KANSAS CITY (AP) — The former coach and a choreographer for a Kansas high school dance team are denying they prevented a black student from performing during an event because her skin was “too dark” and clashed with the costumes.

Former student Camille Sturdivant has sued the Blue Valley School District, alleging she was discriminated against after complaining about how she was treated.

Choreographer Kevin Murakami released a statement Tuesday saying the allegation was “absolute nonsense.” He says he treated all members of the Blue Valley Northwest dancers with respect.

The lawsuit also alleges Murakami and former coach Carley Fine exchanged racist text messages about Sturdivant after she was named to the University of Missouri dance team. Fine was fired a day after the principal became aware of the messages.

Fine told WDAF-TV the accusations are “false and/or misleading.” She says her lawyers told her not to comment further.

Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Ben Gardner has made good on his wager with Massachusetts State Trooper Dustin Fitch.

The two had a wager that the trooper whose team lost the AFC Championship would make a public safety video while wearing the winning team’s jersey. The losing trooper also had to send a lock of his hair to the winner.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say an 11-year-old boy and his 9-year-old friend managed to unlock a bedroom gun safe before the older boy fatally shot the younger child in a Wichita mobile home.

Officer Charley Davidson said Tuesday in an email that the family who lives in the home didn’t know that the gun was loaded when Roy’Ale Spencer was killed. Davidson said the children got into the safe Monday after the adults in the home left for work, leaving three teens in charge. Students in Wichita public schools were out of class Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Inside the safe were two rifle-style BB guns and one shotgun, which had ammunition in it. After Spencer was shot, one teen attempted lifesaving efforts and called 911.

MANHATTAN — A member of the Kansas State men’s basketball team had an encounter with police early Tuesday.

Cartier Diarra, 20, was cited Tuesday for driving on a suspended or revoked license, In addition, the tags on the vehicle he was driving had expired, according to a report released by the Riley County Police Department.

Diarra a red-shirt sophomore from Florence, South Carolina played 8 minutes, scored one point and grabbed two rebounds in the Wildcats 58-45 win over Texas Tech Tuesday night.

 

 

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A lawsuit making its way through federal court alleges that a Missouri jeweler was trashed online by a Kansas competitor who used a customer’s phone to write the bad review.

Meierotto Jewelers, of Kansas City, Missouri, has sued Karats Jewelers, of Overland Park, Kansas, and its owner, Akshay Anand.

After a review described Meierotto’s as “pushy,” an employee reached out to the apparent poster. The woman said in a Facebook conversation that was submitted into evidence that she didn’t post the review but maybe someone else had. She said Anand walked away with her phone during a visit.

Anand said he was “flabbergasted” by the claim. He and his business filed a counterclaim Tuesday, alleging Karats also was wronged. Both sides are seeking damages.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on Tuesday announced all Farm Service Agency offices nationwide will soon reopen to provide additional administrative services to farmers and ranchers during the lapse in federal funding.  Certain FSA offices have been providing limited services for existing loans and tax documents since Jan. 17, and will continue to do so through Jan. 23.  Beginning Jan. 24, however, all FSA offices will open and offer a longer list of transactions they will accommodate.

Additionally, Secretary Perdue announced that the deadline to apply for the Market Facilitation Program, which aids farmers harmed by unjustified retaliatory tariffs, has been extended to Feb. 14.  The original deadline had been Jan. 15.  Other program deadlines may be modified and will be announced as they are addressed.

“At President Trump’s direction, we have been working to alleviate the effects of the lapse in federal funding as best we can, and we are happy to announce the reopening of FSA offices for certain services,” Perdue said.  “The FSA provides vital support for farmers and ranchers and they count on those services being available.  We want to offer as much assistance as possible until the partial government shutdown is resolved.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has temporarily recalled all of the more than 9,700 FSA employees to keep offices open from 8 am to 4:30 pm weekdays beginning January 24.  President Trump has already signed legislation that guarantees employees will receive all backpay missed during the lapse in funding.

For the first two full weeks under this operating plan (January 28 through February 1 and February 4 through February 8), FSA offices will be open Mondays through Fridays.  In subsequent weeks, offices will be open three days a week, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, if needed to provide the additional administrative services.

Agricultural producers who have business with the agency can contact their FSA service center to make an appointment.

FSA can provide these administrative services, which are critical for farmers and ranchers, because failure to perform these services would harm funded programs.  FSA staff will work on the following transactions:

• Market Facilitation Program.
• Marketing Assistance Loans.
• Release of collateral warehouse receipts.
• Direct and Guaranteed Farm Operating Loans, and Emergency Loans.
• Service existing Conservation Reserve Program contracts.
• Sugar Price Support Loans.
• Dairy Margin Protection Program.
• Agricultural Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage.
• Livestock Forage Disaster.
• Emergency Assistance Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish Program.
• Livestock Indemnity Program.
• Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.
• Tree Assistance Program.
• Remaining Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program payments for applications already processed.

Transactions that will not be available include, but are not limited to:

• New Conservation Reserve Program contracts.
• New Direct and Guaranteed Farm Ownership Loans.
• Farm Storage Facility Loan Program.
• New or in-process Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program applications.
• Emergency Conservation Program.
• Emergency Forest Rehabilitation Program.
• Biomass Crop Assistance Program.
• Grassroots Source Water Protection Program.

With the Office of Management and Budget, USDA reviewed all of its funding accounts that are not impacted by the lapse in appropriation. We further refined this list to include programs where the suspension of the activity associated with these accounts would significantly damage or prevent the execution of the terms of the underling statutory provision. As a result of this review, USDA was able to except more employees. Those accounts that are not impacted by the lapse in appropriation include mandatory, multiyear and no year discretionary funding including FY 2018 Farm Bill activities.

Updates to available services and offices will be made during the lapse in federal funding on the FSA shutdown webpage (https://www.fsa.usda.gov/help/shutdowninfo).  Programs managed by FSA that were re-authorized by the 2018 farm bill will be available at a later date yet to be determined.

GEARY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities continue their investigation into the alleged contract murder of a pregnant Kansas woman and have a third suspect in custody.

On Tuesday, police reported the arrest of 37-year-old Jeremiah Joseph Grubb of Junction City on suspicion of Conspiracy to Commit Capital Murder of 31-year-old Jenna Schafer. She was found dead on Christmas Day, according to police.

Two other suspects in the death are already in custody.

Prosecutors alleged in a criminal complaint filed January 7, that Mashaun Jay Baker hired his co-defendant, Dion Jamel Green, to kill Schafer who was found dead in an apartment in Junction City.

Green was arrested later that day, while Baker was arrested on Jan. 2, according to police.

Green and Baker, both 33, are charged with capital murder because Schafer’s death was part of an alleged murder-for-hire plot. Green faces an additional capital murder charge because Schafer’s unborn child also died.

The shooting happened either on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, according to the criminal complaint.

Grubb was arrested Tuesday along with Julia M. Ridenhour, 20, Junction City after police conducted a search in the 600 Block of West 5th Street in Junction City on Drug and Drug Paraphernalia charges, according to a media release.
Grubb and RIdenhour are being held at the Geary County Detention Center without bond pending a first court appearance. Police have released no additional details on Grubb’s connection to the murder.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A 26-year-old Missouri woman who intentionally drove her car into the Kansas River with her two children inside has been sentenced to life in prison.

Scharron Dingledine, of Columbia, Missouri, was sentenced Tuesday for first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.

Prosecutors said she drove her car into the river near Lawrence in August . She and her 1-year-old son were rescued. The body of her 5-year-old daughter, Amiyah Bradley, was recovered the next day.

Dingledine told police she drove into the river in an attempt to kill herself and her children. She said she knew neither child could swim and would likely die.

She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder charge, and nearly 13 years for the attempted murder charge.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 34-year-old Kansas man who authorities say suffocated his 2-month-old twin son by rolling over on him while they slept has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison.

Kyle Kempton was sentenced Tuesday to 32 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter and four misdemeanor counts of endangering a child.

Police say Kempton and his wife, Christy Rollings, had been drinking for a week before their son, Patrick Kempton, died in August in a Wichita motel.

The other twin was not injured.

Rollings was charged with the same crimes and sentenced to probation for manslaughter and two years for the endangerment charges.

Officers took the twins from the parents two days before the boy died at the Scotsman Inn, but a family member returned the children to them.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has delayed sentencing for a California man who admitted making a hoax call that led police to fatally shoot a Kansas man following a dispute between two online gamers over a $1.50 bet in a Call of Duty WWII video game.

U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren on Tuesday delayed until March 1 sentencing for Tyler R. Barriss .

The government and defense had jointly requested more time to review objections to a presentence investigation report. The hearing had been scheduled for Jan. 30.

Barriss has pleaded guilty to 51 federal charges, including making a false report resulting in a death, cyberstalking and conspiracy related to the deadly swatting case in Kansas. The plea deal is expected to send him to prison for at least 20 years.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas woman has been found guilty of injuring an infant boy so badly at her home day care that he was left blind and brain damaged.

Paige Hatfield, 27, Olathe, was found guilty Friday of aggravated battery in Johnson County District Court.

The jury also granted a motion to allow the judge to impose a sentence above what is called for in state sentencing guidelines.

Hatfield is scheduled to be sentenced March 28.

The boy, Kingston Gilbert, was four months old when he was injured at the unlicensed day care in January 2017.

Hatfield testified that she did not hurt the child.

On Monday, three fatal Kansas accidents and another where the driver was critically injured had one thing in common. Those who died and the man critically injured were not wearing seat belts.

Just before 1:30 a.m., a GMC Sierra driven by Joli S. Hutto, 21, Mound Valley, was westbound on U.S. 400 two miles east of Parsons. The GMC crossed the center line and struck a 2003 Dodge Ram driven by Charles J. Wass, 62, Parsons, head-on. Both drivers were not wearing seat belts and died, according to the KHP.

Just after 12:40p.m., an eastbound Lexus SUV driven by 72-year-old June Rockey of Topeka crossed U.S. 75 at 190^th Road from the entrance of a convenience store in Jackson County, according to the sheriff’s department.  A northbound Ford F 250 struck the Lexus.  Rockey was transported to a Topeka hospital where she died. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the sheriff’s department.

At 2p.m. Monday, a 2008 Honda Civic driven by  Tuyen T. Nguyen, 50, Wichita, was northbound on U.S. 83 two miles south of Garden City. The vehicle crossed the centerline, struck a semi and a bridge rail. She was transported to St. Catherine’s Hospital and died. She was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

Just after 3:30p.m. John K. Mwithiga, 24, Lawrence, was westbound on Intestate 70 just west of Spring Creek Road when he lost control of a 1999 Acura after partially entering the snow covered median. The vehicle slid across the westbound lanes of I-70, entered the ditch, went up an embankment, crashed through a KDOT fence, rolled and the driver was ejected. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.