs Sept. 8-23, and the High Plains Duck Zone (west of U.S. Highway 283) early teal season is Sept. 15-23. The daily limit is six teal, of any species. The possession limit is 18 on or after the third day. Hunters who are required to obtain a hunting license must have a Kansas Harvest Information Program (HIP) permit and Kansas State Waterfowl Habitat Permit. All hunters 16 and older must also have a Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp.
Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area
As of Sept. 4, Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area manager Jason Wagner said water was coming in strong. Pool 5 went from completely dry to about 18 inches of water that flooded excellent habitat. All pools should be holding enough water by opening morning for hunting, although Wagner said boat access to some areas may be limited because of water depth. That could change, though, if the forecast holds true and storms put even more water into the wetland.
Teal numbers jumped dramatically over the weekend. Wagner estimated there were as many as 25,000 ducks, mostly blue-winged teal, on the wildlife area as of Wednesday. He also reported good numbers in the surrounding area, which is pocked with ponds and pasture puddles.
Quivira National Wildlife Refuge
Like most places in central Kansas, Quiviria National Wildlife Refuge experienced heavy rains over the weekend. Mike Oldham, refuge manager, described habitat conditions as “pretty good,” and improving daily. The North Lake area of the marsh system has good water, as do scattered wetlands.
Oldham said teal numbers were not high on Tuesday, but he expects numbers to build in the next few days.
For more on where to hunt in Kansas, visit ksoutdoors.com and click “Hunting,” then “Where to Hunt.”
Peripheral arterial disease, or (PAD) develops when arteries become completely or partially blocked with plaque deposits that limit blood flow to legs. Just like clogged arteries in the heart, clogged arteries in the legs increase the risk of heart attack, stroke or even death.
Artherosclerosis (plaque buildup) in the legs does not always cause symptoms, so many people can have PAD. and not know it. People who do experience symptoms, such as pain or cramping in the legs, often do not report them, believing they are a natural part of aging or due to another cause. PAD affects more than 12 million people in the United States which is why September is recognized as PAD Awareness Month.
Peripheral arterial disease increases in prevalence with age. One in every 8 Americans older than 60 years of age have PAD. Common risk factors include high cholesterol, smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, inactivity, atherosclerosis and age. As many as 6 million people with diabetes have PAD, making it one of the primary co-morbidities of diabetes.
There are many possible side effects of atherosclerosis in the lower extremities, including claudication, non-healing leg ulcers and critical limb ischemia. Chronic toe and foot sores are common in people with PAD, as are cramping, numbness, weakness or heaviness in the leg muscles. Many patients with PAD do not experience symptoms.
While some with PAD do not experience symptoms, people should be aware of certain factors that put them more at risk. Smokers are four times at greater risk, African Americans are more than twice as likely to have PAD, and one in every three people over the age of 50 with diabetes is likely to have the disease.”
The HaysMed Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center recommends the following action steps to help manage PAD:
Lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking, correcting blood pressure and cholesterol numbers
Develop healthy eating habits and an exercise plan. Exercising can help increase the circulation and reduce pain in the lower extremities. Walking, hiking and bike riding are good exercise options. A personal trainer can help tailor a custom workout plan that best fits a person’s needs.
Medications– Always consult with a physician about which medications may help PAD and if they are needed.
Special procedures and surgeries– In some severe cases of PAD, surgery may be needed to open arteries that have narrowed. Consult with a physician to see if surgery is a necessary treatment.
For more information, contact the HaysMed Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center at 785-623-5602 or go to www.haysmed.com/wound-center.
SEWARD COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect in connection with woman reported missing from Kansas.
Shaila Schlenz -photo Liberal Police
On Saturday, authorities reported they located 24-year-old Shaila Schlenz in Amirillo, Texas, according to Liberal Police Captain Robert Rogers.
Schlenz was unharmed, according to Rogers. She had been reported as missing since early July.
Authorities located her with Charles Abdnor, who was arrested on warrants from Seward County.
Abdnor is being held for fraud, aggragravated assault against a public servant, evading arrest, unauthorities use of vehicles and three fugitive charges, according to the Potter County Sheriff.
In 1978, Disco was dominating the charts, mobile phones were non-existent and the Internet was still more than a decade away. It was also the year the very first LEGO® minifigures went into production. Fast forward to today and those inaugural characters have evolved nearly as much as the world around them, offering endless roleplay possibilities. So, as one of the planet’s tiniest icons celebrates its big 4…0, here are some milestone moments from its very big story.
The evolution of the LEGO minifigure It all started in 1974 when the LEGO building figure was launched, made mostly of large square LEGO bricks with moveable arms but immoveable legs. This was followed in 1975 by LEGO stage extra figures with solid torsos, immoveable arms and legs, and no printed features. Basically, very different to the LEGO minifigures we know and love today! Not that we had to wait too long for them to arrive, with 1978 ushering in a new era of LEGO minifigures equipped with moveable limbs and simple facial expressions comprising two solid black eye dots and black painted smile. Fast forward to 2018 and there are now more than 650 unique faces in the collection, meaning children can have fun roleplaying different characters and personalities – anytime, anywhere.
From 20 to 8,000 To begin with, there were around 20 different LEGO minifigure characters, including a police officer, doctor, firefighter, knight and astronaut. But in the four decades since, the number of minifigures available has risen to more than 8,000. To put that into context, if the global population had grown at the same rate, there would now be nearly 144 trillion of us living on Earth!
The perfect height Take away the hair or any other headpiece and LEGO minifigures are exactly the same height as four LEGO bricks fitted together. This means they fit perfectly into the LEGO System in Play. Oh, and if you stacked them head to toe, you would need 20,750 to reach the height of the world’s tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.
Jack of all trades Over the years, LEGO minifigures have shown they can turn their hand to pretty much anything. From pirates to paramedics, engineers to elephant keepers, veterinarians to Vikings, there have been thousands of different minifigure characters. Three LEGO minifigures even blasted into space onboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft in 2011. But one thing has remained consistent throughout: whatever role, character or personality children fancy playing, there’s sure to be a minifigure to match.
Diversity Champion
Did you know the traditional yellow colour of the LEGO minifigure’s head was chosen based on focus group feedback in the early and mid-1970s saying this was preferable to white ones? Since then, minifigures have become increasingly diverse – from the first figures with natural skin tone in 2003 (Lando Calrissian from Star Wars and NBA basketball players) to 2016’s inaugural wheelchair. LEGO minifigures have also done their bit for unstereotyping gender roles with the likes of female firefighters and ninjas, through to fathers equipped with baby carriers. In fact, the whole point of minifigures is they let children create and be anyone they want – male or female, helmet or hair, freckles or glasses, anything. And if you’re worried about our robotic friends, don’t be. There have been plenty of C-3POs and R2D2s (not to mention other robots) too.
Hollywood Star The LEGO minifigure has starred in a number of Hollywood blockbusters, including THE LEGO® MOVIE™, THE LEGO® BATMAN MOVIE™ and THE LEGO® NINJAGO MOVIE™. In 2007, LEGO Group even created 10,000 gold chrome C-3PO minifigures packed in random sets to mark the 30th anniversary of Star Wars.
1978-2018 precision mates Did you know that eight different moulds are used for the production of every minifigure? Two sets of these moulds are the same in design but reversed to mould the right and left minifigure arms and legs! The precision that goes into these moulds is exceptional, and because the original moulds are almost identical to the ones we use today, minifigures from 1978 can be mixed and matched with the more modern characters from today! However, one thing that has changed is the number of elements each mould can produce and the speed scale of this – for example, the minifigure head mould construction has improved from an initial eight elements per 9,8 sec. to 128 elements per 14.7 sec. today!
More than just a figure LEGO minifigures may be made for fun but there’s a serious side to them as well. By offering an endless choice of roleplay possibilities, they’re designed to let children play inventively, engage with different emotions and tell their own stories. First and foremost, that means a whole lot of enjoyment. But, crucially, it also allows young people to develop key life skills like emotional intelligence, creativity and communication – skills that, according to new research for the LEGO Play Well Report, parents believe will be vital to helping their children build their own bright future.
About the LEGO Group:
The LEGO Group’s mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow through the power of play. The LEGO System in Play, with its foundation in LEGO bricks, allows children and fans to build and rebuild anything they can imagine. The LEGO Group was founded in Billund, Denmark in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, its name derived from the two Danish words LEg GOdt, which mean “Play Well”. Today, the LEGO Group remains a family-owned company headquartered in Billund. However, its products are now sold in more than 140 countries worldwide. For more information: www.LEGO.com.
PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. (AP) — A school janitor who subdued a 13-year-old girl with chloroform more than 40 years ago as she walked home from a suburban Kansas City pool and then killed her is set to go before a parole board later this month.
Horton-photo KDOC
John Henry Horton was arrested in 2003 for the 1974 death of Liz Wilson. She vanished while cutting through the parking lot of Shawnee Mission East High School. Horton was sentenced to life in prison.
But life, under Kansas law in force at the time of Liz’s death, meant serving only 15 years before being eligible for parole. The parole board has already heard from prosecutors and police who oppose Horton’s release. The board will announce a decision in October after hearing from Horton.
PRATT – Walk-in Hunting Access (WIHA) is one the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism’s (KDWPT) most popular programs. Through WIHA, private land is leased from private landowners and opened to public hunting. In a state where less than 2 percent of the land is open to the public, hunting access is a valuable privilege. While KDWPT owns and manages about 300,000 acres for public hunting, adding substantially to that number through purchasing would be cost prohibitive.
Started in 1996, WIHA has succeeded beyond expectations. As in recent seasons, this year’s program has more than 1 million acres enrolled, but there are a couple of items to note for 2018-2019. First, hunters who have a printed 2018 Hunting Atlas should check out the online version, as well. While the printed version is great to have in-hand while afield, the online atlas is continually updated to reflect the addition or removal of tracts.
A late effort this year to increase enrollment added more than 24,000 acres after the atlas was printed. Those new areas are reflected in the online version, so hunters should compare printed maps with online maps of the areas they plan to hunt to review any potential changes. Hunters can do this by simply visiting www.ksoutdoors.com, clicking on “Where To Hunt” (on the “Hunting” drop-down menu), “Fall Hunting Atlas,” then “Post-print Changes.”
Also, new this year, the 2018 atlas includes both fall hunting tracts and spring hunting tracts, so hunters will want to hang on to the atlas they pick up this fall. A spring hunting atlas will not be printed.
