FINNEY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities investigating an alleged sexual assault and asking the public for help to locate a suspect.

Just after 9:30p.m. Wednesday, police were called to St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City for a reported rape, according to Sgt. Lana Urteaga.  The woman told police that she was at her vehicle parked near Garden City Community College and was approached from behind by an unknown male suspect who forced her into the vehicle and sexually assaulted her, according to Urteaga.

The suspect at the time of the attack was described as wearing black sweat pants, a grey hooded sweat shirt, a black t-shirt and a dark baseball cap. He was approximately 6-feet tall with an athletic build with black, messy, curly hair, according to Urteaga.

Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to contact police.

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A Roman Catholic diocese in Kansas City says three people who accuse a former Wyoming bishop of sexual abuse are credible.

The three have raised allegations against Bishop Joseph Hart over the past year.

Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, spokesman Jack Smith says two allege abuse in Wyoming but a review board considered only alleged abuse in Missouri.

Hart was a priest in Kansas City, Missouri, before moving to Wyoming in 1976 and eventually becoming bishop. Several people allege Hart sexually abused them as children.

Hart has denied the allegations and his attorney, Tom Jubin, did not return a message Wednesday seeking comment.

The Missouri diocese has reached legal settlements with at least 10 alleged victims. The Wyoming diocese says it has substantiated six allegations.

 

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Two people have been arrested in connection with the phony $100 bills that have been passed in Hutchinson, according to a media release.

Authorities took 50-year-old Brian Conrad into custody Tuesday on suspicion of distributing counterfeit money. He is currently free on bond.

They also arrested 31-year-old Cody Langley Wednesday. He is being held without bond suspicion of three counts of distributing counterfeit money and several drug possession charges.  He has previous convictions for forgery, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Several of the $100 bills were passed at the two South Hutchinson liquor stores and others have been passed elsewhere in Hutchinson including Cox cable.

Authorities warn that more of these counterfeit bills could still be around and warn businesses to be aware of the currency they receive.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A 50-year-old Kansas City woman has admitted selling heroin to a Kansas man who later died of an accidental overdose.

Valerice Ealom pleaded guilty Thursday to distributing heroin. She admitted that she sold heroin two days in a row in June 2016 to a man identified in court documents as “J.B.” The man’s body was found the next day in his Overland Park home. Investigators found heroin and drug paraphernalia near his body.

An autopsy concluded J.B. died from an accidental heroin overdose.

Ealom was on supervised release when she sold the heroin, after serving a 10-year sentence for distributing controlled substances.

The plea agreement recommends that Ealom be sentenced to 15.5 years in federal prison without parole.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is renting permanent office space for two of its research agencies in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, despite the union concerns that relocation from the nation’s capital has left the agencies critically understaffed and lacking vital expertise.

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said in a news release Thursday that the agencies had been “hard at work” at a temporary site in the city for the past month and that the signing of a permanent lease was “an important next step to facilitate their long-term efficiency, effectiveness, and service to our customers.”

The USDA announced plans in June to move roughly 550 employees of the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture by the end of September to the Kansas City area. Congressional delegations and the governors of Kansas and Missouri heralded the high-paying jobs and economic boost the relocation would bring to the region, as well as the benefits to the nearby producers the agencies serve.

“The region is not only a hub for agriculture in America’s heartland, but it is also proving to be a diverse talent pool in proximity to many land-grant and research universities,” Perdue said.

The USDA will also be partnering with the University of Missouri and Kansas State University to host a joint career expo at Kansas State Olathe on Nov. 6.

“It is a great way to introduce our agencies to the communities there,” USDA spokeswoman Tara Weaver-Missick said.

But critics complain that the relocation has hollowed out years of specialized experience and that the pace of hiring at the Kansas City site has been too slow.

Laura Dodson, an agricultural economist and union representative at the Economic Research Service, said USDA fired three-quarters of its highly trained research staff who refused to relocate. The department’s hiring efforts in Kansas City can’t fill that expertise gap in a few months or even in five years, she said.

“These are jobs that always required a national job search, even when we were in D.C.,” Dodson said. “There are a handful of experts in each of these fields in the country and convincing somebody to take these jobs when you are still in the crosshairs of this administration is not an easy task. I don’t think we will get restaffed to full levels in any reasonable time span.”

USDA data suggests hiring has been slow so far. As of the pay period ending Oct. 12, the Economic Research Service had only 30 employees onsite in Kansas City — including 17 new hires — with 69 employees permanently remaining in Washington, D.C. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture had 62 employees, including nine new hires, in Kansas City with 18 employees remaining in the capital.

The department said it is the process of recruiting more than 100 new staffers for both agencies in Missouri. It has extended relocation dates for some existing workers and brought in retirees, short-term contractors and employees from other federal agencies to help with the transition.

“The workload right now is unsustainable — we have people that are doing four or five times as much work as they were doing previously,” said Tom Bewick, a union representative at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and national program leader for horticulture.

Among those who were pleased with the selection is U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas who praised it as a positive development for the regional economy and said he was committed to working with his colleagues in a bipartisan way to secure the resources necessary for USDA to complete the move.

“Bringing these two important ag research agencies closer to the people they serve and the leading research institutions that support their mission is the right move,” said U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly called it a victory for the Kansas City region and both states, saying “we are pleased to welcome the economic impact of these high-paying jobs in our communities and state.”

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said, “USDA’s investment will benefit both Missouri and Kansas for years to come.”

Great Bend Post

BARTON COUNTY —Police are investigating an alleged sex offense reported from a student at Great Bend Middle School.

According to a media release, the report came Wednesday morning, when the student made her report to School Resource Officer Ethan Thomas. It says there is still a long process of investigation ahead after receiving the report.

“When we receive a report like this and it involves a minor child, there is a process that takes place,” said Great Bend Police Lt. Heather Smith. “There is an interview, a process through the child advocacy center, and support and counseling.”

Police arrested 34-year-old Nicholas Schwerdtfeger of Great Bend. He was booked for an aggravated indecent liberties with a child warrant, according to the Barton County Sheriff’s report and is being held on a $1,000,000 bond.

Schwerdtfeger is a registered sex offender and was convicted in 2010 of attempted aggravated sexual battery and attempted indecent solicitation of a child under the age of 14, according to the KBI offender registry.

As interviews and counseling take place, the case will be handed over to the Barton County Attorney’s Office.

“It is a long process, but is something we take very seriously because of the nature of the crime,” said Smith.