Monday crash into Lee Elementary School-photo courtesy USD 383
MANHATTAN –A driver lost control of a vehicle and crashed through the main entrance of a Kansas elementary school on Monday.
Just after 9p.m., first responders and USD 383 maintenance staff were dispatched to Lee Elementary School, according to a social media report from the school.
Officials indicated the vehicle’s brakes failed. There were no injuries.
“We are all very thankful that this accident happened at night and that no one was injured. This was truly an accident – the driver was not trying to harm the school,” wrote Principal Nancy Kole.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita woman charged in the decapitation killing of her ex-boyfriend’s mother faces a new charge of trafficking in contraband in a correctional facility.
The latest charge against 35-year-old Rachael Hilyard was filed Friday. She is accused of unlawfully introducing or attempting to introduce a glass marijuana pipe into the jail on April 9, when she was arrested in the killing of 63-year-old Micki Davis. Hilyard also has been charged with one count of first-degree murder. Her bonds total $226,000.
Police say Davis was attacked with a knife when she and her 9-year-old grandson went to Hilyard’s house to retrieve property. The boy fled the house and called for help.
Hilyard also is charged with trespassing and other counts in an unrelated case.
Investigators on the scene of Friday’s murder in McPherson-photo courtesy KWCH
MCPHERSON COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities including the KBI are investigating a murder in McPherson.
They are asking the public’s assistance to locate a pair of discarded tan colored hiking type boots, according to a social media report from police.
Authorities want these clothing items in association with the ongoing investigation into the death of Steven Carlson, which occurred on Friday April 14.
On Friday, police responded to the report of a man on the floor of his home in the city of McPherson, according to a media release.
When first responders arrived, the man identified as 58-year-old Steven Carlson of McPherson was dead.
Police believe the victim was targeted and knew he the suspects.
Through the course of the investigation, officers identified 25-year-old Travis Ryan Belt as a suspect in the homicide. Just after 12:20 a.m. Saturday, police arrested Travis Belt on the requested charge of Murder in
the First Degree and booked him into the McPherson County Jail.
Belt has previous drug, theft and weapons convictions in Reno and McPherson County, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas will use $291 million in internal government borrowing to avoid a deficit in its current budget and pay bills on time through June.
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback signed the budget bill into law Tuesday. The measure allows the state to avoid short-term cuts in aid to public schools, social services and other programs.
The state plans to liquidate a special investment fund and loan most of the proceeds to its main bank account to cover general spending before the fiscal year ends on June 30. The loan would be paid back over seven years.
Kansas would still face projected budget shortfalls totaling $989 million for the two years starting in July. However, the gaps could shrink Thursday after state officials and university economists issue new revenue projections.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY – Three people died in separate accidents Tuesday on Kansas highways.
Just after 8 a.m., the Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Honda Civic driven by, Caleb McKay Lind, 23, Provo, UT., was eastbound on U.S. 400 just east of 5300 Road in Montgomery County. The vehicle crossed the center line and side-swiped a westbound semi.
Lind was pronounced dead at the scene. The semi driver Felter, Glenn E. Felter, 56, Severy, was not injured.
Just after 11 a.m., the Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1989 Chevy pickup driven by Rolland Dwayne Guder, 65, Bronson, was west bound on U.S. 54 three miles east of Moran in Allen County.
The pickup crossed the center line and entered the south ditch. The driver lost control of the pickup. It reentered the highway, rolled and ejected the driver and passenger.
Guder and a passenger Shawn Wade Pulliam, 50, Yates Center, were transported to the Allen County Hospital where Guder died.
Pulliam was transferred later to Overland Park Regional Medical Center.
They were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.
Just after 5 p.m. in Crawford County, the Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Freightliner semi driven by Edgar B. Romero, 43, Houston, TN., was southbound on K7 highway 6 miles west of Pittsburg.
The semi driver failed to stop at stop sign at Kansas 126 and struck the passenger side of a westbound 2014 Nissan Sentra driven by Steven W. Wilhoft, 58, Pittsburg.
Wilhoft was transported to Via Christi in Pittsburg where he died.
HAMILTON COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a body found in Hamilton County.
Just before 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, the BNSF Railroad contacted the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office of a body found four miles west of Syracuse, according to a social media report.
Railroad workers discovered an unidentified decomposed body by the railroad tracks.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigations was called to assist with the investigation. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the identity, time and cause of death.
HUTCHINSON–The Climate + Energy Project (CEP) is pleased to announce Rachel Myslivy as Assistant Director as of April 15, 2017. CEP is a Hutchinson-based non-partisan 501(c)3 working to find practical solutions for a clean energy future.
Myslivy originally joined the Climate + Energy Project in 2012 as a Program Director for the Water + Energy Progress initiative, which recognized 20 Kansas farmers and ranchers successfully innovating to conserve resources in Kansas. Myslivy was instrumental in many CEP programs throughout the following four years. In July 2016, she transitioned from staff to a position on the Board of Directors, which she held until March 2017 when she accepted the Assistant Director position.
“The Climate + Energy Project’s unique approach involves working with diverse groups to find common ground solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Heartland,” Myslivy says. “I believe wholeheartedly in the work, and I’m thrilled to take on this new role.”
Myslivy holds a Master’s Degree in Religious Studies with a Graduate Certificate in Environmental Studies. Her research focused on the intersection of religion and ecology, particularly as seen in communities of Catholic sisters in Kansas. Rachel was recently designated a KU Hawk to Watch: Young Alumni making a difference. She is a 2015 recipient of the KACEE Award for Excellence in Conservation and Environmental Education, awarded by the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education. She was a recipient of the KU Sustainability Leadership Award in 2013. Rachel is the co-founder of the Kansas Women’s Environmental Network. Rachel is pursuing a Level II Teaching Leadership Certification with the Kansas Leadership Center.
The non-profit Climate + Energy Project seeks to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in America’s Heartland through the ambitious deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy, in policy and practice.
GEARY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Geary County are investigating a suspect on drug charges.
Just before 4 p.m. Tuesday, sheriff’s deputies stopped a vehicle for speeding eastbound on Interstate 70 at Milford Lake Road, according to the Geary County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies arrested Benjamin Mapps, Lakewood, CO., for suspicion of Possession of Methamphetamines, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Speeding.
LYON COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Lyon County are investigating a stabbing and reported an arrest.
Just after 5:30 a.m. on March 28, sheriff’s deputies responded to the 200 block of E Hwy 99 in Olpe, Kansas for a report of a stabbing.
Upon arrival, deputies located Rick Hammond, 52, Olpe had been cut after confronting a man in his garage, according to a media release.
The United States Marshal’s Office assisted the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office during the investigation and arrested 31-year-old Tyler McCarley in the area of Harrogate, TN, according to a media release.
McCarley now awaits extradition procedures to be brought back to Kansas.
He is believed to be from the Hutchison and has ties to Madison, KS and Kiowa and Ford Counties and Oklahoma, according to the sheriff’s department.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Lawmakers in Kansas are debating the fairness of proposed inspection protocols and fee increases for animal breeders and shelters.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports some legislators want to pass a state law forbidding the Kansas Department of Agriculture, which inspects pet animal businesses, from giving breeders advance notice of inspections. They are also considering implementing a fee on facilities that skip inspections or need to be re-inspected after failing.
Republican Rep. Doug Blex of Independence says it would be ludicrous to apply the same surprise inspections used at child care centers to facilities devoted to raising puppies.
The agriculture department has unsuccessfully sought to make these changes for at least five years.
Any proposed bill would be acted on after the Legislature returns to Topeka on May 1.
HOLTON, Kan. (AP) — The first trial has started for a man who is charged with sexually assaulting a teenager and five women in a case that has divided the small Kansas town of Holton.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the trial focuses on claims that 22-year-old Jacob Ewing sexually assaulted the teen in a rural cemetery. He’s charged with aggravated indecent liberties and aggravated criminal sodomy with a child under 14 years old.
Ewing has entered not guilty pleas in all the cases. The charges involving the five women will be tried separately.
Finding jurors whose minds weren’t made up was a struggle Monday. About half of the 142 people who were part of the pool of prospective jurors raised their hands when asked whether they know Ewing or his family.
ALLEN COUNTY- A Kansas man died in an accident just before 11a.m. on Tuesday in Allen County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1989 Chevy pickup driven by Rolland Dwayne Guder, 65, Bronson, was west bound on U.S. 54 three miles east of Moran.
The pickup crossed the center line and entered the south ditch. The driver lost control of the pickup. It reentered the highway, rolled and ejected the driver and passenger.
Guder and a passenger Shawn Wade Pulliam, 50, Yates Center, were transported to the Allen County Hospital where Guder died.
Pulliam was transferred later to Overland Park Regional Medical Center.
They were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.
Rumors about the future of St. Francis Health in Topeka spurred supporters to organize a vigil Monday outside the hospital. On Tuesday the hospital’s owner said it would cease operations there this summer. JIM MCLEAN / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
by MEG WINGERTER
The owner of St. Francis Health left no doubt it won’t continue to run the Topeka hospital for more than a few months.
The lingering question is whether anyone else will step in to keep it from closing.
Mike Slubowski, president and CEO of SCL Health, said in a news release Tuesday that he hopes to have a clear answer about the hospital’s future by the first week of May. SCL, formerly known as the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, is based in Denver.
Several hundred people participated in a candlelight vigil in support of the hospitalon Monday night, and Gov. Sam Brownback told reporters Tuesday that he had met with SCL officials and secured a commitment to keep the hospital open longer. Rumors had swirled that SCL would announce Tuesday that it was closing the hospital.
SCL’s statement laid out a narrow path for the hospital to remain open, however. It offered to donate St. Francis Health to another organization if one stepped up quickly but ruled out a long transition.
“With or without another operator, however, SCL Health will cease operating the hospital this summer,” it said.
Slubowski didn’t use the announcement as a sales pitch, however. He noted the hospital had lost $117 million over five years and said affiliated clinics had lost $31 million in 2016. He also pointed to a declining patient base.
“St. Francis Health is not sustainable in today’s dramatically changing health care environment,” he said in the release. “But that doesn’t diminish the legacy of more than a century of service to this community or prevent another modified role in the future.”
Kansas’ decision not to expand Medicaid also hurt the hospital, SCL said, noting that uncompensated and charity care had doubled from 2012 to 2016.
Sen. Laura Kelly, a Topeka Democrat, said Tuesday that she anticipates lawmakers will try to pass another Medicaid expansion bill when they return in May. She expects proponents will include a work requirement for recipients or make similar changes to appeal to Republicans who don’t oppose expansion altogether.
Kelly accused the governor of not doing everything he could to support St. Francis. Brownback vetoed an expansion bill earlier this year, and the House failed to override it.
“The most immediate thing he could do is let Medicaid expansion become a reality,” she said.
Meg Wingerter is a reporter for the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of kcur.org, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics in Kansas. You can reach her on Twitter @MegWingerter.
