GREENWOOD COUNTY- Law enforcement authorities in Greenwood County are investigating two suspects on numerous drug charges.

On Tuesday, deputies responded to 400 Highway near M Road in Greenwood County in reference to a possible pedestrian accident, according to a social media report.

Upon arrival, it was determined the pedestrian was actually an individual who had gotten out of a car and was acting in a strange manner that caused passing motorists to believe he was injured.

The driver of the vehicle was found to have a suspended driver’s license. A KHP trooper who arrived on scene prior to the arrival of the deputies issued a citation to the driver for the suspended driver’s license.

While the trooper was conducting his investigation, the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office K-9 handler deployed the recently certified K-9 to conduct an exterior sniff of the vehicle.

On the K-9’s first day of service after certification she indicated the presence of an illegal substance in the vehicle.
Based on this alert, a second deputy initiated a vehicle search and recovered a significant quantity of methamphetamines, oxycodone, and Xanax.

Deputies arrested the driver and a passenger. They were charged with numerous violations including possession of all 3 substances with intent to distribute, felony possession of paraphernalia, felony drug tax stamp violation, and felony conspiracy. The driver was also charged with DUI after a blood and urine sample showed the presence of numerous drugs.

The individual initially located outside the vehicle was also charged with misdemeanor registration offenses as the owner of the vehicle, possession of stolen property and interference with law enforcement.

Both individuals are being held on a $100,000 bond
The Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office K-9 and handler exhibited their effectiveness as a team and as an asset to the agency in a strong showing on their first official day in the field.

FINNEY COUNTY -Residents in many areas of western Kansas are still without electricity following the weekend storm.

Western Electric Coop continues to replace some of the 600 damaged power poles. “It looks like a war zone in many areas. The trucks are getting stuck in the mud, requiring the assistance of farmers pulling them out of, and through, the fields to continue making forward progress on the line repair work.”

All Prairie Land Electric substations are now energized except the Tasco Substation in Graham County, according to their social media page. Crews from Eastern Kansas and Colorado are arriving and being dispatched to outage areas. Prairie Land reported approximately 2600 meter outages.

Wheatland Electric has approximately 2,000 meters out of service and approximately 400 of those are to residences. They also reported over 1200 power poles down or damaged.

“Road conditions continue to make things very difficult for our linemen to get where they need to go to make repairs.” On Wednesday, they reported 12 crews will working to make repairs and restore outages. Wheatland is still looking at multiple days to restore many of these remaining outages, according to a social media report.

Pioneer Electric reported the number of meters without power has reduced to 4,200 meters. They also had to increase their approximation of downed poles to 1,000, according to their social media page.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the Kansas Legislature’s debate on raising taxes to fix the state budget (all times local):

Kansas legislators have drafted a new and larger plan for raising income taxes to fix the state budget after top Republicans abruptly dropped one negotiated earlier.

House and Senate negotiators agreed Tuesday evening on a plan to raise more than $1 billion over two years by rolling back past income tax cuts championed by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.

The same negotiators drafted a proposal Monday worth $879 million over two years. But Senate GOP leaders abandoned plans for an expedited vote when support for it collapsed.

Democrats and moderate Republicans said Monday’s plan didn’t raise enough new revenue to cover budget shortfalls and provide additional funds for public schools.

Kansas faces budget shortfalls totaling $887 million through June 2019 and the Kansas Supreme Court has said education funding is inadequate.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -Kansas legislators are preparing to draft another plan for raising income taxes to fix the state budget after top Republicans abruptly dropped a proposal negotiated earlier.

House and Senate negotiators planned to meet Tuesday evening.

The same negotiators drafted a proposal Monday evening to raise $879 million over two years by rolling back past income tax cuts championed by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.

Senate GOP leaders had wanted to expedite a vote but canceled it Tuesday morning when support for the plan collapsed.

Democrats and moderate Republicans said the plan didn’t raise enough new revenue to cover the state’s budget shortfalls and also provide additional funds for public schools.

Kansas faces budget shortfalls totaling $887 million through June 2019 and the Kansas Supreme Court has said education funding is inadequate.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators on Tuesday morning dropped a negotiated proposal to fix the state budget with income tax increases because some lawmakers don’t think it raises enough revenue.

The Senate’s Republican leaders said that the chamber wouldn’t vote on the proposal from House and Senate negotiators. Their bill would have raised $879 million over two years.

The measure would have rolled back past income tax cuts championed by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. It was similar to a bipartisan bill vetoed in February by Brownback

But the Kansas Supreme Court has ruled since that state funding for public schools is inadequate.

Democrats and GOP moderates said any tax plan must raise enough revenue to increase education funding while also closing projected budget shortfalls totaling more than $885 million through June 2019.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the Kansas Legislature reconvening to tackle thorny budget and tax issues (all times local):

Kansas legislators have drafted a new plan to fix the state budget by increasing personal income taxes that is similar to one Republican Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed.

Negotiators for the state House and Senate agreed on the details Monday evening. They believe their plan would raise $879 million over two years.

The plan emerged from talks among top Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature. It would boost income tax rates and return Kansas to having three income tax rates instead of the present two.

The top rate would be 5.45 percent for the wealthiest taxpayers.

Brownback vetoed a similar bill in February.

Kansas now has two tax brackets with a top rate of 4.6 percent. Brownback successfully pushed for massive income tax cuts in 2012 and 2013 but budget problems followed.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A second defendant who took part in a fatal attack on a man whose body was found in a Wichita suburb has pleaded guilty to amended charges.

According to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, 30-year-old Jose Antonio Rojas will be sentenced June 15 for aggravated assault and aggravated battery. Court records show he pleaded guilty Monday before has was to be tried on more severe counts of first-degree premeditated murder and aggravated kidnapping.

The Wichita Eagle reports Rojas is one of five people arrested in connection with the December, 24,  2015 death of 42-year-old Moises Arias-Aranda. Authorities have said Arias-Aranda was lured to a residence in Wichita because a friend claimed he had raped someone. He was beaten, strangled and stabbed nearly 40 times.

Arias-Aranda was discovered dead in an SUV in Park City with electrical cords wrapped around his feet and hands.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers who oppose concealed guns at state hospitals have yet to settle on a path forward, though they’ve likely ruled out spending $24 million to secure the facilities.

Spending committees in the House and Senate have decided they won’t fund GOP Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposal that the state pay for metal detectors and armed guards at state-run hospitals for the mentally ill and developmentally disabled. Under a 2013 law Brownback signed, the hospitals will have to allow guns starting July 1 unless they provide security measures.

Opponents of concealed carry say they want at least a partial rollback of the policy that requires public hospitals, nursing homes and universities to allow concealed guns or provide security. But they have not settled on a strategy to change the law.

SHAWNEE COUNTY- A Kansas police officer was in the right place at the right time to save a child’s life. On Tuesday, Topeka police released body camera footage of the rescue.

Just after 11:30 a.m. Sunday, police officer Aaron Bulmer was on patrol near 16th and Clay in Topeka looking for subjects involved in a reported altercation, according to a media release.

He happened to notice a 4-year-old child walking toward a pond located in the Central Park Community Center. Officer Bulmer exited his vehicle to speak to the child when the youngster fell in.

The video shows Bulmer immediately jump into the pond to rescue the child. Emergency medical staff responded to the scene and transported to the child to a local hospital for evaluation.

A parent out looking for the child was reunited with him. The child was later identified as having a diagnosis of Autism. Some of these children are attracted to water. Officer Bulmer was in the right place at the right time.

SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A Salina woman was sentenced to nearly 31 years in prison for her role in the death of a Nebraska man.

Twenty-five-year-old Amber Craig was sentenced Tuesday in the death of 32-year-old Adonis Loudermilk, of Lincoln, Nebraska. He was killed in April 2016 in the parking lot of a Starlite Motel in Salina.

Craig pleaded no contest in February to second-degree murder, aggravated robbery and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery. She settled a separate case by pleading no contest to trafficking methamphetamine in jail May 6.

Co-defendant DiAntre Lemmie, who shot Loudermilk, will be sentenced June 19 for first-degree murder and five other charges.

Prosecutors say Loudermilk was shot during a botched robbery committed by Lemmie and Craig.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A recent late-spring blizzard could prove to be disastrous for farmers in far western Kansas.

Some western Kansas farmers are reporting that much of their wheat was damaged or killed by the weight of wet snow over the weekend.
A more exact answer will come as dozens of agricultural analysts and industry experts examine hundreds of fields in central and western Kansas. They’ll issue a forecast on the state’s wheat condition and yield Thursday.

The Kansas wheat harvest had a value of about $2 billion last year.

The National Weather Service in Dodge City reports that the weekend’s snow mostly affected a line of counties near the Colorado state line. The deepest accumulation was 16 to 18 inches.

REPUBLIC COUNTY – A Kansas man was injured in an accident just before 11 a.m. Tuesday in Republic County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Jeep Wrangler driven by Mitchell D. McMillan,  21, Mankato, was northbound on U.S. 81 just south of Union Road.

The vehicle rear ended a Chevy Lumina driven by Rellen R. Goebel, 61, Mahaska, who was delivering mail.

The collision caused the Jeep to overturn in the median.

McMillan was transported to Republic County Hospital.

The KHP report indicated Goebel was injured but not where he was treated.  He was actively delivering mail and not wearing a seat belt.

GEARY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Geary County are investigating two suspects on drug charges.

Just after 2p.m. Monday deputies stopped a vehicle on Interstate 70 just east of McDowell Creek Road, according to the Geary County Sheriff’s Department.

They arrested Ezekiel Cochrane and Nathaniel Norwood III, both of East Bend, North Carolina on suspicion of Possession of Narcotics and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

They are scheduled for a first court appearance later this week.

BY SAM ZEFF

The Kansas Legislature faces a crucial deadline as the wrap-up session is underway this week:

It must have a school funding formula in place by June 30 that passes muster with the state Supreme Court or the justices will shut down public schools.

The Kansas House has done a good amount of work on a school funding bill. A working bill is in place, although it has yet to pass out of committee and make it to the floor.

The situation is different for the Senate.

“We preferred to have the House send over a bill,” said Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning of Overland Park. “We’ll work it during the first week we’re back.”

So the Senate has a blank page right now when it comes to funding for education.

“I think the Senate is going to have a … different position on school funding,” said Sen. Barbara Bollier, a Republican from Mission Hills. “That could be from how we calculate at-risk students to do we have more in the base for funding.”

Denning, Bollier and Sen. Molly Baumgardner of Louisburg are members of a special Senate committee formed late in the session to come up with a school funding formula. Some on the Senate panel suggest they aren’t thrilled with the House bill.

“If you look at what’s come out so far from the House side, it looks remarkably similar to the old formula,” Baumgardner said.

That’s true. The House bill does resemble the school funding formula that was scrapped two years ago for block grants. It provides additional money to districts for at-risk students, English language learners and transportation aid for students who have a particularly long bus ride.

It also provides $150 million a year in new funding over the next five years for a total of $750 million. Some lawmakers have questioned whether that’s enough money to satisfy the state Supreme Court.

But some senators also have other questions about the amount of school funding. Denning suggested that lawmakers may need to find $100 million to $150 million in new money next year only.

Baumgardner said the Senate will have to put in place some “policy changes,” such as using Census data rather than free or reduced lunch information to decide whether a student is at-risk.

She also said there is money to be saved. For example, she said, there are 700 students from bordering states who attend public schools in Kansas.

“In some cases, the school districts actually bus them over, pick them up the neighboring state and bring them into Kansas,” Baumgardner said.

The Senate also may look into cutting funding for virtual schools, she said.

But those two things are pretty small in a budget that consumes more than half of the state’s spending.

During the wrap-up session, legislators also must approve a tax package and find $900 million to balance the budget over the next two fiscal years.

Sam Zeff covers education for KCUR.org and the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @SamZeff. 

SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a suspect on embezzlement charges.

In July of 2016, the Masonic Temple Foundation hired Timothy Fowler, 38, Solomon, as treasurer. By late July Fowler was embezzling money, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester.

On April 10, First Kansas Bank alerted a foundation board member following a call from the First Bank of Kansas that the foundation’s account was overdrawn. That prompting an investigation.
Police arrested Fowler Monday for allegedly embezzling over $150,000 from the Foundation.

Bank records indicate Fowler had used foundation funds to book airlines, hotels and for adult website subscriptions. He had also allegedly been writing checks to himself and his business, Solomon City Regalia.
He was booked into the Saline County Jail Monday and charges of unlawful acts on a computer and theft.