By Bryan Thompson

Financial problems at one of the world’s leading biofuels companies are causing ripples in the Kansas economy.

The Spanish company, Abengoa Bioenergy, opened a state-of-the-art ethanol plant in October 2014 near Hugoton. Gov. Sam Brownback greeted the grand opening as a shot in the arm for the Kansas economy.

“It does create jobs,” Brownback said at the time. “It creates opportunities, and right now we are seeing a rural renaissance in Kansas.”

But Abengoa’s role in that renaissance has not lived up to expectations. The company projected an annual payroll of more than $5 million at the southwest Kansas plant and estimated it would spend $17 million a year buying crop residue from area farmers for use as the raw material to produce ethanol fuels.

But a little more than a month ago, Abengoa officials said they were going to close the plant and reopen it in the spring, according to Neal Gillespie, Stevens County economic development director.

“They had produced ethanol, but no, it had never come up to full production,” he said. “I think they found some problems in the process and they were going to address those over the wintertime.”

Then, in late November, news broke that the parent company was considering bankruptcy protection.

All but half a dozen of the 50 employees in Hugoton have been laid off. Gillespie said some of them already may have moved away.

The $500 million ethanol plant was financed, in part, with a $132.4 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy. A spokesperson for the energy department said the company repaid its loan in full in March.

In addition to the next-generation cellulosic ethanol plant in Hugoton, Abengoa shut down an older, traditional ethanol plant in Colwich.

Biomass Magazine recently quoted a former Abengoa employee as saying an executive told staffers the company didn’t have enough money to continue paying wages.

“We were told layoffs were worldwide and only about 30 people remain at the corporate office in St. Louis,” the employee said.

Abengoa did not respond to repeated requests, by phone and email, for comment.

That doesn’t surprise Gillespie, who thinks the company is trying to figure out what its next move should be. But he is optimistic that production will eventually resume at the Hugoton plant, whether by Abengoa or another company.

“I do think there’s a lot of value in that plant out there,” Gillespie said.

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

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say a 42-year-old man who was found dead in a home was shot to death.

Police went to the southeast Wichita home late Wednesday after a 911 call about an unconscious man. Officers found the man dead and say he had been shot several times.

The man’s name has not been released. KAKE-TV reports police say he did not live at the house where he was found but knew the homeowners, who are not suspects.

Police said there’s no way to track the person who made the initial 911 call.

This is the 31st homicide in Wichita this year.

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police are investigating a man’s death at a Wichita home.

Wichita police Sgt. Brian Bachman says officers found a 42-year-old man dead Wednesday night when they went to the home to check on the welfare of an individual. KWCH-TV reports that the death is being investigated as suspicious.

The name of the victim wasn’t immediately released.

Bachman says police are investigating the scene. He says authorities also are contacting friends or family who may know what led to the man’s death.

ATCHISON, Kan. (AP) — A Missouri woman has been charged with having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student in 2012 while she was a high school teacher in the northeast Kansas town of Atchison.

Thirty-five-year-old Shelley Aversman, of Rushville, Missouri, was charged Wednesday in Atchison County with one count of unlawful sexual relations with a student.

The criminal complaint says the Kansas Bureau of Investigation investigated the allegations and took Aversman into custody Wednesday afternoon. She was released after posting $50,000 bond.

Her attorney, Andrew Werring, says she will make her first appearance Friday. He said he couldn’t comment further because he hadn’t received all the investigative reports.

USD 409 placed Aversion on administrative leave November 30.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Attorneys on both sides of a lawsuit dealing with the Kansas Supreme Court’s administrative power are conceding that legislators have some say in judicial operations.

The high court heard arguments Thursday about a 2014 law that strips it of its authority to appoint the chief judges in the state’s 31 judicial districts and gives it to local judges.

The Legislature passed another law earlier this year nullifying the court system’s entire budget if the policy change is struck down.

Attorney Pedro Irigonegaray represents a chief judge who sued over last year’s law and said it interferes with the Supreme Court’s power under the state constitution to administer the courts.

But Irigonegaray acknowledged that lawmakers had the authority to create chief judgeships and even describe their general duties.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court is taking up a case dealing with its administrative power that could jeopardize the judiciary’s entire budget.

The high court hears arguments Thursday on a 2014 law that strips it of its authority to appoint the chief judges in the state’s 31 judicial districts. The law gave the power to local judges.

A Shawnee County judge ruled the law improperly infringed on the administrative power granted to the Supreme Court under the state constitution. The state appealed.

The Republican-controlled Legislature passed a new law earlier this year nullifying the court system’s entire budget through June 2017 if the policy change is struck down.

Chief Justice Lawton Nuss criticized last year’s law on the high court’s behalf and has removed himself from the case.

NEWTON, Kan. (AP) — Kansas authorities say an Oregon man was urged to head home after he was spotted taking pictures of a wheat field wearing nothing “but a hat and a smile.”

The Harvey County sheriff’s office in Central Kansas says the man was first spotted Wednesday afternoon.

Sheriff T. Walton says authorities found the man four hours later — wearing boxers.

Walton said on the office’s Facebook page that an officer told the man and his friend that “Kansas is not as liberal as Oregon” and “suggested they continue their travels” back home.

Walton says it’s technically not illegal to be publicly naked in the county, as long as one is not trying to arouse oneself or others.

Walton added, “You know folks, you just can’t make this stuff up!”

WASHINGTON – On Thursday, Congressman Tim Huelskamp (KS-01) was chosen by his Republican colleagues for a slot on to the influential Republican Steering Committee.

 

I’ve been elected to the powerful Steering Committee. Victory for House conservatives. #TCOT @SpeakerRyan

— Cong. Tim Huelskamp (@CongHuelskamp) December 10, 2015

When Speaker Paul Ryan came into office, he vowed a fresh start, that he would respect committees and their value to the legislative process. This morning Republicans selected six Representatives to fill six at-large positions on the powerful Steering Committee. The Steering Committee works on behalf of the Republican Conference to nominate Republican members to fill all committee assignments, as well as a chairman for each committee.        

 

Huelskamp gave the following statement on his election to the powerful Steering Committee: “The outcome today is a victory for conservatives in the House, and I am grateful for this opportunity.   “I thank Speaker Ryan for following through on his reform promises. With these changes to the influential Steering Committee, my colleagues have sent a strong message that they’re listening to the conservative heart of the party.   “In one month alone we’re seeing the move toward a more transparent Congress. Members and committees are more empowered and involved. Leadership is listening and we’re going to get more done for the American people in 2016.”

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The wife of a Kansas bail bondsman charged with abusing his missing 7-year-old son has been arrested.

Wyandotte County Jail records show that Heather Jones is being held on suspicion of first-degree murder and child abuse but has not been charged.

Jones was taken into custody at 4 a.m. Thursday on a bench warrant for a petty theft from 2012.

The prosecutor’s office didn’t immediately return phone or email messages.

In interviews with The Associated Press, Jones has alleged that her husband, Michael A. Jones, abused her and the missing boy. The remains of a juvenile were found at a barn on the couple’s property but haven’t been identified.

Michael Jones is jailed on $10 million bond on abuse and battery charges unrelated to the discovery of the human remains.

HUTCHINSON- Law enforcement authorities in Reno County are investigating an early morning stabbing.

A suspect in the attack held police at bay in the early morning hours of Thursday forcing officials to close off portions of West 5th between Jackson and Whiteside.

Police allege that just after 2:30 a.m., Toby Darwin Hippen, 28, Hutchinson forced entry into the residence of 26-year-old Megan Drach at a home at 1301 E 25^th Avenue.

Once inside, Hippen allegedly stabbed Drach repeatedly and then fled the scene.

Drach was transported to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center then transferred to a Wichita area hospital in serious but stable condition.

Hippen was located at 714 West 5th and after an extended standoff surrendered to police without incident.

Hippen was arrested for suspicion of aggravated burglary and aggravated battery.

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HUTCHINSON- Law enforcement authorities in Reno County are investigating an early morning stabbing.

Police closed West 5th street between Jackson and Whiteside to traffic just after 2a.m. after a woman reported being stabbed at a home in the 1300 block of East 25th Street,

Police worked a standoff with the alleged suspect at a residence in the 700 Block of West 5th Street until just after 7 a.m. when they arrested Toby Hippin after he surrendered peacefully from the home.

The victim, who police identified as 28-year-old Megan Drach, was taken to a Wichita hospital for treatment of multiple stab wounds.

KANSAS CITY – A Kansas woman appeared in federal court in Kansas City, Kan., Wednesday on federal charges of fleeing to Europe in an effort to avoid losing custody of her two daughters, according to U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom.

Samantha Elmer, 33, Lawrence, is charged with one count of taking her children out of the United States with intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights. Elmer was arrested Dec. 8 at the airport in Kansas City when she returned with her children.

A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., alleges that on Oct. 26 Elmer and her daughters – one 11 years old and the other nine years old – boarded a flight from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago to Vienna, Austria, via Istanbul, Turkey. A week earlier, Elmer’s ex-husband and father of the two girls had filed for full custody in Johnson County District Court. The court had scheduled a hearing for the first week of November. Elmer also was scheduled for a hearing on felony theft charges in Johnson County District Court.

On Oct. 29, an officer of the Lawrence Police Department went to Elmer’s house in Lawrence to do a child welfare check. Investigators determined that Elmer’s daughters had missed the past six days of school. They learned that Elmer had been driving a rented vehicle and had dropped the vehicle off at O’Hare airport before boarding the flight to Austria.

If convicted, Elmer faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The following agencies worked on the investigation: the Lawrence Police Department, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office, the Eudora Police Department, the Overland Park Police Department and the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Oakley is prosecuting.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A third person has been charged in connection with a double homicide outside a Wichita home last week.

The Wichita Eagle reports that 19-year-old Jonathan Carter is charged with first-degree murder, criminal discharge of a firearm and criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon in the deaths of 55-year-old Betty Ann Holloman and 24-year-old Brenton Oliver.

Jail records say he was arrested around 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Twenty-four-year-old Brent Carter and 19-year-old Jamion Wimbley have also been charged in the case after their arrests Friday. Police say Brent Carter and Jonathan Carter aren’t related.

Police say they’re searching for a fourth suspect.

Each man is being held in the Sedgwick County Jail on a $500,000 bond. The three are set for a preliminary hearing Dec. 23.

It was not immediately clear if they have attorneys.

LOUISBURG- One person was injured in an accident just before 5p.m. on Wednesday in Miami County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2009 Ford Econoline van driven by Michael A. Foster, 45, Belton, Mo., was northbound on U.S. 69 at Louisburg.

The van drifted right and struck a semi that was a legally parked on the right outside shoulder of the highway.

The debris field from the collision damaged a northbound Hyundai Sonata driven by Suzan E. Oilfield, 43, Louisburg.

Foster was transported to Overland Park Regional Medical Center.

Oilfield was not injured. The semi driver was not in the vehicle at the time of the crash. Leo Thomas, 73, Hendersonville, Mo., was working under the truck’s trailer at time of accident. He refused treatment at the scene.

JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS, Associated Press

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Two energy companies have asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by an Oklahoma woman who claims their practices caused an earthquake that injured her.

Lincoln County District Judge Cynthia Ferrell Ashwood took the matter under advisement after Wednesday’s hearing.

Sandra Ladra says a 5.6-magnitude earthquake near her hometown of Prague in 2011 was the result of companies pumping wastewater from the drilling process deep underground.

Ladra is suing Spess Oil in Cleveland, Oklahoma, New Dominion LLC based in Tulsa and 25 unnamed parties.

Scientists have linked wastewater injection with a sharp uptick of earthquakes in Oklahoma during the past few years.

Industry representatives say Ladra’s lawsuit could cripple the energy industry in the state.