BURLINGTON, Kan. (AP) -A fired eastern Kansas sheriff’s deputy has been ordered to stand trial on sexual misconduct charges involving a teenager.
Twenty-eight year-old Matthew Vander Linden last week was ordered to be tried on a Coffey County count of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. A criminal complaint accuses Vander Linden of having sex with a 15-year-old.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation has said that its agents began investigating Vander Linden late last year at the request of the sheriff’s office.
Until being fired, he had worked for the sheriff’s office since March 2014.
Vander Linden’s arraignment is scheduled for July 17.
NEOSHO RAPIDS, Kan. (AP) — The sheriff in east-central Kansas’ Lyon County says that while it may take months to identify a human skull and other remains found last month near Neosho Rapids, he believes the remains are those of an older adult man.
Sheriff Jeff Cope tells KVOE that identifying the remains found April 29 and what caused that person’s death has been a slow effort.
Cope says his department continues investigating the matter with the county’s coroner.
The specific location of where the remains were found has not been disclosed.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 15-month-old girl is in the hospital after being seriously hurt at a carnival.
The girl was injured Friday night while standing outside a bounce house with her dad while her mom and big sister were inside.
Lynn Bartonek says her granddaughter was swinging back and forth on a wire in front of the bouncy house when she was hurt.
Officer Charley Davidson said it possible the girl was hurt by an electric shock.
The girl’s parents flagged down off-duty police officers nearby who called for help. Paramedics tried to revive her for an hour before taking her to the hospital.
Bartonek says doctors found burn marks on the girl’s feet.
The girl still hadn’t regained consciousness as of late Saturday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court decisions in a half-dozen cases dealing with immigration over the next two months could reveal how the justices might evaluate Trump administration actions on immigration, especially stepped up deportations.
Some of those cases could be decided as early as Monday. That’s when the court is meeting to issue opinions in cases that were argued over the past six months.
The outcomes could indicate whether the justices are retreating from long-standing decisions that give the president and Congress great discretion in dealing with immigration.
The justices’ opinions also might show what role may be played by the proposed ban on visits to the United States by residents of six majority Muslim countries and other controversial administration policies.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Two gorillas that had been the first to arrive at a zoo in Wichita 13 years ago are headed to warmer climes in Florida.
The Sedgwick County Zoo says primate brothers Shango and Barney will be leaving next Friday for the Miami zoo, giving the Kansas zoo more space for its growing gorilla population that will number nine.
Twenty-eight-year-old Shango and 23-year-old Barney came to the Sedgwick County Zoo in 2004.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former wedding photographer in Raymore, Mo., pleaded guilty in federal court today to a fraud scheme to dupe women into having sex – which he recorded – under the guise they were rehearsing for a pornography movie.
Mario Ambrose Antoine, 34, of Raymore, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to one count of wire fraud.
By pleading guilty today, Antoine admitted that he defrauded numerous victims in a scheme that lasted form Aug. 28, 2011, until Oct. 11, 2016. Antoine, posing in various roles as a company owner, recruiter, talent manager, photographer and videographer for multiple fictitious companies and private modeling websites (such as “Playboy Worldwide,” and “Playboy Asia”), induced women to engage in sexual and pornographic activity with him. Antoine promised the women, who signed contracts and modeling release forms, they would be paid thousands of dollars by these fictitious entities for their auditioning and modeling activity.
Victims of the wire fraud scheme were promised payments cumulatively totaling at least $550,000 and as much as $1.5 million. Antoine admitted that his fraud scheme affected 10 or more victims, and resulted in a substantial financial hardship to one or more of these victims.
In order to demonstrate the authenticity of the enterprise and assure prospective victims, Antoine prepared forged and fraudulent payment checks (purportedly issued to other “models”), IRS tax forms and Department of Homeland Security employment forms. He registered the domain name playboy-asia.com and created the e-mail account [email protected], which he used to communicate with victims.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Antoine will be sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole and must pay restitution to his victims, pending the court’s acceptance of the plea agreement at Antoine’s sentencing hearing on Sept. 13, 2017.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick D. Daly and David A. Barnes. It was investigated by the FBI, the Raymore, Mo., Police Department and the Office of the Missouri Attorney General.
PRATT – Summertime colds can be good-time killers, but there’s another kind of summer fever that’s sure to be a good-time creator: fishing fever.been fishing before, are looking to brush up your skills, or just want a fun, family-friendly event to take your kids to, the Aquatic Education calendar at ksoutdoors.com has your prescription for fishing fever. Simply visit ksoutdoors.com and click “Special Fishing Programs For You,” then “Aquatic Education Information.” The calendar will be on the right-hand side and there you’ll find fishing events nearly every weekend throughout the season, starting in May.
Here are just a few you won’t want to miss:
-May 13: Fishing Education event at Academy Sports, west Wichita. Starting at 11 a.m., Bass Federation members and FishKS representatives will be on-site to teach fishing techniques, knot-tying, and more.
-May 20: Staff at Great Plains Nature Center, 6232 East 29th St N, Wichita, will be hosting their annual fishing clinic and Walk With Wildlife event open to the public.
-June 3 and 4: “Free Fishing Weekend” throughout the state. During this event, you can fish any public waters without a fishing license.
-June 10: Family Outdoor Adventure Day at Cabela’s, Kansas City. Several outdoor organizations including Fishing’s Future will be available for fishing activities and outdoor recreation education.
KDWPT, in partnership with Fishing’s Future, coordinates and conducts over 175 fishing education events every year through the FishKS program – that’s in addition to the many private and non-profit organizations who host events with FishKS, too.
If you would like to invite FishKS to be part of your fishing or aquatic education event, please contact David Breth at (620) 672-5911. Demand is high, so attendance can’t be guaranteed, but FishKS staff will do their best to assist in any way possible.
For more information on aquatic education events and how you can help, visit ksoutdoors.com and click “Special Fishing Programs For You,” then “Aquatic Education Information.”
Dennis Wright of Council Grove says Kansas Highway 177 from Council Grove to Manhattan is pretty but dangerous. A section of K-177 was set for an upgrade, but that project was delayed last year after lawmakers swept billions in highway funds. JIM MCLEAN / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
By JIM MCLEAN
Dennis Wright isn’t alone.
He’s one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Kansas residents and public officials waiting for the state to solve its money problems so that dozens of highway projects that have been indefinitely delayed can get going again.
“People are incredulous,” Wright says. “Our roads are going to pot. You can drive anywhere in the state and see problems.”
For Wright, a retired welder from Council Grove, the problem is Kansas Highway 177. It’s a scenic two-lane road that runs through the Flint Hills from El Dorado to Manhattan.
The stretch from Council Grove to Manhattan is dangerous, Wright says, noting that it’s the route his son takes to work.
The highway is narrow and has no shoulders. Rollover accidents are common due to steep embankments. In addition, a series of curves makes it virtually impossible to pass slow-moving vehicles and farm machinery, Wright says.
“As you drive it, you’ll notice that 90 percent of the time there’s no place to go,” Wright says. “If you’ve got trouble, you’ve really got trouble because the highway drops off steeply. It’s just the scene of many accidents out here.”
Postponed Projects
From 2011 through 2015, 439 of the 916 highway fatalities recorded in Kansas occurred on roads like K-177: two-lane highways with no controlled access.
Those numbers and increasing traffic made K-177 a prime candidate for a safety upgrade in 2010 when Kansas lawmakers passed T-WORKS, a 10-year, $8 billion transportation program. Engineers from the Kansas Department of Transportation devised a plan to make the road safer by rebuilding a 24-mile section from Council Grove to I-70. It called for widening the highway, adding shoulders and redesigning sections to improve the visibility around curves.
The $29 million project was penciled in the T-WORKS schedule, with construction set to begin in March 2017.
That didn’t happen.
A precipitous drop in state revenues triggered by deep income tax cuts passed in 2012 at Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s insistence led lawmakers to divert billions of dollars from KDOT in subsequent years to patch gaping holes in the budget.
The steady loss of funding forced KDOT in April 2016 to delay 24 expansion and modernization projects, including the K-177 upgrade. Since then, the list of postponed projects has grown to more than 50.
“We’re paying a terrible price for some very poor decisions,” says first-term Rep. Dave Baker, a Council Grove Republican, referring to the tax cuts and the refusal by Brownback and conservative Republican leaders to reverse course.
Steadily increasing traffic on Kansas Highway 177 made it a prime candidate for a safety upgrade in 2010 when Kansas lawmakers passed T-WORKS, a 10-year, $8 billion transportation program. CREDIT JIM MCLEAN / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
Baker is a member of a large group of moderate Republicans sent to Topeka in November by voters weary of the state’s budget problems. He says he’s committed to stabilizing the state’s revenue picture in the hope that construction can proceed on at least some of the highway projects that KDOT has delayed.
“We’re going to get a handle on this and get things turned around,” Baker says. “We’ll get Kansas back on track.”
A Slow Road Back?
But it could be a slow road back. Lawmakers are struggling to pass a budget and tax package to address a projected $900 million revenue shortfall over the next two budget years. They also must find a way to generate millions in additional funding for public schools to comply with a Kansas Supreme Court order.
Given that reality, lawmakers will probably choose to divert another $1 billion from KDOT over the next two budget years, foreclosing the possibility that work can resume on any of the delayed projects.
So, Baker and others have shifted their focus to getting KDOT the money it needs to adequately maintain the 10,000-mile state highway system.
“We need to get that done,” he says.
KDOT needs a minimum of $380 million a year for maintenance and preservation work, says Jerry Younger, an engineer who was the department’s deputy secretary until he retired last year.
But it’s been years since the cash-strapped agency has been able to spend that much. And it has allocated only $44 million for maintenance in the budget year that begins July 1.
Brownback and KDOT Secretary Richard Carlson argue there is no cause for alarm. They say that 30 years of investment in the Kansas highway system should have it in good enough shape to weather a couple more years of reduced maintenance. Carlson says that more than 90 percent of the state’s highways are rated in “good”condition.
Those rating scores can be deceiving, Younger says, because highways can go downhill fast if neglected.
“There is this misconception that a road gradually deteriorates, and quite honestly that’s not how it works,” Younger says. “Typically what happens is the road is … good for a period of time. But when it begins deteriorating … it deteriorates pretty quickly.”
KDOT uses a specially equipped van to annually inspect every mile of the state highway system to determine where maintenance is most urgently needed, Younger says.
“It’s important to catch problems so you can do the right action at the right time,” he says, adding that every dollar spent on timely maintenance prevents having to spend five times as much on reconstruction.
Gas Tax A Tough Sell
The lobbying group that represents the highway contractors in Kansas is seeking an increase in the motor fuels tax to generate the maintenance money that KDOT needs. They initially called for an increase of 11 cents a gallon but are also supporting a bill that would raise the tax by only 5 cents a gallon.
“The key reason we want a gas tax — and it’s really important — is that it cannot be diverted to other needs in state government,” says Bob Totten, chief lobbyist for the Kansas Contractors Association.
The gas tax is proving to be a tough sell to lawmakers also being asked to raise income taxes to balance the budget and fund public schools.
So, Economic Lifelines, another transportation lobbying organization, is backing an alternative proposal that has been adopted by budget writing committees in both houses. It would allow KDOT to issue another $400 million in bonds over the next two years to fund maintenance work.
Sen. John Skubal, a freshman Republican from Overland Park, doesn’t much like the idea of using borrowed money to pay for maintenance. But he says it appears to be the only option.
“That’s very bothersome for me,” Skubal says. “But we need to take care of the infrastructure that’s been left to us. I think the test of a society isn’t what you build new for yourself, but how you take care of what’s been left to you.”
Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of kcur.org, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Numerous doctors from around the U.S. could become eligible to treat patients in Missouri’s underserved areas as a result of a planned expansion of a first-in-the-nation law aimed at addressing doctor shortages.
The newly passed Missouri legislation would broaden the reach of a 2014 law that sought to bridge the gap between communities in need of doctors and physicians in need of jobs.
Supporters have touted the law as a model for other states.
The law created a new category of “assistant physicians” for people who graduated from medical school and passed key medical exams but were not placed in residency programs. But it took nearly 2½ years to implement.
Missouri’s new legislation turns back the clock, so those who became ineligible during the slow rollout still can qualify.
OMAHA, Neb. — A Colorado man has been given five years of probation for a tractor sale scheme in Nebraska.
Federal prosecutors say 63-year-old Benedict Palen Jr., of Denver, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Omaha. He was ordered to perform 200 hours of community service and pay the remaining unpaid restitution of $2,500.
Prosecutors say Palen, acting through his company, Great Plains Farms, sold a tractor in September 2012 to a party in Holdrege, Nebraska, and to someone in North Dakota.
According to documents filed in the case Further investigation revealed that not only was there a lien against the tractor held by a bank in Kansas, but the same tractor had actually been sold in 2011 by the defendant, as vice-president of Pull Pans, Inc., to a company in Florida.
Prosecutors say Palen also sold a different tractor to someone in Bertrand, Nebraska, that also had been sold to the Florida company.
GEARY COUNTY – Two Kansas men admitted in Geary Count court on Friday to felony drug charges.
Joshua D. Grilliot, 24, and Nicholas E. Bird, 28, both of Geary County plead no contest to one count each of the manufacture of methamphetamine – a felony offense.
In February, the two were arrested in connected with an alleged meth lab at 1303 Spring Hill Road in Junction City.
After a month-long investigation, the Junction City/Geary County Drug Operations Group assisted by the Riley County Hazardous Materials Response team executed a search warrant in into the alleged
Friday fire in Hutchinson-photo courtesy of Lori Tunnell Landron
HUTCHINSON- A Friday evening fire at a Kansas home is now blamed on kids playing with a lighter.
Just after 8:30p.m, the Hutchinson Fire Department responded to the 100 block of East 8th for a structure fire, according to a media release.
They found a fully involved four-car garage with intense heat.
Multiple exposures were being threatened with several starting to burn, including the backside of nearby Riverside Baptist Church.
Fire attack procedures were initiated when a second alarm was requested. The fire was controlled in approximately 20 minutes. Crews remained on scene for approximately 2 hours and 50 minutes performing investigation and overhaul operations.
Three juveniles from the area admitted to playing with a lighter in the garage and starting the fire, according to fire officials.
The garage and vehicles inside were a total loss. In addition, three exposure buildings were damaged, including the church, which received minor damage. The total damage estimate was $10,000.
The Hutchinson Fire Department responded 11 units, including staff and support vehicles. No injuries were reported.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A plan in Kansas to build a new prison to replace the state’s oldest and largest lockup faces bipartisan skepticism from legislators worried that their oversight is being skirted.
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration expects by the end of the week to have a list of qualified companies interested in building the new prison in Lansing.
The project would cost up to $155 million. The cash-strapped state could finance it with bonds or lease the new prison from a private company for up to 40 years before buying it.
Legislators must approve demolition of existing buildings and authorize any bonds for the project.
Brownback’s administration can sign a lease-purchase agreement with a private company on its own. But lawmakers have considered requiring another review of the project by legislative leaders.
