FINNEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Finney County are investigating a case of alleged fraud.

Over the past five months, the Garden City Police Department conducted an investigation into alleged fraud being committed by Blanca Torres, 20, Garden City, according to a media release.

Police learned Torres was working on the side to prepare tax returns for people and during this time she was defrauding them by cashing tax return checks as well as obtaining tax service debit cards on-line and taking the money.

Torres is also suspected of applying for and receiving credit cards in the names of others in which she prepared their taxes.

She was arrested on Friday. She is expected to make a court appearance on Thursday and faces the possible charges of: Theft (F) X3, Forgery X2, Computer Crimes X2 and Identity Theft X2.

The estimated total loss is over $32,000.00

RENO COUNTY– Law enforcement authorities in Reno County are investigating a suspect for stealing a car.

Police say Jeremy Haith, 38, Hutchinson, was caught with a stolen vehicle after he apparently got the vehicle stuck in a ditch.

Haith faces a charge of felony theft for stealing a vehicle from a 54-year-old Hutchinson woman while she was at the Soup Kitchen at 301 East 3rd.

The theft reported just after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Haith was caught walking away from the vehicle that that was stuck in a ditch in the 4600 block of North Pennington Road.

He matched the description of the man seen taking the vehicle, according to statements made in court.

His bond was set at $2,250.

Haith has previous convictions for drugs and DUI in Saline County.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The former head of an American Indian reservation’s volunteer fire department is accused of setting fires the tribe was paid to fight.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas says former Kickapoo Tribal Volunteer Fire Department chief Stephen Ramirez of Horton was charged Wednesday with four federal counts of wire fraud. Former volunteer firefighter Arlene Negonsott also was indicted on the same charges.

Prosecutors say Ramirez recruited Negonsott to set fires on the Kickapoo reservation from July to November 2015 that the fire department was called to fight.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs paid the fire department $600 for each fire it fought. The indictment alleges the defendants set six fires on the reservation.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office said he didn’t know if either defendant had an attorney.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for a drunken driving crash that killed his 6-year-old daughter.

The Manhattan Mercury reports that 39-year-old Joshua Mall, of Riley, was sentenced Monday for second-degree murder in the October death of Madilyn Mall. His criminal history includes a guilty plea in a 2001 vehicular homicide in Colorado in which prosecutors dropped two driving under the influence counts.

Authorities say that before Madilyn’s death, he consumed more than a half-liter of whiskey, lost control of his speeding pickup truck and crashed into a tree. His blood alcohol level measured .13; the legal limit in Kansas is .08.

Mall said he felt he let Madilyn down and that keeping her safe was his “one job as a father.”

KANSAS CITY, Kansas (AP) — A Kansas man has pleaded not guilty to charges in the death of his 7-year-old son whose remains were found near the family’s pigs.

Michael Jones pleaded not guilty Wednesday to premeditated first-degree murder and other charges in the death of the child, who authorities discovered was missing last November when they responded to a domestic disturbance.

Wyandotte County District Attorney Jerome Gorman has declined to discuss reports that the child’s remains were fed to pigs, but said the boy’s remains were found near swine on the family’s Kansas City, Kansas, property.

Michael Jones’ lawyer entered a not guilty plea for Jones on Wednesday and also waived a preliminary hearing.

Jones’ wife, Heather Jones, waived her preliminary hearing Tuesday but didn’t enter a formal plea then.

Their lawyers declined comment.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A study says say business and travel growth in the Topeka area could lure an airline to the Topeka Regional Airport, which hasn’t had passenger flights since 2014.

The Topeka Capital Journal reports that a consulting group studied passengers’ habits in the region using data from a year of travel. The study shows that on average, nearly 1,700 people from the region fly in and out of Kansas City International Airport per day for business or other activity. That is a 25 percent increase in flights since 2012.

The consulting group told the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Board Authority on Tuesday that business growth in the city contributed most to the flight increase.

U.S. Airways Express in Topeka offered three flights daily to and from Kansas City International Airport until May 2003, when a substantial decrease in passengers lost the airline.

The airport will present the study to airlines to gauge their interest.

GEARY COUNTY- Law enforcement authorities in Geary County are investigating allegations that a Registered Sex Offender in Junction City was having unlawful contact with a minor child, according to a media release.

The conduct is contrary to a No Contact Order issued by Geary County District Court.

On September 20, 2016 the Geary County Sheriff’s Office conducted a search warrant at 705 West 7th Street in Junction City and seized evidence that supports the allegations.

The suspect, Kayla Michelle Simpson, 21, was not present during the execution of the search warrant and still remains at large.

Simpson is wanted for two felony violations of the Offender Registration Act, one count of Felony Violation of a No Contact Order, one count of Felony Probation Violation, Contributing to a Child’s Misconduct and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Simpson is also wanted by Junction City Municipal Court for Failure to Appear.

The Geary County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance in locating Kayla Simpson and urges anyone who knows her whereabouts to not take any action to assist her in evading arrest or avoiding prosecution. If you know the location of Kayla Michelle Simpson, contact your local law enforcement agency immediately or the Junction City / Geary County area, call Crime Stoppers785-762-TIPS (8477). You can remain anonymous and you may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.00.

SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a suspect on drug and other charges.

Just after 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, police were called to a south Salina home on a report of a violation of a protection order, according to Salina Police Captain Mike Sweeney.

Upon seeing officers arrive Clinton Cheney, 32, Lincoln, fled on foot.

He jumped over a porch and ran toward the backyard of the home and jumped a fence.

From there, he ran through the backyard of a home in the 2200 block of Wesley.

Other officers searching the area then spotted Cheney in the 2200 block of Leland Way.

He ran east toward a backyard in the 2100 block of Raymond Street and was finally caught in the front yard of a home in that area.

Officers discovered that Cheney was in possession of personal use methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia at the time of his arrest.

Cheney was booked into jail on several requested charges including multiple counts of interference with law enforcement, criminal trespassing, possession of a stimulant, possession of drug paraphernalia and violation of a protection order, according to Sweeney.

GEARY COUNTY- Three adults and three children were injured in an accident just after noon on Wednesday in Geary County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a KDOT dump truck driven by Robert K. Hayhurst, 52, Junction City, was westbound on Interstate 70 at the U.S. 77 junction.

The truck was in the left lane slowing down to make a U-turn through a divided cross over.

The driver of the KDOT truck activated all emergency lights.

A 1999 Chevy Tahoe driven by Barbara A. Johnson, 73, Dorrance, was in the left lane behind the KDOT truck and observed the lights being activated and started to slow down.

A 2010 Honda Odyssey driven by Jamie E. Bratcher, 30, Chapman, was in the right lane, behind heavy traffic.

Bratcher observed the KDOT truck had already turned in to the cross over but failed to see that there was another vehicle in the inside lane.

He pulled into the left lane to pass slower traffic and noticed that the Chevy Tahoe was directly in front and traveling at a slower speed.

Bratcher attempted to brake but rear-ended the Tahoe.

The Tahoe continued on about 500 feet before exiting the roadway and driving approximately 100 feet into the north ditch.

The Honda spun out into the north ditch at the same location.

Johnson a passenger in the Tahoe Leander F. Johnson, 79, Dorrance, Bratcher and one passenger in the Honda Ethan Bratcher, 9, Chapman, were transported to Geary Community Hospital.
One child in the Honda Gabe Bratcher, 7, Chapman, was transported to the hospital in Salina.

Another child in the Honda Maygen Bratcher, 4, Chapman, was transported to the hospital in Wichita.

Hayhurst was not injured.

Gabe and Maygen Bratcher were not properly restrained in car seats, according to the KHP.

PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. (AP) — Students throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area dressed in black to support a Kansas girl who says she was sexually assaulted in a school bathroom.

#WearBlackToStopAttacks @STUCOSME pic.twitter.com/197NEr9bP3

— SME STUCO (@STUCOSME) September 21, 2016

The Kansas City Star  reports hundreds of students at Shawnee Mission East High School in Kansas wore black on Wednesday in support of their schoolmate. The freshman says she was groped last week by a boy inside a boys’ bathroom while a second boy held the door shut. Word of the “wear black to stop attacks” effort spread on social media Tuesday night soon after news broke that police were investigating the alleged assault.

Thank you STA for standing with us pic.twitter.com/lMstX2M4gK

— SME STUCO (@STUCOSME) September 21, 2016

A Twitter user tweeted a photo of young men at all-male Rockhurst High School in Missouri also wearing black or dark-colored shirts in support of the effort.

By MEGAN HART

Two community mental health centers in Kansas hope a new program will help young people recently diagnosed with schizophrenia avoid its possible complications — a higher risk of unemployment, homelessness and incarceration and lower life expectancy — and achieve goals for school, work and their personal lives.

This year, Valeo Behavioral Health Care in Topeka received a $193,000 grant from the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services to start a program in Shawnee County for young patients in the early stages of psychosis. Wyandot Center in Kansas City launched its program last year with help from a $174,000 KDADS grant.

Christine Wills, director of mental health programs at Valeo, said the early intervention program will focus on patients age 15 to 25 who had their first episode of psychosis within the last two years. She estimated 25 to 30 patients could participate in the first year.

People with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders can experience a variety of symptoms, including hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech, unusual behavior and a restricted range of emotional expressions.

Psychosis tends to develop in a person’s teens or 20s. Valeo employees are working to identify existing patients who would qualify as well as requesting referrals from schools, emergency rooms, Stormont Vail Health’s psychiatric unit and mental health advocates, Wills said.

Calvin Shope, who is running the early intervention program at Valeo, said he anticipates most patients will need about two years to go through the curriculum. Part of the program will include educating patients about their illness, but it also will focus on finding their strengths to overcome the challenges of schizophrenia, he said. Patients also can expect homework as they start using new skills.

“We all have things in our life that we struggle with, and this is no different,” he said.

The program also will include support for meeting employment and education goals, Wills said. Patients’ families will learn about psychosis and how to support their loved one, she said.

“You change it so it’s not so disabling,” she said. “We get them back to school, back to work.”

Medication is part of the program, but patients will start by receiving lower doses, Wills said. Many people don’t stay on their antipsychotic medications because of the side effects, including muscle aches and weight gain, she said.

“When you start with higher doses, you immediately have a lot of side effects,” she said. “The chances of them not following through (with treatment) are much greater.”

Jennifer Krehbiel, early intervention team leader at Wyandot Center, estimated about 70 people have participated in the program in Wyandotte County since April 2015. While it is too early to know if they will do better in the long term, Krehbiel said Wyandot employees have been successful in building relationships with patients and assuring them that the fear and anxiety they feel about their symptoms is normal, she said.

In recent years, the mental health community has started to put more emphasis on helping patients build skills to deal with hallucinations or delusions, Krehbiel said. Many patients still experience those symptoms even if they take medications, but reducing the negative feelings that surround delusions and hallucinations can make them easier to manage, she said.

“Instead of trying to eliminate voices, you’re trying to reduce the distress from those voices,” she said.

The hope is that an individualized and less jarring type of treatment will encourage patients to continue receiving help after they turn 18 and aren’t under parental authority, Krehbiel said. Working with a team to reach their goals can be more appealing than having to submit to whatever parents and other authorities think is best, she said.

Even if the programs succeed in their goals, however, there isn’t any guarantee that they will be able to continue serving patients. The Valeo grant lasts for about 15 months, and afterward the center will have to find another funding source or stop offering the program, Wills said.

“I don’t think there’s anything worse than starting something, getting people’s hopes up … and saying we can’t do it anymore because the funding’s not there,” she said.

Megan Hart is a reporter for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team. You can reach her on Twitter @meganhartMC

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on court hearing to determine whether to force Kansas to count potentially thousands of votes cast in November (all times local):

1 p.m.

A Kansas judge did not immediately decide whether to permanently force Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to count all ballots cast in local and state elections by voters who registered at motor vehicle offices or used a federal form without providing proof of citizenship.

Shawnee County District Judge Larry Hendricks heard arguments Wednesday on whether to issue a permanent injunction blocking Kobach from implementing a dual registration system in which some votes are counted only for federal races.

Hendricks’ earlier order temporarily blocked Kansas from discarding those votes in the August Kansas primary. The judge told The Associated Press after the hearing that his earlier order still remains in effect for the November election.

The judge did not indicate from the bench when he might rule.

___

10:55 a.m.

A Kansas judge is being asked to issue a permanent injunction forcing Kansas to count all votes cast in state and local elections amid ongoing litigation.

The American Civil Liberties union urged the Kansas court Wednesday to issue order before the November election. The ACLU says federal cases are still ongoing over voters who registered at motor vehicle offices or with a federal form.

Federal courts have issued temporary orders requiring the state to register those voters for federal elections. Shawnee County District Judge Larry Hendricks is hearing arguments on whether to also count votes cast in state and local races by those voters.

Secretary of State Kris Kobach has argued that there is no violation of ballot secrecy by giving them provisional ballots that count only the federal votes.

___

2:20 a.m.

A case playing out in a Kansas courtroom will determine whether potentially thousands of votes will be counted in November when they are cast in state and local elections by people who registered at motor vehicles offices or with a federal form without providing citizenship documents.

Shawnee County District Judge Larry Hendricks will hear arguments Wednesday on whether to temporarily block Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach from throwing out the votes in local and state elections cast by people who fall into those categories.

The judge had earlier ordered the state to count them for the state’s August primary, and he must now rule on whether to extend that order for the November general election as well.

10:55 a.m.

A Kansas judge is being asked to issue a permanent injunction forcing Kansas to count all votes cast in state and local elections amid ongoing litigation.

The American Civil Liberties union urged the Kansas court Wednesday to issue order before the November election. The ACLU says federal cases are still ongoing over voters who registered at motor vehicle offices or with a federal form.

Federal courts have issued temporary orders requiring the state to register those voters for federal elections. Shawnee County District Judge Larry Hendricks is hearing arguments on whether to also count votes cast in state and local races by those voters.

Secretary of State Kris Kobach has argued that there is no violation of ballot secrecy by giving them provisional ballots that count only the federal votes.

___

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A case playing out in a Kansas courtroom will determine whether potentially thousands of votes will be counted in November when they are cast in state and local elections by people who registered at motor vehicles offices or with a federal form without providing citizenship documents.

FINNEY COUNTY- Law enforcement authorities in Finney County are investigating a pedestrian accident.

Just before 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Officers of the Garden City Police Department were dispatched to the 2400 Block of Estes Court in Garden City after a report that a vehicle struck two pedestrians, one on a bicycle and one on foot, according to a media release.

Officers determined a Ford Ranger pickup driven by Caleb Munyan, 17, Garden City, was westbound on Yellowstone Drive.

The pickup struck Garth Hite, 47, and Nathan Hite, 5, both of Garden City.

Nathan was riding his bicycle along the right side of the roadway while his father, Garth walked next to him.

Munyan reported he did not see the pedestrians due to the setting sun blinding his field of view.

There was no damage to the truck.

Both pedestrians were transported to St Catherine’s hospital and later released.

As of Wednesday, no citations had been issued, according to police.