SALINA – A Salina man was injured in an accident just before 6p.m. on Tuesday in Saline County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Chevy Equinox driven by Daniel Joseph Fiorillo, 57, Salina, attempted a left turn from York Avenue onto North Ohio Street.

The vehicle turned into a Catrike Expedition recumbent bicycle ridden by Alan M. Hoover, 49, Salina, which was crossing North Ohio Street from Van Horne Street to York Avenue.

Hoover was transported to Salina Regional Medical Center. Fiorillo was not injured.

Hoover was wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.

SOUTH HUTCHINSON — Fire crews responded to 6th Avenue and Broadacres Road in South Hutchison for a trash truck fire on Monday afternoon.

The South Hutchinson Fire Department was originally dispatched for the fire in the truck that was still moving.

Reno County Sheriff Deputies were able to stop the trash truck that had smoke and flames coming from the rear of the vehicle.

The fire was controlled in 15 minutes, according to fire officials.

Units were on scene for two hours. Preliminary damage is estimated at $75,000.

Damage was sustained to the inside of the cargo area of the truck.

The trash company brought heavy equipment to the scene to clear out and then haul away the truck’s contents to the landfill. No one was injured were reported.

HUTCHINSON– One of the five teens arrested and accused of making criminal threats against Hutchinson 
High School has reached a plea agreement in the case.

Dominic Collins, 17, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and criminal threat. He entered pleas to the second count while the conspiracy to commit murder was dismissed.

According to Dan Gilligan of the District Attorney’s office, Collins had made strides to improve his life including obtaining his GED.

Collins was sentenced to Court services until May of 2016 and time already served.

He must also write a letter of apology to Hutchinson USD 308 for his actions.

The other four teens arrested in the case, Takota Bowman, Jake Eells, Andre Smith and Tyler Cabral are scheduled to be back in court on December 29th.

The five were arrested after threats surfaced on social media.

They have maintained all along that the texts and emails were a joke. The teens were detained in juvenile detention until after the school year and were released this past summer.

GARDEN CITY- After a nationwide search, a new police chief has named in Garden City.

Captain Michael Utz, a 31-year veteran of the Garden City Police Department is set to take over the new responsibilities, according to a media release.

He takes over the top job following the retirement of Chief James Hawkins earlier this year.

“Our search yielded several top-quality candidates for the position of Chief of Police,” said City Manager Matt Allen.

“Chief Utz has had a distinguished law enforcement career at GCPD, but where he stood out in this very competitive process was the way he has continued to evolve as a leader in our department, and I’m excited for him to have the opportunity to show that throughout the community.”

“I have been in Garden City since 1984,” Utz said. “I believe in this community. I am invested and have passion for this community, and I’m excited to begin this new journey.”

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — An aerospace company has offered a voluntary retirement and layoff program to employees in Wichita.

The Wichita Eagle  reports that Spirit AeroSystems announced Monday that the programs are being offered to eligible executive, management and salaried employees in Wichita and Oklahoma.

Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace’s Midwest director Bob Brewer says he was surprised by the announcement because company officials had indicated in earlier conversations that there were no plans to offer an early retirement program this year.

The company says it does not have a target for the number of people who will participate in either program. Company officials also wouldn’t say if there would be involuntary layoffs if it was not satisfied with the results.

Spirit AeroSystems has about 11,000 employees in Wichita.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas group has received a $294,000 grant from the Department of Defense to evaluate the economic impact of potential future force reductions at Fort Riley.

The Manhattan Mercury reports that the director for The Flint Hills Regional Council told Riley County Commissioners Monday that the grant will be used to hire a consultant to complete the evaluation, which will look at the effects of past reductions, and make recommendations about how surrounding communities could handle the impact of a troop reduction.

Council director Gary Stith said the evaluations will focus on the impact of potential reductions on local jobs, housing, schools and retail services.

Stith said that once the evaluation is complete, the council would have to apply for additional funds to implement the consultant’s recommendations.

SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A man accused of using various names to make 26 false 911 calls to Salina authorities in 24 hours has been sentenced to a year and four months in prison.

The Salina Journal reports that 42-year-old David Slover was sentenced Monday. He had pleaded guilty to one count of criminal threat and three counts of interference with law enforcement by falsely reporting information.

Authorities said emergency responders received the calls between Aug. 3 and Aug. 4, in which Slover reported various emergencies at a Salina Motel 6. He also threatened to burn the motel down unless his money and wallet were returned to him.

Police say Slover was found by an officer at a truck stop and that he had three cellphones with him.

By ESTHER HONIG 

Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri said it changed the location of its conference Monday to the

Intercontinental Hotel from the The Kauffman Foundation amid safety concerns. The organization cited the recent mass shootings in San Bernadino, California, and at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs as the reason for the change of venue.

Laura McQuade, president and CEO of the local chapter, said that the 80-year-0ld organization was determined to carry on its mission even as it has become embroiled in political controversy.

“This is a conference about the substance of the work that Planned Parenthood and other community healthcare providers provide in the reproductive healthcare space,”McQuade told an audience of about 70 people.”What does the landscape look like now? What are some of the challenges? But really, what are some of the opportunities that we feel we really want to take on to expand access to services in 2016?”

Former Kansas Governor and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was the event’s keynote speaker.

 

Esther Honig is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.

LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas researcher has uncovered what is believed to be the only known audio recording of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball.

The recording, as reported in a University media release, is located in the archives of the Library of Congress, and the university has received permission to include the recording in KU’s archives at the Kenneth Spencer Research Library and to make it available to the public via a website link.

Michael Zogry, associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies, found references to a brief radio interview with Naismith while researching his book in progress, “Religion and Basketball: Naismith’s Game.”

The interview of Naismith was on the radio program “We the People,” hosted by Gabriel Heatter in New York, on Jan. 31, 1939.

In the roughly three-minute clip, Naismith discusses setting up the first basketball game with two peach baskets in a gymnasium at the International YMCA Training School (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts, in December 1891. Naismith’s description of the roughhousing among 18 players in the first game sheds new light on the creative process that led him to draft the 13 original rules of the game, said Zogry and Naismith’s grandson, Jim Naismith, who first heard his grandfather’s voice once Zogry obtained the audio in November.

“The recording suggests the gym was a laboratory for developing the game and establishing the rules,” Zogry said.

“There’s also value in just hearing his voice. In this day and age of media saturation, to find something like this is surprising.  No one’s heard his voice in over 75 years. When we hear him talking, we get a sense of his demeanor and his self-effacing attitude.”

After inventing the game, Naismith went on to earn a medical degree.  He was hired by the University of Kansas in 1898 to serve as chapel director, director of physical education and university physician.  He went on to serve KU for nearly 40 years as a professor of physical education, chairing that department until 1924.  He also served as KU’s first athletic director and was the first basketball coach from 1899 to 1907.

Naismith died in November 1939 in Lawrence and is buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Lawrence. Once Zogry, who also directs KU’s Indigenous Studies Program, established the date the interview aired, he began searching for an existing copy of the interview.  The process to locate, access, then gain necessary usage permissions for and a copy of the audio recording took several months.  Zogry’s graduate research assistant Katie Hobson, a KU student completing her master’s degree in religious studies, aided in the search.  They received the audio file in November.

Zogry gained permission from Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of which RKO General Inc. donated the audio and manuscript archives of radio station WOR-AM to the Library of Congress, to utilize the audio clip for his research, to provide copies to Naismith family members and to deposit a copy of the audio recording in KU’s University Archives.

University Archivist Rebecca Schulte said KU Libraries have a significant amount of materials on Naismith’s life and time as a KU faculty member, especially as part of a traveling exhibit to celebrate the 150^th anniversary in Naismith’s birthday in 2011. However, the university only had a silent basketball training video of Naismith with his onetime pupil and legendary KU basketball coach Forrest “Phog” Allen.

“It was amazing hearing his voice because we’ve done research for years, and we still get requests from people all over the world asking for information about Dr. Naismith,” Schulte said. “To have it here in the University Archives will truly add in a major way to our holdings on Dr. Naismith.”

Schulte said KU Libraries staff have made an audio clip available as part of a special Naismith online collection.

Zogry said in addition to the training video a few other silent film clips of Naismith exist, including one of him in Berlin in 1936, where he traveled to observe basketball’s debut as an Olympic sport.

In the audio recording, Heatter introduces Naismith as “the man who made it all possible” before Naismith begins describing how he set up the game in the International YMCA Training School gymnasium to try to curb roughhousing of students in one of his classes during the winter time. He instructed them to use an old soccer ball and try to throw it into the other team’s peach basket hung on the wall.

However, the game itself turned somewhat violent, as Naismith confesses he didn’t restrict players from running with the ball. Two young men suffered black eyes while another was knocked out, and he had to pull players apart, he said.

“I didn’t have enough (rules), and that’s where I made my big mistake,” Naismith said.

Presumably Naismith then drafted the complete 13 original rules of the game, including no running with the ball (rule No. 3), and within 10 years it had become a popular sport nationally.

“That changes just about everything that’s been written about that first game,” Jim Naismith said. “When he turned those 18 guys loose, obviously they were having a good time, but obviously this was kind of try number one. He commented and said he didn’t write enough rules. It came out of that experience. That makes a lot of sense.”

KU is currently constructing the DeBruce Center adjacent to Allen Fieldhouse that will permanently house Naismith’s original “Rules of Basket Ball” document. David and Suzanne Booth purchased the rules in 2010 as part of an auction. David Booth grew up in Lawrence and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in business from KU.

Zogry said Naismith’s description of the game suggests he used a trial-and-error approach to develop the game. At the end of the segment Naismith quips that inventing the game, “shows what you can do when you have to,” which indicates his humility in the face of creating a very popular game that even during his lifetime was already a worldwide phenomenon.

“That’s one of the things people don’t really recognize as being so significant about him. You cannot point to the creators of most games,” Zogry said. “It’s difficult to calculate his influence on humanity, and by saying this I’m not trying to lessen any other contribution. But it’s just incredible if you really sit back and think about the sheer number of people who have played basketball since its invention in 1891, not to mention the countless others who have attended, watched or read about games. Basketball is truly a global phenomenon, and even during his lifetime, as he recalled in his autobiography, he was amazed during his travels to see basketball goals in virtually every place he visited.”

Zogry’s book examines the influence of religion on Naismith’s life, including the creation of basketball as well as on the commemoration of his legacy. Naismith was an incorporating member of the Kansas School of Religion, founded by members of KU’s Council of Religious Workers, whose goal was to help students at a state university take classes on the subject of religion that would count toward their degrees. The courses were held in Myers Hall, which is now the site of Smith Hall.  Over time the School of Religion was officially incorporated into KU as the academic Department of Religious Studies.

“Naismith’s goals in life, as he stated on his application to the International YMCA Training School, were to try to help ‘win men for the Master,’ to build character and to be an example for the men,” Zogry said. “He was always doing that. His approach was to put Christianity out there in front of people and try to influence them through positive character development, but he reserved his formal preaching for when he was a guest minister at area churches”

Zogry said finding the audio recording of Naismith’s voice also exhibits the value of research in liberal arts.

“It does have an impact on people.  You can discover items thought to be ‘lost’ to history and uncover useful information about people and events due to  people having the foresight to save these materials in locations such as the Library of Congress.”

Naismith was a person who valued his ideals and beliefs more than personal financial gain, Zogry said. He had a modest basketball endorsement deal with Rawlings near the end of his life, but he famously refused to patent or otherwise profit from the game, including rejecting an extremely lucrative endorsement deal from a major cigarette company at a time when it was common for star athletes and coaches to endorse cigarettes.  As a doctor, the negative health effects of smoking were clear to him.

He also gave back to his adopted country as an immigrant who volunteered to serve as a military chaplain in the Kansas National Guard in 1915, then served during World War I in France as a member of the YMCA War Work Council. He also was a mentor to many students, including a young African-American student named John McLendon, who would go on to become a groundbreaking basketball coach and member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

“Naismith’s story is a great American success story,” Zogry said, “and I’m proud to have found this piece of his legacy and make it public.”

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The latest on the closure of Los Angeles Unified School District schools due to a threat (all times local):

2:40 p.m.

Los Angeles police say a city utility truck hit and killed a 17-year-old boy who was heading to school because he apparently didn’t know a threat had shut down all campuses.

Detective Charles Walton says the crash happened at an intersection around 7:10 a.m. Tuesday. A short time earlier, the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District announced that schools would not open due to an emailed threat.

Walton says all indications show that the student was heading to school rather than away from it and that he had not yet found out that classes were canceled for the day.

Administrators of nearby Los Angeles International Charter High School tell the Los Angeles Times that the teen was a student there.

___

2:15 p.m.

After getting word that all Los Angeles schools were shutting down because of a threat of possible attack, many parents’ first thoughts were about how to discuss the situation with their kids.

Lupita Vela says her 8-year-old daughter enjoys attending Eagle Rock Elementary, and Vela was worried about the third-grader feeling unsafe in class after learning of the threat Tuesday.

Experts say parents should first reassure themselves by getting as much information as possible about potential risks. Then sit down with the child and find out his or her specific fears.

Dr. Karen Rogers, a child psychiatrist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, suggests comparing the shutdown to preparations for earthquakes — a practice familiar to every California schoolchild.

___

12:45 p.m.

The ranking Democrat on the House Select Committee on Intelligence says the threat that shut down the Los Angeles school system is believed to be a hoax.

U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said a preliminary investigation indicates that the threats in Los Angeles and New York City were designed to disrupt school districts in large cities.

He says in a statement Tuesday that investigators are still gathering information about the origin of the threats.

Officials have said the threats targeted students and involved gun attacks and explosive devices. It led Los Angeles school officials to close more than 900 public schools and 187 charter schools.

New York City officials say they received the same threat as Los Angeles but quickly concluded it was a hoax.

___

11:30 a.m.

A threatening email sent to the New York City school superintendent warned that every school in the city would be attacked with pressure cooker bombs, nerve gas agents, machine pistols and machine guns.

The email was sent early Tuesday and said the writer and “138 comrades” would carry out the attack. It said, “The students at every school in the New York City school district will be massacred, mercilessly. And there is nothing you can do to stop it.”

The anonymous writer claimed to be a student at a district high school who had been bullied.

A law enforcement official with access to the document provided the email to The Associated Press. The official wasn’t authorized to disclose details of an ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

— From Associated Press writer Colleen Long in New York

___
11:20 a.m.

The Los Angeles police chief says the emailed threat that shut down the nation’s second-largest school district described an attack with assault rifles.

Chief Charlie Beck said Tuesday that it was specific to all the campuses in the Los Angeles Unified School District. He says the email’s “implied threat” involved explosive devices and the “specific threat” was a shooting attack.

Beck says the email was routed through Germany but that police believe its origin was much closer.

The police chief says the city takes threats against its schools seriously given the recent attack in San Bernardino and the frequency of school shootings.

He says the LAPD gave advice to district officials, who then chose to close all of its more than 900 schools and 187 public charter schools. Beck defended that decision.

___

10:45 a.m.

The White House says the different reactions taken by the nation’s two largest public school systems after receiving threats show that local first-responders are responsible for protecting their communities.

Spokesman Josh Earnest says he won’t “second-guess” the decisions by Los Angeles officials to close their schools and New York City officials to keep their students in class.

Earnest says local authorities make decisions based on information they receive and what they believe is in the best interests of their communities.

He says that the FBI has been in touch with California law enforcement authorities.

New York City officials say they received the same threat as Los Angeles but quickly concluded it was a hoax. New York Police Commissioner William Bratton said he thought Los Angeles overreacted.

___

10:35 a.m.

Los Angeles law enforcement and city leaders are defending the decision to shut down the city’s school system due to an emailed threat.

Police Chief Charlie Beck and Mayor Eric Garcetti told reporters Tuesday that they stand behind the superintendent’s order to close the Los Angeles Unified School District’s more than 900 schools and 187 public charter schools as a precaution.

New York City officials say they and many cities nationwide received the same threat and quickly determined it was a hoax.

Beck says it’s easy to criticize a decision when someone has no responsibility for its outcome. He says district police contacted his department late Monday about a threat sent to school board members.

Officials say it was a tough decision but the safety of students and employees was their main concern.

___

9:40 a.m.

New York City officials say they and many cities across the country received the same threat that closed the Los Angeles school system.

Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters Tuesday that the threat came in the form of a “generic” email and that New York officials quickly concluded that it wasn’t credible.

Los Angeles Unified School District officials say they closed all of the system’s more than 900 schools and 187 public charter schools as a precaution.

A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation said the threat involved bombs in students’ backpacks. The official wasn’t authorized to speak about an ongoing investigation and insisted on anonymity.

District spokeswoman Shannon Haber says the threat was emailed to a school board member late Monday.

— From Associated Press writer Tami Abdollah in Washington, D.C.

___

9:20 a.m.

A Los Angeles school official says the threat that shut down the nation’s second-largest school district was emailed to a school board member and is believed to have come from an IP address in Frankfurt, Germany.

Los Angeles Unified School District spokeswoman Shannon Haber said Tuesday that she didn’t know if the district has ever closed all of its more than 900 schools and 187 public charter schools.

New York City officials say they received the same threat but quickly concluded that it was a hoax. New York Police Commissioner William Bratton said he thought Los Angeles officials overreacted by deciding to close the schools.

Haber says she couldn’t comment on threats received by other districts and whether they’re related.

She says, “At this point, we’re focused on LA Unified.”

___

8:55 a.m.

New York City officials say they received the same threat that led to the closure of the Los Angeles school system but quickly concluded that it was a hoax.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday morning that he was “absolutely convinced” there was no danger to schoolchildren in New York.

New York Police Commissioner William Bratton said he thought Los Angeles officials overreacted by deciding to close the nation’s second-largest school system.

He said a school superintendent received the threatening email Tuesday morning.

Bratton said the person who wrote the note claimed to be a jihadist but made errors that made it clear the person was a prankster.

___

8:15 a.m.

Parents bundling up their children on an unusually cold morning received robocalls from Los Angeles schools officials telling them to keep them home.

A voice message from the LA Unified School District said: “As a result of a threat received the superintendent has directed all schools to be closed today.” Some parents also got separate calls from the schools themselves.

Parent Lupita Vela says she was terrified after getting the announcement, especially in light of the recent San Bernardino attack. Vela says she worries about how to talk to her 8-year-old daughter, Isabella, about the threat because she wants the third-grader to feel safe at school.

Elinor McMillan, whose daughter is in 7th grade at Animo Westside Charter Middle School, says she’s a nervous wreck.

Superintendent Ramon Cortines says the threat was made against students at many of the district’s schools.

———

8:05 a.m.

A law enforcement official says the threat that closed all schools in the vast Los Angeles Unified School District was emailed to a school board member and appeared to come from overseas.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation. The official says the threat was sent late Monday.

Superintendent Ramon Cortines says the threat was made against students at many of the district’s schools. Officials wouldn’t elaborate.

Cortines says the San Bernardino shooting that left 14 people dead on Dec. 2 influenced the decision to shut down the district’s more than 900 schools and 187 public charter schools.

7:50 a.m.

Officials say the San Bernardino shooting influenced the decision to close all schools in the vast Los Angeles Unified School District after receiving a threat.

Superintendent Ramon Cortines said at a news conference Tuesday that an electronic threat in the form of a message was made against students at many of the district’s schools.

He says the schools commonly get threats but called this one rare. Officials wouldn’t elaborate.

Cortines says he ordered the shutdown out of an abundance of caution after the Dec. 2 attack in nearby San Bernardino that left 14 people dead.

He says he wants every school to be searched and a report given to him and the school board.

The district, the second largest in the nation, has 640,000 students and more than 900 schools and 187 public charter schools.

 

 

LAUSD schools are closed today due to credible threat. Updates will be provided via https://t.co/AZDfmuaMmu & 213-241-2064.

— LAUSD (@LASchools) December 15, 2015

        ___ 7:30 a.m. Los Angeles Unified School District police Chief Steven Zipperman says an “electronic” threat led to the decision to close all schools in the nation’s second largest school district Tuesday morning. Zipperman says the threat is still being evaluated. District Superintendent Ramon Cortines says the threat was against students, not just a single campus. Officials are notifying parents to keep their children at home.

___

7:10 a.m.

All schools in the vast Los Angeles Unified School District have been ordered closed due to a threat.

School district spokeswoman Ellen Morgan announced the closure Tuesday but released no further details ahead of a press conference at district headquarters.

The district, the second largest in the nation, has 640,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade and more than 900 schools and 187 public charter schools.

The district spans 720 square miles including Los Angeles and all or part of more than 30 smaller cities and some unincorporated areas.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Democratic member of the Kansas House from Wichita plans to resign so that she can spend more time with her grandchildren.

Rep. Carolyn Bridges announced her plans Tuesday. She said she will step down Sunday.

Bridges said she’s come to realize that acquiring the knowledge necessary to be an effective legislator takes a number of years. She said she wants to spend her retirement years babysitting her grandchildren and pursuing other opportunities.

She is an education consultant and rental property owner who was first elected to the House in the 83rd District in southeast Wichita in 2012 and re-elected last year. She serves on the Education and Taxation committees and is the ranking Democrat on the Veterans, Military and Homeland Security Committee.

GARDEN CITY – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is in charge of investigating a shooting involving an off-duty Finney County Sheriff’s Deputy.

Deputies were dispatched to a suicidal subject with a gun in the 21000 Block of Eddie Road in northeast Finney County on Sunday night, according to a media release from the Finney County Sheriff’s office

An off-duty Finney County Sheriff’s Deputy who lives in the area was also contacted by nearby residents

He responded and drove his personal vehicle to the residence.

A 23-year-old man approached the deputy with a gun. The deputy shot the man once in the leg.

The deputy and the neighbors from the area provided first aid until Finney County EMS transported him to St. Catherine’s Hospital.

The deputy is on paid administrative leave.