TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State University has apologized to a concession worker who complained on Facebook about being told she would have to put her breast pump in a clear plastic bag before entering the football stadium.
Katie Doyle, of Holton, said she was humiliated by the experience Saturday. The mother of a 5-month-old son says she decided against putting the pump in a clear bag because she didn’t think anybody wanted to look at the milk-covered pump parts.
She also told the Post, “Kansas State contacted me to apologize. I feel the issue has been handled.”
Kansas State began requiring clear bags for ticketed athletic events last school year, although breast pumps are exempted as medically necessary. Kansas State senior associate athletic director for communications, Kenny Lannou, says there will be more staff training.
Doyle said that a security official was “very apologetic.”
Alex Deaton courtesy of Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Office
PRATT, Kan. (AP) — A man suspected of killing or wounding people in Mississippi, New Mexico and Kansas has been sentenced in Kansas.
Alex Deaton was sentenced Monday to nearly 13 years in prison and $4,000 in restitution for shooting a Pratt convenience store clerk in March.
Deaton pleaded guilty in July to attempted first-degree murder and aggravated robbery.
He’s charged in Brandon, Mississippi, with first-degree murder, auto theft, and drive-by shooting. He’s accused of strangling his girlfriend, stealing her car, and shooting a jogger in February.
He’s also suspected of killing a woman near Philadelphia, Mississippi.
Scene of Deaton’s crash in Ellsworth Co.-photo courtesy KHP
Police say Deaton then carjacked a New Mexico couple before fleeing to Kansas and shooting the clerk.
Pratt County District Attorney Tracey Beverlin says she doesn’t know when Deaton will go to Mississippi.
SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a business burglary and have a suspect in custody.
Just after 10p.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to report of a burglary in progress at a warehouse in the 500 Block of East 33rd Street North in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.
The business owner had received an alarm notification of someone inside the warehouse. The owner arrived on the scene and found a broken window at the warehouse. When officers arrived, they surrounded the business just as a suspect wearing a mask exited the building. When the suspect observed the officers, he retreated back inside the building.
Police searched the building and found the 35-year-old suspect lying in insulation in the attic and arrested him without incident, according to Davidson. Police booked him into the Sedgwick County jail on requested charges of aggravated burglary, aggravated weapons violation and destruction of property.
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on the court-martial of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who walked off his post in Afghanistan (all times local):
10:20 a.m.
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl told a military judge he’s pleading guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.
His lawyer says the prosecution and defense have not agreed to a stipulation of facts in the case, which is an indication that they did not reach a deal to limit his punishment.
Bergdahl is charged with endangering his comrades by walking away from a remote post in Afghanistan in 2009.
He told the judge that he now understands that what he did caused others to search for him.
___
3 a.m.
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is expected to plead guilty Monday to charges that he endangered comrades by walking away from a remote post in Afghanistan in 2009.
The U.S. Army said Bergdahl asked to enter his plea before the military judge at Fort Bragg. The Associated Press previously reported that he’s expected to plead guilty to charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.
It’s not clear if Bergdahl, 31, has a deal with prosecutors to limit his punishment, or if he’s simply pleading guilty in hopes of leniency from the judge, Army Col. Jeffery R. Nance. The misbehavior charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, while the desertion charge is punishable by up to five years.
Guilty pleas would bring the highly politicized saga closer to an end eight years after Bergdahl’s disappearance in Afghanistan set off search missions by scores of his fellow service members. President Barack Obama was criticized by Republicans for the 2014 Taliban prisoner swap that brought Bergdahl home, while President Donald Trump harshly criticized Bergdahl on the campaign trail.
Meanwhile, serious wounds to service members who searched for Bergdahl are expected to play a role in his sentencing. While guilty pleas would allow him to avoid a trial, he’d still face a sentencing hearing in late October. Bergdahl’s five years of captivity by the Taliban and its allies also will likely play a role in what punishment he receives.
Bergdahl’s lawyers are expected to reveal in court Monday whether there’s a plea agreement in place to cap his punishment, or if he’s pleading guilty without such a deal in what’s known colloquially as a “naked plea.” In either scenario, his punishment won’t be known until after the judge holds the sentencing hearing that’s expected to start on Oct. 23. Bergdahl, who’s from Hailey, Idaho, previously chose to have his case heard by a judge alone, rather than a jury.
Legal scholars have said that several pretrial rulings against the defense have given prosecutors leverage to pursue stiff punishment against Bergdahl. Perhaps most significant was the judge’s decision in June to allow evidence of serious wounds to service members who searched for Bergdahl at the sentencing phase. The judge ruled that a Navy SEAL and an Army National Guard sergeant wouldn’t have wound up in separate firefights that left them wounded if they hadn’t been searching for Bergdahl.
The defense also was rebuffed in an effort to prove President Donald Trump had unfairly swayed the case with scathing criticism of Bergdahl, including suggestions of harsh punishment. The judge wrote in a February ruling that Trump’s campaign-trail comments were “disturbing and disappointing” but did not constitute unlawful command influence by the soon-to-be commander in chief.
Defense attorneys have acknowledged that Bergdahl walked off his base without authorization. Bergdahl himself told a general during a preliminary investigation that he left intending to cause alarm and draw attention to what he saw as problems with his unit. He was soon captured.
But the defense team has argued that Bergdahl can’t be held responsible for a long chain of events that included many decisions by others on how to conduct the searches.
The military probe of Bergdahl began soon after he was freed from captivity on May 31, 2014, in exchange for five Taliban prisoners. Facing Republican criticism, Obama noted that the U.S. doesn’t leave its service members behind.
Bergdahl has been assigned to desk duty at a Texas Army base while his case unfolds.
Kansans who need to update their voter registration before the fall local election will need to move fast. Tuesday is the deadline to register to vote before the November election.
In 2015, Kansas lawmakers moved local elections from the spring to the fall of odd-numbered years. That means 2017 is the first year when voters will cast ballots in November for offices such as school board and city commission. photo -STEPHEN KORANDA
This is the first year that local elections are being held in November instead of spring. In many communities, voters will decide races for city council, school board or ballot questions about issues including bonds and sales taxes.
Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew, who sent a mailing to alert voters about the change, said requests for advance ballots are way up.
“We’ve been surprised by the response to it,” Shew said. “We actually have had over 4,000 people respond to it asking for an advance ballot, which is 10 times the number of advance ballots we’ve had for local elections.”
Shew said in the past, local elections would come quickly after federal elections, which may have led to voter fatigue. The change in date appears to be attracting people who normally may not be interested in local races.
“Over 50 percent of the people who requested a ballot have never voted in a local election,” he said.
State law says new Kansas voters need to provide proof of citizenship. Because of a court order, people registering using the federal voter registration form are currently not held to that requirement.
Shew offers both the federal and state forms in his office. He said voters using the federal form need to keep future uncertainty in mind.
“It’s something that I talk to voters about. Your status could change, depending upon what happens,” he said.
Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for KPR a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Kansas City man has received a 40-year prison sentence for having sex with a preteen girl.
The Kansas City Star reports that 34-year-old Shaun B. Bettis will serve time for first-degree statutory rape. He also will be subject to lifetime monitoring as a sex offender.
Clay County prosecutors say Bettis knew the victim and was able to have sexual contact with her at his home while the victim’s family members were busy taking care of sick relatives.
Clay County prosecutor Daniel White says the child has experienced a series of losses in her life including the illness and death of family members, and was particularly vulnerable.
MARSHALL COUNTY – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is assisting the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office following the Saturday afternoon escape of two inmates from the Marshall County Jail in Marysville, Kan.
According to a media release, just before 5 p.m., Saturday, the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the KBI to investigate the events surrounding the escape of two Marshall County Jail inmates. KBI agents, the Crime Scene Response Team, and the Kansas Office of the State Fire Marshal responded to conduct the investigation.
Preliminary information indicates that at approximately 3:50 p.m. on Saturday, inmates lit a fire in a cell, causing smoke to fill the Jail. Two inmates, 46-year-old Jeffrey S. Guenther, and 30-year-old Matson Z. Hatfield allegedly forced their way through the Jail, obtained two shotguns and then exited the Jail into the Sheriff’s Office parking lot.
It is believed that while the two inmates were fleeing, a civilian county employee’s tan 2004 Dodge Ram pickup truck was stolen at gunpoint, and shots were fired at a Marysville Fire Department truck. A responding Marysville Police Officer fired at Guenther in the fleeing truck. Meanwhile, Hatfield reportedly fled on foot to a residence nearby the Jail, and fired shots toward a male subject standing in front of the residence. Hatfield was acquainted with the residents of the home. A short time later, Hatfield surrendered to an officer from the Marysville Police Department.
Hatfield -photo KDOC
Guenther fled the area in the stolen pickup truck and headed north on Highway 77, across the state line into Nebraska. He was pursued by Marysville Police until he rolled the truck and was apprehended in rural Gage County, Neb., not far from the Kansas/Nebraska state border. The Nebraska State Patrol investigated the accident scene.
Fortunately, no one was injured during the escape or in the events following the escape. By approximately 6 p.m. Saturday, the remaining Marshall County Jail inmates had been safely transferred to the Washington County Jail.
Law enforcement agencies who responded to this incident were: the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, the Marysville Police Department, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Kansas Highway Patrol.
Formal charges have not yet been filed. This investigation is ongoing. No further information will be released at this time.
Jack Burgeson is one of the high school students running for Kansas governor
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has a record number of candidates for the early stages of its 2018 governor’s race.
Even high school students are joining the elected officials and prominent business figures voters would normally expect.
Eighteen candidates have appointed treasurers or committees for a campaign next year, a requirement to raise money. There are 11 Republicans, six Democrats and an independent.
More are likely. The Libertarian Party is expected to have a nominee, and another independent candidate may get into the race.
But no women are running yet.
Still, the current number of candidates tops the previous record of 16 on the primary and general election ballots in 1964.
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback is term-limited but is expected to step down this fall anyway to become U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.
RENO COUNTY — A Kansas man arrested October 3 for alleged drug distribution was back before a Reno County judge Friday for the reading of formal charges
Leroy Lowe Sr., 40, Hutchinson, is now charged with possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute, criminal possession of a handgun, interference with law enforcement and personal use drug paraphernalia.
The state alleges that he was in possession of between 3.5 and 100 grams of methamphetamine, as well as paraphernalia for distribution and personal uses.
This case now moves to a waiver-status docket on Nov. 1. He also faces a community corrections violation for an earlier case. He has previous convictions for burglary and drugs.
Fire crews on the scene Saturday in Topeka-photo courtesy WIBW TV
SHAWNEE COUNTY–Fire crews responded to a fire located at 110 NE Coachlight Drive, Topeka just after 3 p.m. on Saturday.
According to a media release, fire crews found heavy smoke and flames coming from the mobile home. Firefighters began an offensive fire attack, keeping it confined to the structure of fire origin. Firefighters performed a search of the structure and confirmed there were no occupants.
A Topeka Fire Department Investigation’s Unit responded to this incident to determine the fire cause to be natural, associated with a lightning strike.
Estimated dollar loss – $15,000.00 structural loss and $2,000.00 contents loss.
Kansas’ plans to migrate driver’s license records for about 2 million people from an aged mainframe to new information technology infrastructure remain troubled, a new report indicates.
In a new report, legislative auditors say a project to migrate Kansas driver’s license records to a new information technology system remains troubled. FILE PHOTO / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
Some portions of the already-delayed KanLicense project have been further postponed, a team of legislative auditors wrote in the report, with plans to carry them out after the project’s go-live date in early January.
According to the report, the Kansas Department of Revenue — the agency in charge of implementing KanLicense, previously known as KanDrive — said the portions being punted to next year involve server upgrades and other items that won’t cause problems.
The auditors disagreed.
“There is potential risk that delaying this portion of the work could jeopardize the successful roll-out of the KanLicense project,” the report said, “or could result in functionality issues after the system is in use.”
In a letter responding to the audit, the department said KanLicense has seen a “positive turnaround.”
KanLicense “has successfully accomplished many project milestones,” department official Lisa Kaspar wrote.
Auditors have been monitoring KanLicense on a quarterly basis because of its rocky progress. Its latest projected launch date is six years behind schedule. Uninterrupted access to driver’s license records is vital for motor vehicle offices and law enforcement agencies.
Last month Kansas Revenue Secretary Sam Williams told lawmakers he will push back the KanLicense launch if quality issues arise but said the project is on track for a smooth rollout.
It is undergoing testing this fall, he said, and staff from motor vehicle offices have begun training related to its use.
Other problems that auditors cited in their new report included concerns that more work remains to be done on KanLicense than can be completed by January, and that contractors continue to miss deadlines.
The department switched to a system of milestone targets to hold contractors accountable, but auditors said the agency accepted some portions of work as meeting milestones even when components were missing.
One of the contractors, MorphoTrust, recently replaced its program manager, the report said. It also shortened its timeline for system testing from two months to one to help catch up.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt has announced the appointment of Jim Gulliford of Missouri to become regional administrator for Region 7.
Mr. Gulliford will oversee environmental protection efforts in: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. He previously held the position of regional administrator for Region 7 from 2001-2006.
Jim Gulliford most recently held the position of executive director of the Soil and Water Conservation Society where he led the organization from 2009-2016. He was responsible for all operation aspects of the non-profit organization that advocated for conservation professionals and for science-based conservation practices, programs, and policy. The organization’s mission is to foster the science and art of natural resource conservation on working land – land used to produce food, fiber, and other services that improve the quality of life people experience in rural and urban communities.
Prior to joining Soil and Water Conservation Society, Mr. Gulliford spent nearly a decade at EPA. From 2006-2009, he served as EPA assistant administrator for the Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances where he was responsible for helping protect public health and the environment from potential risks of pesticides and chemicals. Mr. Gulliford also served as director of the Division of Soil Conservation at the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship for 15 years, where he was responsible for the development and management of soil conservation, water quality, and mine regulation for the state if Iowa.
“Jim Gulliford is unquestionably qualified to lead EPA Region 7,” said EPA Administration Scott Pruitt. “Not only has Jim dedicated his entire career to protecting the environment and ensuring healthier outcomes for Americans, but he has already demonstrated to be a competent leader for Region 7 during the Bush Administration.”
His nomination is receiving high accolades from across the region:
Joel Brinkmeyer, CEO, Agribusiness Association of Iowa: “The selection of Jim Gulliford for EPA’s Region 7 Administrator is a great choice by this administration in their efforts to accelerate environmental advancement while enhancing production agriculture. Jim will be able to immediately step up to meet the challenges of the office due to his past successful leadership experience in this same position during the Bush Administration, followed by his experience in Washington DC in the office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances at EPA, and as the CEO for the National Soil and Water Conservation Society. Jim has tremendous understanding of how soil and water resources can best benefit production agriculture, and enhance high quality food production without damaging the environment. In fact, Jim understands that with the right tools and resources, positive impacts can be made to the environment as agriculture continues to improve the technology of modern food production systems. Jim’s strong network of midwestern leaders and the scientific community, combined with his positive work ethic, will enhance working relationships with persons of diverse interests to the benefit of urban and rural citizens alike.
“I look forward to working with Administrator Gulliford through the Agribusiness Association of Iowa, and our members, to bring positive solutions to environmental and production challenges.”
Jim Macy, Director, Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: “EPA Region 7 will be well served by the appointment of Jim Gulliford. Jim is a strong leader in conservation and will bring a voice of reason and cooperation for Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. Nebraska DEQ is ready to work with Jim Gulliford to further improve Federal and State relationships in the true spirit of cooperative federalism.”
Rex Martin, Chairman of the Board, Soil and Water Conservation Society: “I have been very fortunate to have worked with Jim for many years including his former roles as EPA Region 7 Regional Administrator, U.S. EPA and as the Executive Director at the Soil and Water Conservation Society. Jim has been successful at applying practical environmental practices on the ground based on sound science while allowing local stakeholder’s real world input to drive those activities. Jim’s strong work ethic, integrity and transparency makes him an excellent choice for this leadership role.”
Steve Taylor, President and Executive Director, Missouri Agribusiness Association: “I am extremely pleased that Jim Gulliford is returning as administrator of EPA Region 7. Over the past three decades, I have worked with Jim on a variety of issues and projects involving water quality and agriculture. Over these years, Jim has been a valuable partner and he has understood the need to keep agriculture profitable as we protected the environment. I look forward to once again working with Jim on the environmental issues that face agriculture today.”
Dr. Wendy Wintersteen, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University: “Jim Gulliford brings a tremendous portfolio of knowledge, experience and highly competent leadership to the position of EPA Region 7 Administrator. His previous service on behalf of EPA allows him to step in and begin the vital responsibilities of the position immediately. Jim understands the complexity of environmental issues and the importance of collaboration and communication with partners and stakeholders. He leads with science to guide and ground his work, and that is a common foundation we share in how progress is made.”
