PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — More than 80 Pittsburg-area community members have gathered for a ceremonial groundbreaking of a new casino that was delayed for months because of legal challenges.
The Joplin Globe reports that work for the Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel started in July after the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission chose it for a contract. But construction was halted in September after Cherokee County and a firm, which proposed another casino in that county, filed lawsuits questioning how the state contract was awarded.
Cherokee County and the competing business, Castle Rock Casino Resort, sought an injunction to block construction of Kansas Crossing. Lead investor Bruce Christenson and others decided to delay construction until a judge ruled in March that enough evidence supported the review board’s decision to recommend Kansas Crossing.
SALINA –Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a suspect in connection with a hit and run incident that involved a mobile donut vendor.
Hong Kim, 53, Salina, was arrested after he came to the police station early Thursday afternoon.
Kim is the alleged driver of an Isuzu SUV that police say drove into a parking lot at Elmore Center in the 600 block of East Crawford in Salina on Thursday morning and used the vehicle to bump into a table being used by Hurts Donuts of Wichita to sell boxed donuts, according to Police Captain Mike Sweeney.
The vehicle then backed away from the table and left the scene. There were no injuries in the incident.
Kim, a local donut shop owner, was booked into the Saline County Jail on requested charges that included aggravated assault and reckless driving.
NEWTON – Law enforcement authorities in Harvey County are investigating an allegation against a police officer.
On Friday morning the Newton Police Department was made aware of a criminal allegation against one of an officer.
A resident posted to their personal facebook page stating they had witnessed an officer kick a sleeping homeless man who was laying on the ground, according to social media report from Newton Police.
The Department reported “We take these complaints seriously and immediately launched an investigation.
We have dash cam video of the interaction and are confident these allegations are completely false.
The officer’s conduct was professional and non-aggressive in nature.
The officer had absolutely no physical contact with the man. In fact we cannot see an activity, which could have been mistaken for the actions which were reported,” according to the social media comment from Newton Police.
“We have reached out to the person who wrote the original post and asked them to come and view the video.
This incident is consistent with the vast majority of complaints we hear about our officers.
When the video is viewed we find the claims have been exaggerated or as it appears in this case completely fabricated.
The Newton Police reminded, “Falsely accusing people of an illegal act, even officers, is a crime.”
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Planned Parenthood attorney says Kansas will not cut off Medicaid funding for the abortion provider until May 24.
Attorney Bob Eye said Friday that Planned Parenthood and the state Department of Health and Environment agreed on the timing of the cutoff after Planned Parenthood filed a federal lawsuit.
A department spokeswoman did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.
The state notified Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri earlier this week that Medicaid funds would be cut off as of Tuesday. The lawsuit seeking to block the action was filed the next day.
Eye said the parties agreed the two-week delay would give them and the presiding federal judge more time to prepare for a first hearing that is now expected to be May 17.
WIGGINS, Colo. (AP) — Authorities say a semitrailer that rolled on its side on in northeastern Colorado was split in two by another truck headed down the highway.
Colorado State Patrol spokesman Trooper Josh Lewis says at least one car also drove through the hole in the trailer made by the other truck around 3 a.m. Friday on Interstate 76 near Wiggins.
Lewis says three people were taken to the hospital, one with serious but not life-threatening injuries and the other two with minor to moderate injuries.
The second truck ended up in the opposite lane of traffic after plowing through the rolled truck.
The rolled semi was carrying paint drums, which spilled on the roadway. It remains closed.
WINFIELD, Kan. (AP) — A spring festival that highlights Kansas products, music, food and places is opening this weekend.
The Wichita Eagle reports that the Kansas Sampler Festival is planned for Saturday and Sunday at Winfield’s Island Park. It includes more than 300 exhibitors from 150 communities.
A shift in focus is planned. Starting in 2018, the foundation that promotes the festival plans to create an annual Kansas Road Trip that will encourage exploration of specific regions of the state.
Pamphlets about pertussis, or whooping cough, on display in 2012 inside Johnson County’s vaccine clinic in Olathe.
Kansas appears on track for a quiet year for pertussis cases after two years marked by outbreaks.
As of mid-April, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment had recorded eight cases of pertussis. There were 412 cases in 2014 and 431 cases in 2015, meaning the state is likely to have fewer cases this year unless a major outbreak hits in the next few months.
Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly contagious disease that causes a persistent cough. In severe cases, the coughing fits can become violent, with a characteristic “whooping” sound. It typically is more severe in infants and people with compromised immune systems.
Nick Baldetti, director of the Reno County Health Department, said last year’s outbreak started in mid-April in elementary schools. It spread to other parts of the community during the summer, then to additional schools when students returned to the classroom, he said. Reno County had 101 pertussis cases in 2015, but has none so far this year.
The Reno County Health Department appointed an “incident commander” last year to coordinate its response to pertussis, allowing other workers to continue focusing on their areas of expertise, Baldetti said. It also reached out to teachers about the importance of identifying students who might be infected and set up community clinics to vaccinate children in the “hot zone” of infection, he said.
“All sides were hyper-vigilant in trying to get ahead of this,” he said.
Shelly Schneider, administrator of the Barton County Health Department, said a 2015 outbreak there began in the winter, when an infant died of pertussis. It later showed up in schools. Most of those diagnosed with pertussis hadn’t been vaccinated, she said.
Residents responded to news about the outbreak by getting tested if they had symptoms, Schneider said. Large numbers of people also took advantage when the health department extended its vaccination clinic hours, she said.
“At one point we did have a line around the building,” she said.
Chris Steward, health protection director for the Sedgwick County Health Department, said the county had scattered cases of pertussis in 2015 but not a significant outbreak. Still, the health department did send letters to parents encouraging them to take their children to a doctor if they had a persistent cough, which helped prevent more exposures, she said.
Pertussis is “cyclical,” Steward said, and while the number of cases rises and falls, the disease doesn’t go away. A higher number of cases in certain years may be driven partly by increased awareness that motivates people to get their cough checked out, she said.
“We know there’s pertussis in the community, but it’s whether they’re getting tested and diagnosed,” she said.
Baldetti said the health department encourages Reno County residents to get booster shots for pertussis regularly because the vaccine loses its effectiveness over time. Doing so can protect people who can’t receive the vaccine because of their compromised immune systems and babies too young to get it, he said.
“A lot of people were under the assumption that they had received a booster 15 years ago and they were good,” he 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
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is announcing a set of new financial regulations aimed at forcing companies to disclose more information about their owners to the IRS.
A rule finalized Thursday will require banks to keep more detailed records on who owns companies that use their services. Another proposed rule would close a loophole that allows some foreign-owned companies to avoid reporting to the IRS.
Treasury Department officials announced the regulations Thursday as part of a package of financial proposals. They say the goal is to help crack down on money laundering and tax evasion, and choke off terrorist financial networks.
The administration also is submitting legislation to Congress that would require companies to disclosure their owners. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew is urging senators to ratify a series of tax treaties.
HUTCHINSON -A Kansas woman made a first appearance in court on Thursday on four charges after an incident involving the alleged theft of a vehicle owned by the city of Hutchinson.
Tawny Lochmann, 28, faces potential charges of felony theft, burglary, criminal trespass and criminal damage.
Authorities say she was driving south of Hutchinson, in the 3900 block of South Halstead Street, on Wednesday night and somehow ended up in a field and her vehicle became stuck.
She was unable to get any cell phone reception, so she began walking toward the city of Hutchinson sewage treatment plant.
The gates to the facility were locked, but she managed to find a space where she could squeeze through. She walked building to building, but couldn’t find anyone. She was able to get inside a garage and found a city truck with the keys left inside.
She drove the truck from the garage and rammed a gate, breaking the padlock and drove toward where her vehicle was stuck.
She couldn’t figure out how to get the truck into four-wheel drive and got the truck stuck as well.
The Sheriff’s Office was called and she was arrested and taken to the Reno County Correctional Facility.
In court, she asked for a bond reduction and Magistrate Judge Cheryl Allen granted that. It was reduced from $7,000 to $1,500.
Lochmann has a drug conviction for the manufacture of methamphetamine and also being in possession of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine for a case from 2008, and is required to register as a drug offender.
A motorcycle was one of at least three vehicles involved in a Thursday afternoon accident. Photo Salina Police Dept.
SALINA- Three people were injured in an accident just after 3 p.m. on Thursday in Saline County.
Salina Police reported a 1981 Chevy pickup driven by Austin Holt, 19, of Atlanta, Kansas, was traveling in the 2200 block of South 9th Street.
He was forced to brake sharply due to heavy traffic.
A 2002 Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by Dennis Carroll, 53, Salina was directly behind and also immediately applied his brakes.
A 2013 Ford Focus driven by Kaitlynn Baker, 16, was unable to stop in time and rear-ended Carroll’s motorcycle, pushing it into the rear-end of Holt’s truck.
Carroll and a passenger Christina Barlow, 48, Salina were both ejected from the motorcycle.
They were transported to Salina Regional Health Center .
Baker was also transported by EMS for treatment of minor injuries.
Baker was cited for following too closely, according to police.
TOPEKA – Kansas Governor Sam Brownback today signed the following 13 bills into law.
Senate Substitute for House Bill 2008: Enacts the Student Online Personal Protection Act to protect student privacy.
House Bill 2164: Increases the threshold at which sewer districts have to request a competitive bid for services.
House Bill 2436: Changes requirements for boater safety education certifications.
House Bill 2480: Modernizes the livestock branding laws.
House Bill 2558: Prohibits cities and counties from regulating or restricting certain campaign activities.
House Bill 2563: Amends the definition of salvaged vehicles for purposes of titling travel trailers.
Senate Bill 390: Updates the Kansas banking code.
Senate Bill 387: Recognizes the Pooled Investment Management Board as a separate agency within the Treasurer’s Office for budgeting purposes.
Senate Bill 373: Requires registered owners of vehicles owing more than $100 in unpaid toll road fees to pay those fees before they can renew vehicle registration.
Senate Bill 318: Abolishes the Kansas Electric Transition Authority and suspends activities by state agencies to comply with the clean power plan currently under litigation.
Senate Bill 408: Increases reporting requirements for suspected or substantiated abuse of a child or adult and provides the Office of Attorney General to reorganize and reprioritize its Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Unit.
Senate Bill 321: Amends provisions for filing of wills under protective status.
Senate Bill 319: Updates processes on appeals to vacate convictions. Changes the definition of harassment to include any course of conduct carried out through the use of a drone. Enacts the Public Speech Protection Act to help better defend the exercise of free speech rights from frivolous law suits.
The Governor has now signed 59 bills into law this session and vetoed two. By law, the Kansas governor has 10 calendar days to sign the bill into law, veto the bill or allow the bill to become law without his or her signature.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Seven children who were taken to perform for occupiers during the armed takeover of an Oregon wildlife refuge earlier this year have been placed in the temporary custody of Kansas child welfare officials.
The Kansas City Star reports that a judge made the placement Wednesday after finding probable cause that the children of Odalis Sharp had been abused.
Sharp told The Star as she left the hearing that she didn’t abuse her children.
According to testimony from a 2 ½ hour hearing, five of her children bolted Friday as she climbed in the shower. They removed guns from the house before getting a ride from a neighbor to the Shawnee County sheriff’s office.
A child welfare worker says the children reported that their mother spanked them with a rod.
SALINA-Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating an online loan scam.
A woman from Salina in her 40s was researching consolidation loans online this week and found the website ‘cashnetpayday,’ according to Salina Police Captain Mike Sweeney.
She filled out an application on the site, and received a telephone call a short time later from a man with a foreign accent identifying himself as “Jack Brown.”
The caller told the woman she qualified for a $12,000 loan, but in order to receive the money, she first needed to pay some fees.
He then instructed her to pay the fees using several iTunes gift cards. The woman purchased $350 worth of gift cards at Walgreens and a total of $700 worth of gift cards at CVS Pharmacy.
She then contacted “Jack” and provided him with the access codes to the gift cards.
Sweeney said that after not receiving the loan, the woman contacted “Jack” and was told an additional $1,200 in iTunes cards was needed to process the loan.
When she refused to provide the money, the man then claimed that only an additional $600 would be needed. The woman again refused to provide the money and contacted police.
Total loss in the case is $1,050, according to Sweeney.
