HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man is suing the city and a police officer after he was stopped while riding a bicycle and subsequently spent time in jail for a drug conviction that was later overturned.
Jon Heter has three previous drug convictions and one for driving while suspended, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections
Jon Heter, 55, Hutchinson, was stopped in November 2016 for not having a headlight on his bike. When Heter gave a false name to the officer and refused to give his birthday, officer Josh Long arrested him.
Long later discovered Heter had an outstanding warrant and also found methamphetamine in a container on the bike. Heter was convicted of drug charges and spent three months in prison before the conviction was overturned.
In a lawsuit filed Monday, Heter argues his constitutional rights were violated and the arrest was unlawful. Heter is seeking more than $75,000 in damages.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — The federal government has accused Sprint Corp. of failing to provide service to low-income subscribers after accepting millions of dollars in subsidies to do so.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said Tuesday he’s asked the agency’s enforcement bureau to investigate.
KCUR reports Sprint said it had used government funds to provide monthly subsidies for about 885,000 subscribers to the program, called Lifeline. Under the program, low-income consumers are given a $9.25 monthly subsidy toward phone and broadband service
FCC spokesman Mark Wigfield said it’s unclear how much money Sprint received for the program. But Sprint collected at least $8.2 million a month for some period of time.
Sprint said in a statement that it made an error in July 2017 while implementing changes to the Lifeline program that the FCC had approved. Sprint said it would reimburse federal and state governments for subsidy payments collected because of the error
WASHINGTON — It’s vaping week on capitol hill. House Committee on Oversight and Reform heard from officials at the CDC Tuesday.
KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman during Wednesday’s testimony image courtesy Energy and Commerce Committee
On Wednesday, Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Dr. Lee Norman addressed the subcommittee in Washington. The hearing “Sounding the Alarm: The Public Health Threats of E-Cigarettes.” Kansas has had two confirmed deaths related to vaping.
Chair DeGette, Ranking Member Guthrie, and distinguished subcommittee members thank you for the opportunity to appear before the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee today to discuss the need to the public health emergency regarding e-cigarettes, or as the industry has termed it, vaping.
We greatly appreciate your attention to this issue of critical importance to the health of the population. As the State Health Officer of Kansas, a US Army Lieutenant Colonel and the State Surgeon of Kansas, and as a recently-deployed 35th Infantry theater medical commander in the Middle East, I have personally witnessed the deleterious impact addiction to any substance, whether it be nicotine, alcohol or illicit substances has on the citizens of Kansas and the economic costs to our entire health care system. I am now witnessing an outbreak of lung diseases impacting our state and recently claim the life of one Kansan. Our youth were poised to be the generation that ended smoking.
That legacy is now in jeopardy. Youth usage of e-cigarettes, along with outbreak of lung diseases that continue to be investigated, is alarming. As a physician, public servant, military serviceman, father and grandfather,
I owe it to the troops I work with, the staff I support and the Kansans I serve, to do what I can to win this battle for our youth. In Kansas, we currently have eight probable/confirmed vaping related cases with one of those being a death. Of the cases, four are male and four are female and range in age from 17-57 years old. All were hospitalized, five have been released from the hospital and two remain hospitalized. Regarding the types of vaping products used, three of the patients reported using only nicotine, two reported only THC, one reported using CBD, and two reported using both THC and nicotine.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) e-cigarettes typically contain nicotine, most also contain flavorings and other chemicals, and some may contain marijuana or other substances. They are known by many different names and come in many shapes, sizes and device types. E-cigarettes can contain harmful or potentially harmful substances, including nicotine, heavy metals (e.g., lead), volatile organic compounds, and cancer-causing chemicals.
Additionally, some e-cigarette products are used to deliver illicit substances; may be acquired from unknown or unauthorized (i.e., “street”) sources; and may be modified for uses that could increase their potential for harm to the user.
Youth, young adults, pregnant women, as well as adults who do not currently use tobacco products should not use e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes containing nicotine have the potential to help some individual adult smokers reduce their use of and transition away from cigarettes.
However, e-cigarettes are not currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a quit smoking aid, and the available science is inconclusive on whether e-cigarettes are effective for quitting smoking.1 E-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among youth.
Forty-four percent of Kansas high school youth who use e-cigarettes also currently use conventional cigarettes. Nationally, 96.1 percent of youth who initiated e-cigarette use between 2016 and 2017 did so with a flavored e-cigarette product. Preliminary findings from the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) were reported. They found over one quarter of U.S. high school students report using an e-cigarette product in the past 30 days, an increase from 2018 when the rate of past 30-day use was 20.8 percent. Most teens who are vaping never smoked cigarettes.
Vaping is how they are initiating inhaling substances into their lungs. In Kansas, the top reasons why youth report using e-cigarettes include: a friend or family member uses, its availability in different flavors; and they perceive it as being less harmful than other forms of tobacco. We must work diligently to stop youth from acquiring and using e-cigarettes or vaping devices.
States are taking a leading role in implementing strong action to protect consumers from the harms of ecigarette product use. New York has also banned most flavored vaping products but will allow mint and menthol flavorings to remain on the shelves. California announced a crackdown on illegal and counterfeit vaping products and allocated funds into a public awareness campaign on vaping harms. Kansas is committed to combating the issue.
We are actively reviewing policy options to address this epidemic, which includes options to ban of flavored e-cigarette products through executive action or passing of legislation as the federal government moves ahead with its own regulatory plan. To increase education regarding e-cigarettes and what the tobacco industry has termed as “vaping,”
KDHE and the Kansas Department of Education partnered to develop a Vape-Free Schools kit. Schools are urged to adopt the kit and parents and caretakers are encouraged to have conversations with their children. I recognize this to be a public health emergency of considerable importance. As Chief Medical Officer of large health systems for over 25 years,
I have served as incident commander for H1N1 pandemic influenza, Ebola, the ongoing opioid epidemic, and now this. We are currently losing the battle against e-cigarettes and vaping, and we do not even understand the cause. We need a diligent and consistent approach to solving this, including thoughtful policy-making and regulatory changes, in the name of consumer protection and the public’s health. I am happy to participate in the effort.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — The trial of a Kansas man charged in an infant’s death ended in a hung jury.
The jury on Tuesday could not reach a unanimous verdict in the first-degree murder and child abuse trial of D’Khari Lyons of Manhattan. Lyons was charged after 2½-month-old Michael Calver Jr. died in November 2018 while Lyons was watching him.
When Michael’s mother returned home, the boy was having trouble breathing and was bruised. He died three days later at a Kansas City hospital.
Officials ruled Michael died from head trauma after sustaining severe internal injuries.
Prosecutors alleged Lyons hurt the child to stop him from crying. Lyons testified he wouldn’t hurt a child and didn’t know what caused Michael’s injuries.
Judge Meryl Wilson set a hearing for Oct. 7 to determine how to proceed.
MERRIAM, Kan. (AP) — A dog that spent more than 400 days at a suburban Kansas City animal shelter has found a home after a man moved into a kennel with the terrier mix and posted videos of the experience on Facebook.
Staff with the Great Plains SPCA shelter in Merriam, Kansas, cheered as the 3-year-old dog, named Queen, left the shelter with her new owner, Tony Puluso. He said that Queen is a “perfectly sweet dog.” He said he didn’t even know she was at the center of a viral campaign to find her a home.
The man behind the campaign was Scott Poore, of Mission Driven Goods, which creates fundraisers for shelters. He moved in with Queen on Sept. 18, bringing with him a laptop, desk and a small twin mattress.
SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a weekend shooting and asking the public for help to locate individuals who might have information.
During the early morning hours of Sept. 21, deputies responded to a shooting in the parking lot at the Topeka Sports Cabaret, 4216 NE Seward Ave. in Topeka, according to Sgt. Todd Stallbaumer.
James BoatrightDustin Dawdy
The victim — a man in his 20s — was seriously injured and transported to the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City.
The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance in locating five individuals who may have information about this incident or may have information on the shooting, according to Stallbaumer.
SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on child sex allegations.
Ames photo Saline Co.
On Aug. 12, a concerned mother reported to Salina Regional Health Center personnel that she believed her 3-year-old and 4-year-old daughters had been sexually abused by a man who lived with the family, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester.
The man — Sebastian Ames, 23 — babysat the girls while their father was at work and the mother was out of town, Forrester said. Ames lived with the family from June to August, he added.
On Tuesday, Salina Police completed their investigation and arrested Ames on suspicion of rape and aggravated indecent liberties with a child, according to Forrester.
GLADSTONE (AP) — Authorities say a 2-year-old boy has been fatally shot in a Kansas City area apartment.
Gladstone police says the boy was suffering from a gunshot wound when officers responded Tuesday night. He was rushed to a hospital, where he died.
Investigators are talking to adults who were at the apartment at the time. Police say officers are not looking for any suspects. No other details were immediately released, including the name of the boy.
The memo summarizing President Donald Trump’s call with the Ukraine leader shows the president’s lingering fixation on special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
Trump flippantly refers to the ex-FBI director as a “man named Robert Mueller” and says he turned in “a very poor performance.”
The memo also shows that the president made reference to the private cybersecurity firm that investigated Russia’s hack of the Democratic National Committee servers during the 2016 election.
Trump suggests that Ukraine may be in the possession of the email server, though it’s unclear what he’s referring to.
Trump also says he’d like to have his attorney general “call you or your people and I would like you to get to the bottom of it.”
The White House released the memo Wednesday.
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The intelligence community’s inspector general told the acting director of national intelligence that a call between President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s leader could have been a federal campaign finance violation.
But the Justice Department determined the president did not commit a crime after prosecutors reviewed a rough transcript of the July 25 call.
A Justice Department official says the inspector general suspected that the call could have been a violation of federal law if the president was soliciting a campaign contribution from a foreign government by asking the Ukraine leader to investigate a political opponent.
The official says that was based on the whistleblower’s complaint and the inspector general didn’t have access to a rough transcript of the call.
Prosecutors from the Justice Department reviewed a rough transcript of the call and determined the president did not violate campaign finance law.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal investigative deliberations.
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President Donald Trump repeatedly prodded Ukraine’s new leader to work with Rudy Giuliani and the U.S. attorney general to investigate Democratic political rival Joe Biden. That’s according to a five-page memo summarizing the July 25 call.
The White House released the memo Wednesday.
The conversation between Trump and Ukraine’s president is just one piece of a whistleblower’s complaint made in mid-August.
The complaint is central to the impeachment inquiry announced Tuesday by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Trump told the Ukrainian president “If you can look into it … it sounds horrible to me.” Trump was talking about unsubstantiated allegations that Biden sought to interfere with a Ukrainian prosecutor’s investigation of his son, Hunter.
Trump also confirmed that he ordered his staff to freeze nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine a few days before the call.
The president says he did nothing wrong.
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The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee is demanding that Attorney General William Barr produce the legal basis for withholding a whistleblower’s complaint against President Donald Trump.
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California said Wednesday in a letter to Barr that the refusal to turn over the complaint risks raising “the specter that the department has participated in a dangerous cover-up to protect the president.”
Schiff says the statute “makes no provision” for withholding the information from Congress. He wants the Office of Legal Counsel’s reasoning.
The administration is considering whether to release the complaint, which is based in part on Trump’s conversation to the Ukraine president that reportedly involved digging up dirt on rival Joe Biden.
But Schiff told reporters the administration has communicated “nothing” about its intentions.
FINNEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities and officials with USD 457 are investigating another alleged school threat.
Just after 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, a parent informed police of a possible threat towards Horace Good Middle School in Garden City, according to Sergeant Lana Urteaga.
Upon investigation, officers determined the threat was made by a 13-year-old student two weeks ago after he and another student were involved in a verbal altercation at the school.
The threat was not reported until Tuesday when another altercation occurred between the same two students.
The GCPD will file an affidavit with the Finney County Attorney’s Office requesting charges of Criminal Threat.
SHAWNEE COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a stabbing and have a suspect in custody.
Keeling photo Shawnee Co.
On Tuesday, police were called 401 SW Jackson, the regional American Medical Response headquarters, where a 27-year-old woman had arrived seeking treatment for what appeared to be serious stab wounds to her back, according to Lt. Andrew Beightel.
AMR staff attended to the victim and she was quickly transported to an area hospital and is expected to survive. Based on information gleaned from the investigation, offices established that the suspect of this crime was a Joshua Keeling, 26, of Topeka.
Officers and investigators followed numerous leads that ultimately led them to Keeling’s location and he was apprehended near 7th and SW Topeka Blvd without further incident.
Keeling was then booked into the Shawnee Co Department of Corrections on requested charges of Attempted 2nd degree murder. Keeling has two previous convictions for aggravated battery and aggravated assault, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Tuesday launched a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, yielding to mounting pressure from fellow Democrats and plunging a deeply divided nation into an election year clash between Congress and the commander in chief.
Members of the Kansas congressional delegation have released statements on Pelosi’s move.
Democrats will stop at nothing to impeach our President. If only they devoted the last three years and energy to helping make American’s lives’ better…
I have long said that I trust my colleagues on the relevant House Committees as they conduct oversight and continue their investigations into the President, and I support this process continuing unimpeded. We must proceed down a path of finding the truth, regardless of politics.
Since the day after the 2016 election, Democrats have vowed to impeach President Trump and have spent more than two years searching for a reason to do it. Instead of impeachment, Congress should focus on priorities like the USMCA and accomplishing results for the American people.
The speaker put the matter in stark terms: “The actions of the Trump presidency revealed dishonorable facts of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of his national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections.”
The sculpture missing from downtown Salina has been located, according a facebook post from SculptureTour Salina. Authorities released no additional details.
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The sculpture Child’s Play is missing. Photo courtesy SculptureTour Salina
SALINA—A sculpture is missing from downtown Salina and SculptureTour Salina wants to know what happened.
According to a news release, Child’s Play, a bronze sculpture, went missing sometime between Sept. 13-16. It was last seen leaning against the building on the northwest corner of Iron Avenue and Santa Fe Avenue.
SculptureTour Salina was made aware that the sculpture was missing on Monday afternoon.
Child’s Play had been on exhibit in front of Wells Fargo since early May and was installed on a large concrete pedestal. The sculpture is 35 inches tall and weighs approximately 90 pounds. It is valued at $10,500.
SculptureTour Salina is offering a monetary reward for information that leads to the arrest of the person or persons who took the sculpture and to the recovery of the sculpture. Persons with information about this crime are urged to call the Salina Police Department at 785-826-7210.
