photo courtesy University of Kansas Marching Jayhawks
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — High school musicians participating in this year’s University of Kansas Band Day won’t be strutting their stuff at Memorial Stadium after nearly 70 years of doing so.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the university has welcomed hundreds of young musicians from Missouri and Kansas high schools each year to perform alongside its Marching Jayhawks at Memorial Stadium.
This year’s event Sept. 9 will keep the traditional parade through downtown before the game. But it won’t host a mass band performance on the field during the football game against Central Michigan.
Matthew Smith, associate director of bands at the university’s School of Music, said organizers attribute the change to a combination of dwindling interest from high schools, reduced parking space and other challenges, such as limited storage space for large instruments.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Relatives of a 7-year-old Kansas boy whose remains were fed to pigs after he was killed by his father and stepmother claim in a lawsuit that social workers in Missouri and the child welfare agency in Kansas did not do enough to protect him.
The lawsuit alleges child welfare workers had several chances to remove Adrian Jones from his home and were aware that he was physically abused for years but did little except document the abuse.
Heather Jones-photo KDOC
The boy’s remains were found outside a Kansas City, Kansas, home in November 2015.
Adrian’s father, Michael Jones, and stepmother, Heather Jones, are both serving sentences of life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 25 years in the boy’s death.
STANTON COUNTY — A Kansas man died in an accident just before 7:30 Friday in Stanton County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2005 Nissan Titan driven by Louis Carlos Garcia Verialla, 45, Garden City, was eastbound on K27 just east of Johnson.
The pickup traveled into the south ditch. The driver overcorrected and the pickup went into side skid, entered the north ditch and rolled.
Garcia Verialla was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.
TOPEKA – Foster Kansas Kids, an initiative funded by the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF), is excited to launch new resources to prospective and current foster families across the state, including a website expansion that features a live-chat function, calendar of events, foster parent and former youth-in-care blogs, video testimonials and a robust resource center.
The live-chat feature is staffed by trained child welfare professionals who can answer a wide variety of questions from both current and prospective foster parents in real-time. Live chat is available on the Foster Kansas Kids website from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.
“Due to the complexity of the Kansas foster care system, it can be difficult for families to know where to go or who to talk to about their needs and concerns,” DCF Secretary Phyllis Gilmore said. “Foster Kansas Kids acts as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for both current and prospective foster families, to provide concrete information, support and resources for Kansans at every juncture in their journey.”
(Click to enlarge)
Other new features include a comprehensive calendar of foster care events across the state, including trainings, support groups and appreciation events. In addition, the website now features foster parent and former youth-in-care blogs, where bloggers can share their experiences and insight with readers. This feature serves as both an encouragement to prospective foster parents and a supportive community for current families who share similar experiences.
Foster Kansas Kids was initially launched in May, at a news conference and informational fair at the Kansas State Capitol, Topeka, in honor of National Foster Care Month. The first phase, which fully launched May 15, established a website designed to centralize the foster care process, and make it easier for families to begin their foster care journey.
This month, Foster Kansas Kids launched its second commercial. The 30-second public service announcement is airing across the state, as well as on Pandora radio and on social media over the coming months.
As part of DCF’s growing efforts to recruit foster families, staff members are available for presentations and informational fairs to spread the word about the need for temporary, loving homes in Kansas. Requests for presentations can be made on the Foster Kansas Kids website homepage.
If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, please visit www.fosterkskids.org or call 1-844-380-2009. To stay up to date on foster care in Kansas, follow Foster Kansas Kids on Facebook and Twitter.
MANHATTAN — Feel the squish of the grapes in the time-honored tradition of grape stomping as you help celebrate the grape and wine industry in Kansas. The Kansas Department of Agriculture will host the 12th annual Kansas Grape Stomp on Saturday, Sept. 9, at 3 p.m. on the Lake Talbott Stage at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson.
Gather around the grape tubs to watch Kansas State Fair board members, state FFA officers, 4-H Council leaders and others stomp grapes to salute the Kansas grape and wine industry. The competitive stomp-off will kick off the event and an open stomp for all Kansas State Fair attendees will follow.
As of August 2017, there are 41 farm wineries throughout Kansas. The wine industry in Kansas contributes nearly $47 million to the state’s economy and employs more than 200 Kansans.
KDA is committed to advocating for and promoting the agriculture industry, the state’s largest industry, employer and economic contributor, and encourages all fair-goers to attend the grape stomp to have fun while learning about the grape and wine industries in Kansas.
For more information about the event please contact Robin Blume, KDA education and events coordinator, at [email protected] or 785-564-6756.
SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged burglary after a tip to Crimestoppers.
On August 25, police released security camera pictures of a truck leaving the scene of an August 1 burglary. Just before 4a.m. that day, a white pickup pulled up behind the Salina Great Clips, 1661 S. Ohio Street in Salina and a subject entered through the back door, according to police.
The suspect, later identified as 62-year-old David Douglas, left at around 4:35 a.m. after ransacking the office, stealing $400 in cash, a computer and other items.
Security camera image courtesy Salina Police
Police arrested Douglas Thursday and booked him into the Saline County Jail for burglary, theft and damage to property.
BARTON COUNTY — Two people were injured in an accident just before 4p.m. Friday in Barton County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Mercury Sable driven by Nancy J. Siefers, 62, Great Bend, was westbound on K4 one mile east of Claflin.
The driver fell asleep and the vehicle left the roadway, vaulted and collided with the ditch bottom. The vehicle travelled approximately 800 feet before coming to rest in the ditch.
Siefers and a 3-year-old child passenger from Claflin were transported to the hospital in Great Bend. Both were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP
HOLTON, Kan. (AP) — A 22-year-old northeast Kansas man whose case divided his hometown has been sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for raping two women.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Jacob Ewing of Holton was also sentenced Friday to pay more than $100,000 in restitution, and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Ewing was convicted in June of raping and sodomizing one woman in 2016 and raping another in 2014. He was also convicted of battery, possession of drug paraphernalia and charges related to furnishing alcohol to minors.
Ewing earlier was acquitted of sexual assaulting a 13-year-old girl. He’s awaiting trial on charges that include attempted rape and sexual exploitation of a child.
The allegations divided Holton, where he was an athlete from a well-known family.
TOPEKA —An extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstance has been identified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that could prevent the distribution of an adequate supply of gasoline to consumers in several states, including Kansas. On Sept. 1, Secretary of Agriculture Jackie McClaskey signed an order to assist in alleviating the anticipated shortage in fuel supplies throughout the region due to Hurricane Harvey.
The order will relax the enforcement of fuel standards related to the sale and distribution of gasoline during the transition period between summer and winter fuel this month. Gasoline meeting the EPA fuel standards of the order are permitted for immediate distribution in Kansas through Sept. 30, 2017.
Fire crews on the scene of Friday’s fire in Manhattan-photo RCPD
RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a possible arson fire and asking for help to gather more information.
Just before 4:30 a.m. Friday, the Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched to the report of a structure fire located in Southwest Manhattan at 2911 Dondee Drive in Manhattan, according to a media release.
Upon arrival, crews found a one-story, single-family residence with light smoke showing. The fire was extinguished in less than 10 minutes.
The residence owned by a man from Honolulu, HI, is vacant.
The loss associated with the fire is estimated at $5,000 to the contents and the structure.
Investigators from the Manhattan Fire Department and the Riley County Police Department have determined the fire to be intentionally set. Officers continue to investigate and ask that anyone with information on this crime contact the Riley County Police Department at (785) 537-2112 or the Manhattan Riley County Crime Stoppers at (785) 539-7777.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A former city attorney has surrendered his license to practice law in Kansas and has been disbarred after pleading guilty in a child pornography case.
The Manhattan Mercury reports that 55-year-old Bill Raymond sent a letter to the Clerk of the Appellate Courts on Aug. 21 surrendering his license. He was the city attorney for Manhattan, Kansas, from 2012 to 2015.
Raymond pleaded guilty in federal court Aug. 17 to three counts of transporting and one count of possessing child pornography. He confessed to emailing child pornography to himself using a cell phone and a computer. He also admitted to possessing child pornography.
Raymond was in Riley and Butler counties when he committed the crimes.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas says it collected $8.2 million more in taxes than anticipated in August.
The state Department of Revenue reported Friday that Kansas took in more than $460 million in tax revenues when its official projection was $452 million. The surplus was 1.8 percent.
It’s similar to what happened in July. Since the state’s current budget year began July 1, its total tax collections of $914 million were about $16 million ahead of expectations. That’s also a 1.8 percent surplus over two months.
Tax collections are running more than 7 percent ahead of the previous fiscal year’s collections. Lawmakers enacted an income tax increase over Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto to help balance the budget.
Revenue Secretary Sam Williams said it’s too early to tell whether economic growth is boosting revenues.
SEVERY, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Highway Patrol says a 45-year-old Chanute man died when he was hit by a truck as he was changing a tire.
The patrol says Mark Makovec died early Friday on U.S. 400 one mile west of Severy.
The truck that hit Makovec did not stop. The patrol says it might not be severely damaged but green fabric from Makovec’s clothing might be found on the truck.
The patrol is asking anyone with information on the hit-and-run vehicle to call Troop H at 620-431-2100.
————
GREENWOOD COUNTY– Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal accident that occurred just after 12:15a.m. Friday in Greenwood County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported Mark A. Makovec, 45, Chanute, was outside changing a left rear flat tire on a 1993 Chevy truck on U.S. 400 one mile west of Severy in Greenwood County.
An unknown vehicle hit and killed him
Makovec was transported to the Sedgwick County Forensics Center. The KHP and Greenwood County Sheriff released no additional details early Friday.
The accident investigation shut down both lanes of the highway for several hours Friday morning.
