JOHNSON COUNTY — A Kansas man died in an accident just before 4p.m. Thursday in Johnson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2016 Harley Davidson driven by Donald Attebery, 59, Shawnee, was northbound on Interstate 435.
The driver lost control of the motorcycle as he took the exit for eastbound Shawnee Mission Parkway and left the road.
Attebery was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Frontier Forensics.
SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on burglary and other charges.
Just before 5am. Thursday, officers responded Orscheln Farm & Home, 1133 SW Wanamaker for an alarm at the business, according to Lt. Chris Heaven.
Upon Officers arrival they located Jerry Lewis., on the property. He was walking away from a silver Ford SUV. A field interview of Lewis revealed he had a city warrant and upon arrest was found to have items consistent with and recognized to be burglary tools in his possession.
Upon a more detailed interview by Detectives it was found that Lewis had cut the security cable in an attempt to take lawn mowers. Estimated damage is $10,000.
Police also located Ashley Hale, 28, at the scene. She was arrested for 2 city warrants.
KDOT
4:15 p.m. Interstate 70 closed by Colorado DOT westbound at the state line.
3:26 p.m. Interstate 70 is closed at Burlington, Colorado, due to road conditions/visibility
12:32 p.m. Friday: The Kansas Department of Transportation has closed K-27 from the west U.S. 36 junction to the Nebraska border because of winter weather conditions.
11:57 p.m. Friday: The Kansas Department of Transportation has closed U.S. 36 from St. Francis to the Colorado border because of winter weather conditions.
For up-to-date information on road closures and road conditions, call 511 in Kansas or 866-511-5368 outside Kansas, or check travel information online at www.kandrive.org.
Today A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a temperature rising to near 55 by 11am, then falling to around 48 during the remainder of the day. Breezy, with a west wind 11 to 16 mph increasing to 18 to 23 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 38 mph.
Snowfall estimates through tomorrow. Go to https://t.co/uGxIK0Hnyq for more information. #kswx #nwsddc pic.twitter.com/k5BRuUxU80
— NWS Dodge City (@NWSDodgeCity) April 13, 2018
Tonight A chance of rain before 9pm, then a chance of rain and snow between 9pm and 11pm, then snow likely after 11pm. Widespread blowing snow, mainly after 4am. Cloudy, with a low around 25. Very windy, with a northwest wind 29 to 34 mph increasing to 38 to 43 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.
Saturday A chance of snow before 3pm, then a chance of rain and snow. Widespread blowing snow before 10am. Cloudy, with a high near 36. Very windy, with a north northwest wind around 34 mph, with gusts as high as 47 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Saturday Night A 30 percent chance of rain before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 20. Very windy, with a north northwest wind 25 to 30 mph decreasing to 15 to 20 mph after midnight.
Sunday Sunny, with a high near 49. North northwest wind around 16 mph.
Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 22.
KDOR
TOPEKA–The Kansas Department of Revenue has announced extended tax season telephone hours to offer assistance for Kansans before the April 17th filing deadline, including extended hours this Saturday.
Sales, Withholding, Income Tax and Homestead telephone lines will have the following extended hours:
Additionally, Income tax telephone lines will be extended until 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 17th, the income tax filing deadline.
“The Department is committed to offering excellent customer service to Kansas taxpayers,” said Secretary of Revenue Sam Williams. “Extending our telephone hours allows us to accommodate Kansans with the resources needed to help them meet the filing deadline.”
The telephone number for these extended hours are (785) 368-8222 with the following options. Option 4 is Individual Income Tax/Homestead; Option 5 – 2 is Sales Tax; Option 5 – 5 is Withholding.
For assistance with electronic filings or electronic payment of any taxes, call (785) 296-6993.
The Department will resume regular telephone hours after the income tax filing deadline on April 17th. These normal operating hours are 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a 27-year-old man has been charged in a triple homicide in a Kansas City, Kansas, duplex.
MonDale Douglas made his first appearance Monday on three counts of first-degree murder in the April 2 shooting deaths of 51-year-old Edward Rawlins, 46-year-old David Rawlins and 40-year-old Addrin Coats. A woman called police the next day after seeing one of the victim’s bodies lying near the front door of the duplex. Arriving officers found the other victims inside.
Douglas was booked into the Wyandotte County Jail on April 4 and is being held on $1 million bond. A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office said he didn’t know whether Douglas had an attorney.
BURLINGTON – A Kansas man was sentenced Thursday to nearly 5 years in prison after pleading no contest to child sex crimes, according to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
Mathew Vander Linden, 29, of Burlington, pleaded no contest in December to two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child and two counts of criminal sodomy.
Vander Linden was a Coffey County sheriff’s deputy. Prosecutors said he had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old in November 2016.
Judge Eric W. Godderz Thursday sentenced Vander Linden to 59 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections. Vander Linden is also subject to lifetime post-release supervision and sex offender registration.
TOPEKA —The Kansas Department of Children and Families launched a new web site in an effort to locate parents who are avoiding their court ordered obligation to pay child support. The program is already working. The site launched this week featured ten individuals who owe more than $5000 or more in support.
On Thursday, the web site reported a tip helped officials locate evader Brandon J. Wilson. He owes over $56,000, has two children and was last seen in Compton, California, according to the web site.
The Child Support Evaders website allows the public to submit tips anonymously on where the person might be located.
The initiative is among a growing number of similar programs around the country.
Arizona launched a campaign in 2016 to post on Facebook and Twitter the names and photos of individuals behind on support. Texas, Louisiana and Georgia also have similar programs.
The next exhibition at the Deines Cultural Center, On One Earth, Under On Sky features award winning ceramists, painters, and photographers from Barton County.
Dolores Baker, Virginia Kay Bitters, Rose Dudek, Steve Dudek, Carol Erickson, and Jay Miller will have their work in the Deines galleries April 20th through June 3, 2018.
An artist attended reception will be held the evening of Friday, April 20, from 5-7 pm.
Admission is free and everyone is welcome. The Deines is located at 820 N. Main Street in Russell. Call 785-483-3742 for information.
SEDGWICK COUNTY —A Wichita Police Department (WPD) officer involved in the fatal shooting of Andrew Finch on Dec. 28 was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing Thursday by District Attorney Marc Bennett.
Bennett said there was reasonable concern at the time Andrew Finch may have been armed with a weapon.
The unarmed 28-year-old Wichita man was shot by police responding to a California man’s hoax call about a killing and kidnapping at Finch’s home.
Police have said Finch was told to keep his hands raised, but reached toward his waistline. An officer standing across the street shot him when he reached his hands up suddenly.
A media release from police following the DA’s announcement stated, “This incident has weighed on the hearts of the Wichita Police Department and community. Chief Gordon Ramsay and the WPD continue to extend sympathy to the Finch family and the officers involved.”
The shooting drew national attention to a practice called “swatting,” in which a person makes up a false report to get responders to descend on an address.
Wichita police are following these next steps regarding the incident, according to the media release.
An internal investigation will be conducted to determine if policies and training were followed, review of training and policies to include any recommendations, administrative review of the findings and internal actions taken based on the findings, Citizens Review Board (CRB) reviews the findings and provides policy and training recommendations, administrative review of CRB recommendations.
Police Chief Ramsay and WPD remain committed to completing an objective evaluation of this incident based upon the facts.
WPD officials work to stay abreast of developments in police policies and practices and strive to provide effective law enforcement to the community. WPD has implemented the deployment of body cameras to assist in documenting police actions, continues to explore and deploy nonlethal alternatives to lethal force and to adhere to other developments in law enforcement practices. The WPD recognizes the concern this tragedy has caused and is committed to do everything it can to prevent an incident like this from occurring again.
—The Associated Press contributed to this report.
EPA
LENEXA – Kansas Dairy Ingredients, a dairy production facility in Hugoton, Kansas, received the EPA Region 7 Pollution Prevention Award Wednesday during ceremonies at the Midwest Environmental Compliance Conference at the Kansas City Convention Center.
Kansas Dairy Ingredients incorporated a number of water conservation projects into its business operations, as part of the company’s sustainability initiatives.
The company manufactures concentrated milk through ultrafiltration. Water is extracted from the milk, cleaned and treated, and then reused to clean the facility or returned to local farms for crop irrigation. The reclaimed water reduces municipal water procurement and wastewater, saving more than 41 million gallons a year.
Local processing of the milk in southwest Kansas reduces the overall volume of milk that requires transportation, resulting in carbon dioxide emissions savings of more than 7 million kilograms of CO2 equivalents per year. This is equivalent to the CO2 emissions from 1,646 passenger vehicles driven for a year.
“The Pollution Prevention, or P2, awards program recognizes forward-thinking organizations that improve the environment and our quality of life,” said Jim Gulliford, EPA Region 7 Administrator. “There is ample evidence that even greater improvements in protecting the environment and public health are possible through voluntary, community and industry-based pollution prevention programs.”
P2 is a successful, non-regulatory approach to energy conservation, water conservation, reduction of toxic materials used, and money savings. This awards program is designed to further recognize P2 successes and encourage others to consider a P2 approach.
P2 also emphasizes the reduction of direct environmental impacts and the use of resources and materials.
The Hays Police Department responded to 5 animal calls and conducted 19 traffic stops Tue., April 10, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–1200 block E. 22ND St, Hays; 8 AM
Disturbance – Noise–1900 block Eisenhower Rd, Hays; 4/9 10 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–1200 block Canterbury Dr, Hays; 12 AM
Stalking–1100 block E 22nd St, Hays; 10:26 AM
Assist – Other (not MV)–200 block W 33rd St, Hays; 11:03 AM
Animal At Large–2400 block Indian Trl, Hays; 11:28 AM
Lost Animals ONLY–1100 block Cody Ave, Hays; 11:35 AM
MV Accident-Hit and Run–1200 block Motz Ave, Hays; 4/9 12 AM; 4/10 12 AM
MV Accident-Private Property–2700 block Sternberg Dr, Hays; 12:20 PM
Assist – Other (not MV)–100 block W 12th St, Hays; 12:42 PM
Incident, Miscellaneous–2200 block Canterbury Dr, Hays; 4/7 9 AM; 4/10 1 PM
Found/Lost Property–100 block E 19th St, Hays; 2:26 PM
Welfare Check–500 block E 8th St, Hays; 4:30 PM
Parking Complaint–100 block E 12th St, Hays
MV Accident-Private Property–500 block W 27th St, Hays; 5:45 PM
Juvenile Complaint–300 block E 18th St, Hays; 5:48 PM
Animal Call–1300 block 40 Hwy, Hays; 7:02 PM
Liquor Offense, sell, furnish, transport–3200 block Vine St, Hays; 8:58 PM
Suspicious Activity–500 block E 20th St, Hays; 10:22 PM
Suspicious Activity–2200 block Main St, Hays; 11:45 PM
The Hays Police Department responded to 5 animal calls and conducted 30 traffic stops Wed., April 11, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.
Drug Offenses–400 block Walnut St, Hays; 12:16 AM
Animal At Large–1900 block E 24th St, Hays; 8:04 AM
Abandoned Vehicle–2700 block Barclay Dr, Hays; 4/8 8:48 AM; 4/11 8:48 AM
Animal At Large–1200 block Vine St, Hays; 9:25 AM
Theft (general)–600 block Oak St, Hays; 4/10 2:30 PM; 4/11 8:15 AM
Animal Call–300 block W 37th St, Hays; 3:42 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–Hays; 4:55 PM; 4:57 PM
Bicycle – Lost,Found,Stolen–2700 block Hickory St, Hays; 1 PM; 3:40 PM
Theft (general)–100 block W 4th St, Hays; 1/29 12 PM; 2/7 10 PM
