RILEY COUNTY – Two Kansas teens were injured in an accident just before 6p.m. on Friday in Riley County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Ford Explorer driven by Peter G. Young, 18, Overland Park, was westbound on Interstate 70 eight miles west of Kansas 177.

The SUV traveled onto the right shoulder and the driver overcorrected entering the median where the vehicle overturned.

Young and a passenger Herter, Laura E. Herter, 19, Shawnee, were transported to the hospital in Manhattan.

They were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

SMITH COUNTY -Officials in Smith County are investigating the accidental death of animals.

Wardens with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks investigated a deer kill near Gaylord, according to a social media report.

A power line fell over in a wheat field and the deer that were feeding walked into it and were electrocuted.

The active line was released from the fallen pole as soon as possible, but the accident had already taken place.

JEFFERSON COUNTY – A Kansas man died in an accident just before 4p.m. on Friday in Jefferson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2009 Pontiac G5 driven by Quentin D. Bertels, 36, Lawrence, was southbound on Wellman Road two miles south of Kansas 192.

The driver failed to negotiate a curve. The vehicle went off the roadway into the west ditch and struck a tree.

Bertels was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Barnett Family Funeral Home.

He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization says possible Zika vaccines are at least 18 months away from large-scale trials

WHO assistant director-general for health systems and innovation Marie-Paule Kieny says the U.N. health agency’s response is “proceeding very quickly” and 15 companies or groups have been identified as possible participants in the hunt for vaccines.

She told reporters in Geneva Friday that WHO also believes the link between the mosquito-borne virus and abnormally small heads in some newborn children is “more and more probable.”

The Zika outbreak is spreading rapidly across Latin America.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate has passed a bill blocking a state regulatory commission from spending money to study how to comply with new federal clean-power rules until a legal challenge is resolved.

The chamber’s 37-2 vote on Thursday night sends the measure to the House. The vote came just two days after a divided U.S. Supreme Court agreed to halt enforcement of President Barack Obama’s sweeping plan to address climate change until a legal challenge by several states, including Kansas, is resolved

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the Kansas Corporation Commission had been searching for a consulting firm to work on a study of what the state would be required to do to comply.

Sen. Rob Olson, R-Olathe, says the state shouldn’t move forward until the legal challenges are fully resolved.

MANHATTAN -An alleged drunk driver lost control of a vehicle, crossed the highway at 1601 Tuttle Creek Boulevard and traveled into the parking lot of a local business on Wednesday night.

The vehicle crashed into a van, pushing it into the Redi Systems’ building.

The driver and other employees who were inside the building and in the parking lot at the time were not injured, according to Redi Systems. They missed the collision by less than 15 seconds.

Samantha Noel Petri, 22, Manhattan, was arrested for DUI and reckless driving in connection with the crash. Her bond was set at $1500, according to the Riley County Police Department arrest report.

The company shared the video as a reminder not to drink and drive.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City man convicted of federal drug and weapons charges faces considerable prison time after authorities said he also killed five people.

Rashawn Long was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in federal prison without parole for illegally possessing a controlled substance and firearms. Sentencing guidelines would have called for about 10 years in prison.

The Kansas City Star reports the judge cited Long’s criminal history in tripling Long’s sentence.

Prosecutors say Long was a gang member who killed five people, including one person he was convicted of killing in 2001. He was released from prison in 2012. Prosecutors say in 2013 he killed four more people, including a woman and her 3-year-old daughter. Charges have only been filed in one of those cases.

Long’s lawyer says he’s appealing

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 28-year-old man is behind bars after having second thoughts about an early morning convenience store robbery and turning himself in.

The Wichita Eagle reports a man walked into a Kwik Shop in northeast Wichita around 2 a.m. Friday, indicated he had a weapon and demanded money from the cash register.

Wichita Police Capt. Doug Nolte says the employee gave the robber a small amount of cash and the thief left in a black Honda CRV.

Soon after that officers at Patrol North noticed a black Honda CRV drive up at the bureau offices.

The man was interviewed and booked, and officers found evidence of the robbery in his car.

Great Bend Post

GREAT BEND -Michelle O’Neil is the mother of a victim involved with the alleged assault on a Great Bend High School activity bus.

The incident happened as the bus was transporting the swimming team home from competing in Manhattan on Saturday, February 6.

O’Neil said her son was sexually assaulted on the bus by upperclassman on the swim team.

“My son is not doing good,” she said. “I get emotional about this. He cries all the time. He feels humiliated and he’s with me 24-7.

We tried to get him to go to school on Thursday. He made it about an hour and a half,” she explained.

“We do have him in counseling,” she said. “As a mom it is tough to see this.”

She also discussed the incident on the bus.

“There is no question that it happened,” she said. “The boys who did it have even sent my son text messages asking for forgiveness and facebook messages saying they are sorry.”

O’Neil was not pleased with the school’s response to the incident.

“It is sad how USD 428 is making light of this,” she explained. “The whole situation, the way it was handled is bad. My son is trying to be as strong as he can and we are going to change the policy on the buses so this can never happen again.”

The Ellsworth County Attorney is considering possible charges in the case.

CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY- One person was injured in an accident just after 5a.m. on Friday in Chautauqua County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1998 Peterbilt semi pulling a load of 70-80 head of cattle and driven by Thomas A. Murphy, 49, Hattiesburg, MS, was northbound on K99 five miles north of U.S. 166.

The truck’s passenger tire slid off the edge of roadway.

Kansas 99 has no shoulders and the driver was unable to recover once the truck started down the embankment. The truck rolled into the east ditch.

Murphy was transported to the hospital in Sedan. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

The cattle were trapped in the truck. The KHP did not report any injuries to the animals.

SALINA – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating an attack on an officer at the jail.

Just before 6p.m. on Tuesday an inmate threw orange juice on a corrections officer and his radio, while being served a meal, according to Salina Police Lt. Mike Smith.

Just before 5 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon four corrections officers were in the process of moving an inmate to another cell for discipline reasons.

Before the inmate could be handcuffed, he threw a cup of urine on the officers, hitting them in the face and their uniforms.

The inmates face felony charges of battery of a corrections officer.

The names of the inmates and the corrections officers were not released.

By Minami Levonowich

KU Statehouse Wire

TOPEKA – Legislators are debating a bill that would abolish the solid waste grants advisory committee, the group that specializes in clean up of tire stockpiles and market development for recycled tires. And lawmakers are talking about a reduction in the tax on tires.

Lawmakers want to eliminate the waste tire grant program, which has provided economic and safety benefits to Kansas residents, such as safe, clean playgrounds and parks. Lawmakers also are discussing a reduction in the tax on new tires, from 25 cents to 15 cents per tire.

Opponents say the bill could negatively impact public safety and create future economic burdens, such as damaging property values if clean-ups are not fully funded. However, proponents say it’s time to let private industry manage tire recycling.

Gary Mason, deputy secretary for environment at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), told the House Energy and Environment Committee on Monday that removing the funding for used tire recycling grants will not harm the state. The U.S. market has improved its management of waste tires, he said.

Before 1980, many states, including Kansas, encountered a problem with improper handling of discarded tires. Rubber scraps were left in ditches, ravines, creek beds, farmlands, and the tire fire piles. Tire dumps are not as prevalent today, Mason said, and several tire recycling businesses in Kansas are devoted to managing waste tires.

Over the years, KDHE initiated and helped make many grant programs a success, but once each program’s goals were achieved, KDHE closed the program.

“We funded the (programs) heavily in the early years to get that momentum going … and now those grants essentially don’t exist. We did the same with many of the recycling grants on solid waste recycling landfills to where those are down to very little opportunities now,” Mason said. “That’s just what our trend is. . . . We try to move the bar. Once we move it, we kind of back out of the program and let the private sectors and others pick it up.”

KDHE disposed of more than 11 million tires from 1993 to 2001. In the last eight years, the agency has noted a 99 percent reduction in the amount of tires collected each year.

The 25-cent tire tax generates approximately $712,000 per year in revenue, Mason said. Those revenues funded 50 percent of grant program’s administration costs, as well as the cost of waste tire removals.

Opponents argued that removing the waste tire grant program, which encourage the purchase of recycled tire products, will reduce benefits to schools and local governments. Also, it will harm the state’s ability to recycle abandoned tires and discourage the growth of local industries, they said.

Justin Glasgow, owner of Performance Tire and Wheel in Topeka and board member of the Mid-America Tire Dealers Association (MATDA), told the committee that taking away a program that is user-generated and self-funded and that shares money with schools and other facilities is a mistake, especially since consumers don’t dispute paying the small tax after spending more than $100 on a tire.

Gary Champlin, general manager of Champlin Tire Recycling, Inc., in Concordia and national secretary/treasurer at the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, said that Kansas already has the lowest tax in the nation for the purchase of new tires.

Spencer Duncan, executive director of the Kansas Organization of Recyclers (KOR), said that the waste tire grants allowed private and public entities such as schools, churches, and parks to provide safe and clean surfaces for citizens. Despite KOR’s good relations with KDHE, Duncan disagrees with them on this issue.

“They’re telling you this has been such a successful program, it’s time for it to go away,” Duncan said. “We’re arguing that it’s such a successful program, you should be trumpeting from the mountaintops about what a great thing this has been for such a low fee.”

KDHE stated in the Scrap Tire News in January that the tire recycling grant program “ended” even though the statute required it to continue. Democratic Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, said he was “interested in fixing the blame” on KDHE and wanted to know who was responsible for suspending this program without speaking with legislators. Mason admitted there was miscommunication within the agency.

“The (KDHE) website says ‘suspended,’ this (publication) says ‘ends.’ We’ve got some internal communication issues, and I’ll take full blame for it,” Mason said. “I don’t think that (miscommunication) was the intent, but we obviously have a law that we have to abide by and we intend on doing that.”

Edited by Madeline Mikinski

SALINA – One person was injured in an accident just before 7a.m. on Friday in Saline County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2000 Toyota passenger vehicle driven by Ian Ray Thompson, 25, Platteville, CO., was eastbound on Interstate 70 at extremely high speeds.

The driver lost control of the vehicle. It entered the grassy area between the Interstate and the Exit ramp for Ohio Street and rolled.

Thompson was transported to Salina Regional Health Center.

He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.