By James Hoyt

KU Statehouse Wire Service

 

TOPEKA – The House agriculture committee on Monday passed a bill that would institute stiffer penalties for water rights owners who don’t file their annual usage reports on time.

Senate Bill 337 would levy a $250 civil penalty for failure to report one year of water usage by the March 1 deadline. Failure to report two consecutive years could result in a fine up to $1,000. Repeat offenses could result in a water usage suspension. The bill applies to owners of water rights for agricultural, industrial or municipal use.

The current version of SB 337 is a substitute bill incorporating language from House Bill 2491, which includes a provision that allowed the state’s chief engineer to use telemetry to monitor and enforce water usage in real time.

Rep. Shannon Francis, R–Liberal, voiced concern that the Department of Agriculture wouldn’t have the will to shut off water access to a city or to industry centers.

“We definitely have the will to do that,” Lane Letourneau, water appropriation program manager for the Kansas Department of Agriculture, said in testimony before the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources.

A number of agricultural trade associations and governmental entities lined up to voice support for the bill in written testimony.
“We think the timely filing of water use reports is important in tracking whether or not right holders are using water within the confines of their permitted allocation,” Leslie Kaufman, CEO of the Kansas Cooperative Council, said.

Letourneau said the vast majority of Kansas water rights holders submit their reports on time, but at the moment, the KDA doesn’t have the authority to levy a fine higher than $250 or suspend users’ rights. Letourneau said 94 percent of water users submit reports on time, while an average of 60 individuals don’t submit their reports by June 1. Of users who don’t submit reports at all, approximately 10 are repeat offenders. Letourneau said the offenders are often municipalities and feed yards.

“There is concern that some water users decide to pay the annual penalty fee rather than submit the water use report,” Letourneau said.

Water usage management is a constant concern in western areas of Kansas where the Ogallala Aquifer provides water for irrigation and municipal use. The Southwest Farm Press, a news source for agriculture in southwestern states, reported the aquifer’s levels had dropped 8 percent from the beginning of the aquifer’s industrial development.

 

Edited by Leah Sitz

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has denied an animal rights group’s request to stop an import of elephants from Swaziland to three American zoos, including the Sedgwick County Zoo.

The Wichita Eagle reports that Friends of Animals’ wildlife law program filed a federal lawsuit to stop the importation of 18 African elephants. The group opposes keeping elephants in zoos because they are migratory and social animals.

Court records say that with a court hearing looming, the three zoos moved on Tuesday to anesthetize and load the elephants for a flight to the U.S.

The animal-rights group found out and asked for a restraining order to halt the transfer. A U.S. District Court judge denied the order, saying that sedating elephants again for a later transfer would be unsafe.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a Kansas man in the killing of his wife in northeast Kansas.

Jackson County sheriff Tim Morse said in a news release that the 66-year-old man was arrested Tuesday. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the sheriff’s office received a 911 call in October from the couple’s home.

The husband told dispatchers he had found his 61-year-old wife unresponsive. She died the next day at a Topeka hospital.

The sheriff’s office opened an investigation, and an autopsy indicated the woman died from trauma to the spleen.

A search warrant on the husband’s residence was served Tuesday morning.

HARVEY COUNTY – Two law enforcement officers were injured in an accident during a pursuit just after 10p.m. on Tuesday in Harvey County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a Harvey County Sheriff 2015 Chevy Tahoe driven by Deputy James Slickers, 43, Halstead, followed by a Kansas Highway Patrol 2015 Dodge Charger driven by Trooper Joseph Owen, 33, Newton, were southbound on Hertzler Road four miles west of Sedgwick attempting to stop a fleeing vehicle.

Sheriff Deputies has responded to multiple vehicle burglaries in the 2300 block of N. Oliver Road. While speaking with the victims of the burglaries a call came out of another burglary occurring at the Newton City/County Airport.

Deputies approaching the area observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed away from the airport. Deputies pursued the vehicle, a Ford Escape stolen from Butler County.

During the course of the chase, the driver threw numerous objects from the vehicle including a shot gun, rifle, and paperwork belonging to the earlier reported vehicle burglaries. The driver avoided three sets of spike sticks placed at various locations in Harvey County. Speeds reached 100 mph.

When the suspect’s vehicle slowed to turn onto Southwest 84th, the Charger rear-ended the Tahoe.

The collision caused the Deputy’s vehicle to spin into a ditch and hit a telephone pole. The Trooper’s vehicle was disabled on the roadway.

Slickers and Owen were transported to Newton Medical Center with minor injuries.

The chase continued into Sedgwick County where Deputies lost sight of the suspect vehicle in the area of Tyler and 77th.

A citizen called to report a vehicle in a field at 73rd and Ridge road. The vehicle was the Ford Escape that had been in the chase. The driver of the vehicle was not located. Inside the Ford Escape were numerous weapons and stolen property, including a $14,000 airplane prop from the earlier burglaries.

The case has been turned over to the Harvey County Sheriff Investigators for follow up and documentation of all stolen property.

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HARVEY COUNTY – Two law enforcement officers were injured in an accident during a pursuit just after 10p.m. on Tuesday in Harvey County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a Harvey County Sheriff 2015 Chevy Tahoe driven by Deputy James Slickers, 43, Halstead, followed by a Kansas Highway Patrol 2015 Dodge Charger driven by Trooper Joseph Owen, 33, Newton, were southbound on Hertzler Road four miles west of Sedgwick attempting to stop a fleeing vehicle.

When the suspect’s vehicle slowed to turn onto Southwest 84th, the Charge rear-ended the Tahoe.

Slickers and Owen were transported to Newton Medical Center with minor injuries. Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

Details on what prompted the chase have not been released. The suspect escaped.

In January the Kansas Highway Patrol conducted an unscientific survey to poll the public’s perceptions of tattoos in law enforcement, as it related to the Kansas Highway Patrol’s policy on tattoos. The Patrol appreciates the efforts of everyone who took the survey.

The Patrol is now releasing the results of the survey, which can be found on the agency’s new website.

The full survey results are here

The overall consensus on many of the questions was that people were not bothered by law enforcement officers’, or civilian workers’ tattoos, provided they are not offensive. The survey was open nationwide for anyone to take, allowed for multiple entries, and the results are not deemed scientific.

The agency is still evaluating its current tattoo policy, and will be comparing the results of the KHP survey to scientific national surveys for comparative analysis. The Patrol formed a committee to evaluate the tattoo policy months ago, and they will soon provide recommendations to the superintendent concerning whether the current policy should be altered.

The response to the survey exceeded expectations. During the 21 days the survey was open, 21,526 people took it, surpassing the number of responses the Patrol had hoped for.

The Patrol thanks each person who took the time to voice their opinions on this matter as well as our media partners for helping promote it. We value your input.

MANHATTAN – Law enforcement authorities in Riley County are investigating five suspects on drug charges.

Three of them were arrested after a warning and plea to the public on Tuesday evening for help to find them.

Just before 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the Riley County Police Department conducted a joint investigation with the Geary County Sheriff’s Office and the Junction City Police Department, which led to two arrests in the 1200 block of Bertrand Street in Manhattan.

Police reported that three other men fled the area and could possibly pose a danger to the community.

Acting on a tip from a neighboring law enforcement agency, members of the Special Investigation Unit of the Riley County Police Department located over 1,000 pills of ecstasy and approximately 6.5 pounds of marijuana with a street level value of approximately $55,000.00.

Enrique Hinojosa, 20, and Victor Daniel Lara, 20, both of Stockton, CA., were arrested early Wednesday, according to Riley County Police.

The third suspect was not identified.

By MATT HODAPP

As the U.S. Supreme Court considers another major abortion case, Planned Parenthood remains in the line of fire in Kansas. The Brownback administration has accused the organization of selling fetal parts for profit and has sought to cut off its Medicaid funding.  On Tuesday, a Kansas Senate committee voted to permanently divert federal family planning funding from abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.

Although numerous state investigations have cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing, and the Kansas Board of Healing Arts has done the same, Gov. Sam Brownback is sticking by his guns. In his State of the State address in January, he called on the Legislature to discontinue Medicaid funding of Planned Parenthood.

Laura McQuade, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, says Brownback knows his statements are untrue.

“I assure you that Gov. Brownback knows very well that Planned Parenthood does not traffic in or make profit from fetal body parts. I guarantee you he knows that for a fact, but for Gov. Brownback facts are not of importance,” McQuade says.

McQuade says the governor’s attacks are a calculated move to divert public attention from the state’s own problems.

“If he talks about highly inflammatory, although highly discredited, stories about Planned Parenthood, he doesn’t have to address the dramatic fiscal landscape that he’s created for the state of Kansas,” she says.

In an emailed response, Eileen Hawley, a spokeswoman for Brownback, said that “Planned Parenthood of America admitted publicly in a letter to Congress that it engaged in the trafficking of baby body parts for financial payment. Kansas is a pro-life state and we will continue to stand up for the most vulnerable among us.”

Hawley was referring to a letter Planned Parenthood Federation of America sent to a congressional committee last summer. The committee had asked for information on the tissue donation programs that a handful of Planned Parenthood affiliates have adopted. Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri is not among them.

In the letter, Planned Parenthood said that a very small number of its affiliates have programs allowing women and families to donate tissue for medical research. The organization says the affiliates charge only for their costs.

The congressional request came after secretly recorded and highly edited videos by an anti-abortion group purported to show Planned Parenthood officials trying to profit illegally from the sale of fetal tissue.

Last month, a Houston grand jury cleared a Houston Planned Parenthood clinic of selling fetal organs for profit and instead indicted the people who made the videos.

Mary Kay Culp, executive director of Kansans for Life, says fetal dissecting went on at Planned Parenthood’s Overland Park clinic back in 2000, although she doesn’t think it’s happening now.

“(I’m) not sure if they took it back up again,” Culp says. “So I think it’s legitimate for the governor to wonder.”

McQuade, however, says that Planned Parenthood isn’t backing down and intends to fight if Kansas lawmakers try to deprive it of funding.

“This really is about attacking communities of color, underserved citizens who need access not only to this healthcare but a must broader landscape rather than a narrower landscape of healthcare,” McQuade says.

A Kansas Senate committee is now considering a bill that would make permanent a tiered system that gives priority to state, county and local health departments over organizations such as Planned Parenthood that provide abortion services. Planned Parenthood has said the system has led to the closure of its clinics in Ellis and Ford counties.

Matt Hodapp is a producer at KCUR 

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the man suspected of killing four men in Kansas City, Kansas, and a fifth man in central Missouri. (all times local):

9:30 a.m.

Authorities in Kansas have released the names of four men who they say were gunned down by a neighbor accused of later killing another man in Missouri.

Wyandotte County prosecutors have charged Pablo Antonio Serrano-Vitorino with four counts of first-degree murder in the killing of the men at his neighbor’s home late Monday. Police identified them Wednesday as his neighbor, Michael Capps, as well as Jeremy Waters, Clint Harter and Austin Harter. They were ages 27 to 41.

Serrano-Vitorino also is suspected in the shooting death of 49-year-old Randy Nordman in Montgomery County, Missouri, on Tuesday. He was arrested in that county Wednesday during a manhunt.

Serrano-Vitorino had not been charged in Nordman’s death as of Wednesday morning.

Authorities haven’t discussed a possible motive.

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The Missouri Highway Patrol says a man wanted in connection with the fatal shootings of five people is in custody after a manhunt.

The Highway Patrol told the Kansas City Star early Wednesday morning that Pablo Antonio Serrano-Vitorino had been arrested in Montgomery County, Missouri. The newspaper reports the suspect was found lying on a hill just north of Interstate 70 and no shots were fired.

Sgt. James Hedrick says Serrano-Vitorino “looked exhausted.”

Serrano-Vitorino, a Mexican national who lived in Kansas City, Kansas, is accused of fatally shooting four men late Monday night at his neighbor’s home.

He was also wanted in connection with the shooting death of 49-year-old Randy Nordman in Montgomery County, Missouri.

LINCOLN COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Lincoln County are investigating a fatal weekend shooting.

Joseph Alan Schultz, 36, made a first court appearance in the case on Tuesday afternoon.

He was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Kevin Kubik, 33, according to County Attorney Jennifer O’Hare.

Sheriff’s deputies and EMS responded to the rural residence in the 2500 Block of Deer Drive in Beverly just before 2a.m. on Saturday, according to Sheriff Michael Weigel.

There was an altercation and Kubik died at the scene, according to Weigel.

Schultz remains in custody with a bond of $800K.

The KBI is helping investigate the case.

 

RENO COUNTY – A Kansas  man was injured in an accident just after 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Reno County.

The Reno County Sheriff’s Department reported that police attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Marc Chambers, 44, Hutchinson. He fled the scene in the stolen vehicle.

Officers found him after the vehicle struck a tree in the 4000 Block of East Avenue G. Chambers was unable to exit the vehicle.

The Hutchinson Fire Department extricated Chambers from the vehicle and he was transported to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center.

Chambers was not wearing his seatbelt and there was no airbag deployment.
.
The accident remains under investigation.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The family of former Kansas City Chiefs safety Caesar Belser will donate his brain to research into a degenerative brain condition.

Belser’s children said he died over the weekend of lung cancer. He played for the Chiefs from 1968 to 1971, including on the 1969 Super Bowl champions.

His son, Jason Belser, and his daughter, Cecilia Belser-Patton, say the family will donate Belser’s brain to the University of Texas Southwestern and Dr. Bennet Omalu, a key figure in researching chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

The Kansas City Star reports Belser’s children say he suffered from several neurological issues late in life.

Jason Belser, who played in the NFL for 11 years, has already decided to donate his brain when he dies.

HUTCHINSON—Law enforcement and school officials in Reno County are investigating a threat that was made at Hutchinson High School on Tuesday.

Several students came forward to express concerns about a threat to students, according to USD 308 Spokesperson Ray Hemman

The school Resource Officer was notified and then contacted Hutchinson Police.

Several students were removed from the building.

 

According to Capt. Troy Hoover of HPD two students,  14-year-old Ayrton Marroquin and 15-year-old Carson Cabral,  have been taken into custody and are expected to be charged with conspiracy to commit capital murder. Police report they recovered plans for making pipe bombs from the two students as well as sketches and plans of where certain teachers and staff would be so they could be targeted. Search warrants were issued at two residences were items that could be used to build explosive devices were confiscated by law enforcement according to a news release from HPD

USD 308 notified parents with in the school district with the following email message.

“Students came forward this morning to express a concern about a possible threat to Hutchinson High School. This report was relayed to the Hutchinson Police Department. The investigation revealed sufficient information to remove several students from school. Both HPD and HHS administration believe the concern has been addressed, and there is no threat to students or staff. HPD continues the investigation.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Three Republicans in the Kansas Senate have introduced a proposal to reverse an income tax cut for business owners championed by GOP Gov. Sam Brownback.

Senate Vice President Jeff King of Independence and Sens. Jim Denning and Greg Smith of Overland Park described the measure they unveiled Tuesday as a proposal to promote tax fairness.

Their bill would undo a 2012 policy that exempts more than 330,000 farmers and business owners from state income taxes. It would tax 70 percent of their income.

The state has struggled since to balance its budget, and the three senators said it will continue to do so as long as the full tax break remains in effect.

But Brownback spokeswoman Eileen Hawley said the governor will not support a tax increase on small businesses.