SHERMAN COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities in northwest Kansas were busy on Christmas night and have identified the suspect involved.
Deputies were notified that an individual was eluding law enforcement east bound on Interstate 70 in Sherman County and traveling into Thomas County, according to a social media report.
The individual identified as 43-year-old Derrick Anderson decided to return to Sherman County where he was taken into custody without incident.
Anderson is being held without bond on requested charges of Flee or Attempt to Elude, Driving While Suspended, Reckless Driving, Max Speed and Improper Crossover on Divided Highway, according to the Sheriff’s Department’s Jail report.
Sheriff Burton Pianalto praised the work of all of those involved to take this individual into custody without incident and he had a little fun with the arrest, “just think, this individual almost missed out on saying he got to spend Christmas in Jail.”
Anderson has two previous convictions for robbery in Sedgwick County, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Kate Middleton wore a Vallnord alpaca fur hat from Tonganoxie-based Peruvian Connection on Monday to a Christmas service in Sandringham, England.
The company has a store in London, and six in the U.S., including one in Kansas City, Missouri. Peruvian Connection has operated in rural Tonganoxie for more than 40 years.
Wednesday accident in rural Reno County-photo by Rod Zook.
RENO COUNTY — One person was injured when a truck hit a BNSF train west of Partridge in Reno on Wednesday afternoon.
According to Reno County 911, the accident happened around 1:30 p.m. at the crossing with Salem Road.
The Reno County Sheriff’s Office says the 1995 Peterbilt Manure Spreader truck was traveling south on Salem when it hit the middle of the lead locomotive of the westbound train.
The driver, Brian Holmes, Hutchinson was taken by EMS to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center for treatment.
The impact sheared away the front end of the truck, turning it 180 degrees and pushing it into the west ditch. The train remained on the tracks and stopped about a half mile from the impact site.
The lead locomotives were detached from the train and moved as the rest of the freight cars sat idle. The train consisted of empty intermodal cars and did not contain any cargo. No word on how long the tracks will be closed. There were no injuries to those on the train, according to the sheriff’s department.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is delaying the launch of a new computer system for issuing driver’s licenses.
The Department of Revenue announced Wednesday what it called a slight delay for the KanLicense system that was supposed to launch Jan. 2.
The announcement came less than two weeks after a state audit raised questions about whether the system would be ready.
The new system would replace a decades-old system and initially was to be deployed early in 2012.
The department said the latest delay will be “only a matter of days or weeks” and that driver’s licenses offices will remain open.
Revenue Secretary Sam Williams said testing showed that the system needed a little more work. He also said launching it as planned would require hundreds of employees to work on New Year’s Day.
TOPEKA – Robert Brock has been selected to assume the role of Interim Director of Aviation at the Kansas Department of Transportation.
Brock has been serving KDOT and the State of Kansas while spearheading national aviation efforts as the first state Director for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Chairman of the Kansas UAS Joint Task Force. Under Brock’s direction, the division introduced the first statewide Unmanned Traffic Management to integrate UAS into the National Airspace System.
Prior to joining KDOT, Brock served over 22 years in the Air Force and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. As a military officer, he led both manned and unmanned flight operations. Brock is also an instrument-rated commercial fixed-wing and helicopter instructor pilot.
“We are so fortunate at KDOT to have such a talented and passionate person like Bob Brock to take over aviation,” said Secretary of Transportation Richard Carlson. “After already serving the state and the agency in opening new doors for UAS, Brock is in the best possible position to make great strides for aviation in Kansas.”
Representing Kansas as a national aviation leader on the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Drone Advisory Committee-Task Group Three, Brock will continue to work closely with the FAA and aviation stakeholders across the nation to support Kansas aviation. He will also oversee the Kansas Airport Improvement Program, Unmanned Systems Program, and Science, Technology, and Aviation Resource (STAR) program.
“I look forward to my continued service to KDOT and the State of Kansas,” said Brock. “We will continue to work with legislators, stakeholders, and communities to increase aviation safety and promote the growth of the aviation industry in Kansas.”
Joseph Otto RobbenLongtime Sharon Springs, Kansas resident Joseph Otto Robben, 90, died Saturday, December 23, 2017, at his home in Sharon Springs surrounded by family.
He was born January 5, 1927, in Sheridan County, Kansas, the son of Otto Herman and Monica Georgina (Mader) Robben. He attended Angelus Consolidated School through the 8th grade.
On January 11, 1945, Joseph signed up with the United States Marine Corps, and served during WWII until October 11, 1946. On November 18, 1950, he and Daisy Fay Bloom were married at the Catholic Cathedral Rectory in Denver, Colorado, and they made their home in Oakley. In 1952, they moved to Sharon Springs. He was a loving husband and father. He was a member of the Holy Ghost Catholic Church and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, both in Sharon Springs, KS.
Preceding him in death was his wife Daisy, son Christie Joe Robben; his parents Otto and Monica Robben; two brothers James Mader and Linus Robben; four sisters Nadeen Kaiser, Maxine Flipse, Twila Bishard, and Sharon Gizzi.
Surviving family includes his children Penny Bussen and her husband Jim of Wallace; Trudy Unruh of Sharon Springs; Stanley Robben and his wife Rita of Sharon Springs; Randy Robben and his wife Tammy of Sharon Springs; Bradley Robben of North Platte, Nebraska; Tracy Robben of Sharon Springs; Joy Boyington and her husband Eldon of Goodland; Rodney Robben and his wife Tamara of Sharon Springs; twenty-one grandchildren; thirty-two great-grandchildren; five great-great-grandchildren; four sisters Anita Bril, Sylvia Helus, Glennis Hickman and Nyleen Henry; and three brothers Delbert, Pat and Ron Robben.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be Saturday, December 30, 2017 at 10:30 AM MT, at the Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Sharon Springs, with Father Norbert Dlabal presiding. Burial will follow in the Sharon Springs Cemetery.
Friends may share their respects on Friday, December 29, 2017 from 5:30 to 7:00 PM MT, at Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Sharon Springs. Vigil and rosary will follow at 7:00 PM MT.
Memorials may be designated to the Wallace County Rural Fire Association and EMT’s, and may be left at the services or mailed to Koons-Russell Funeral Home, 211 N. Main, Goodland, KS 67735-1555.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — First-round draft pick Patrick Mahomes II will make his NFL debut at quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs when they play an otherwise meaningless game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Wednesday that the former Texas Tech star would start in Denver.
The Chiefs locked up the AFC West with a 29-13 victory over the Dolphins last weekend, and cannot improve their playoff positioning against the Broncos. So, it makes sense for starting quarterback Alex Smith and many of the other regulars to get a week off before the playoffs.
Reid declined to say who else might sit out, but he did say there will be enough starters around his young quarterback to ensure Mahomes gets a fair chance to succeed.
GREAT BEND, Kan. (AP) — A former correctional employee who claimed self-defense in a fatal western Kansas shooting might not avoid prosecution after all.
Earlier this month, the Kansas Court of Appeals reversed a Barton County judge’s ruling that Freddie Alec Thomas couldn’t be tried for murder in the death of 39-year-old Jeremy Alan Saldana. The case was sent back to a lower court to resolve unanswered questions.
Thomas, a former Ellsworth Correctional Facility officer, was dating Saldana’s ex-girlfriend at the time of the 2015 shooting. It happened after Thomas went to visit the woman’s daughter and her husband, not knowing that Saldana was living with the couple. An unarmed Saldana was shot during a pushing match.
Thomas told a detective he’d heard Saldana was known to carry a weapon and could be violent.
Trump met with business leaders in November photo courtesy White House
TOPEKA – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has asked President Donald Trump to assert oversight of federal regulations promulgated by “independent” federal agencies.
In a letter sent last week to President Trump, Schmidt, along with 13 other state attorneys general and two governors, recommended that Trump issue a new executive order subjecting independent agencies — such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Comptroller of the Currency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission — to an oversight process designed to produce better regulations.
“[T]here is a significant gap in our nation’s regulatory oversight framework that threatens our workplaces, states, and communities with costly rules that were not effectively vetted,” the group wrote. “These agencies created numerous rules that substantially affected economic activity across the U.S. Yet these and other independent agencies operate outside the established review process.”
The letter referred to a 1981 opinion from the U.S. Justice Department that the president has the constitutional power to assert regulatory control over independent agencies.
Schmidt has also previously called on Congress to reform the regulatory process to help prevent a future onslaught of burdensome regulations from unelected federal bureaucrats as occurred during the Obama administration.
A copy of the governors’ and attorneys general’s letter is available here.
Longtime Phillipsburg resident, Edith Lucille Simmons passed away Monday, December 25, 2017 at the Phillips County Hospital in Phillipsburg at the age of 84.
She was born April 12, 1933 in Lenora, KS the daughter of Albert & Marie Isabelle (Cox) Simmons.
Survivors include her sister, Eleanor Simmons of Phillipsburg; 3 brothers, Raymond of Ellenwood, KS, Bob & wife, Jo Ann of Goodland and Allen of Phillipsburg.
Funeral services will be at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, December 30, 2017 in the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, Phillipsburg, with Pastor Lew Van Der Wege officiating. Burial will follow in the Marvin Cemetery, Glade, KS.
Miss Simmons will lie in state from Noon until 9:00 p.m. Thursday and 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Friday in the Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Logan Manor or Phillipsburg High School Alumni Association.
Olliff-Boeve Memorial Chapel, 1115 2nd Street, Phillipsburg, KS 67661 is in charge of arrangements.
