WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a series of thefts from mailboxes in Wichita began when someone stole a master key to the city’s mailboxes.
Eleven people were indicted Tuesday in a scheme that included the mail thefts, identity theft and bank fraud.
The U.S. Attorney’s office says when a mail truck was robbed in December 2012, the thieves took an arrow key, which is a master key to unlock mailboxes. Prosecutors say the thieves made copies of that key and stole items from mailboxes over four years. They are accused of cashing about 30 checks.
The thieves hit collection boxes, residential mailboxes, mail rooms, churches, businesses and post offices. Prosecutors say they then forged signatures or made counterfeit checks to cash checks and money orders.
Location of the Ammonia leak in Saline County-google map
SALINE COUNTY-The ammonia leak in Salina has stabilized and it no longer poses a threat to citizens that live in the area and business operations in that area, according to a late afternoon media release from Saline County Emergency Management. Most residents were allowed to return to their homes.
No injuries were reported.
Cause of the leak is still under investigation.
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SALINA, Kan. (AP) — Investigators are looking for the cause of an anhydrous ammonia leak at the Schwan’s plant in Salina.
The leak was discovered at 2:20 a.m. Wednesday and contained about three hours later. Employees were evacuated from the facility. Two workers received medical treatment as a “precaution.”
Saline County officials say a voluntary evacuation was issued for people living west of the facility.
Schilling Elementary in Salina is closed because of the leak, but no other schools are affected.
Schwan spokesman Chuck Blomberg says ammonia is used in production at the plant as a refrigerant for frozen food. The plant primarily makes pizzas.
He says Schwan does not know yet the impact of the leak on plant operations.
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SALINE COUNTY -Emergency crews in Salina are dealing with a sizable ammonia leak at the Tony’s Pizza Factory.
Just after 2:30 a.m., crews were sent to the plant at Schilling and Centennial Road after report of the leak, according to Troy Long with the Salina Fire Department
Ammonia covered an area on the roof that measured 25′ x 25′ and was 6-inches thick in a frozen state. The ammonia is expected to convert to a gas form when the sun comes up later in the morning.
The Code Red emergency phone system was used to alert neighborhoods in the area of the leak and they were given the option of staying inside their homes or voluntary evacuation.
Some area residents did choose to leave.
Long stressed this is not an imminent danger situation, but plans for a shelter and transportation of people from the area was being prepared if needed.
The Salina Fire Department asked employees of Eldorado Bus and the Fed Ex drop off store not to report to work Wednesday.
The fire department is requesting USD 305 to keep Schilling Elementary School closed Wednesday.
Long said shutting down the leak is a slow process.
The Salina Fire Department has called one shift back for additional staff.
SHAWNEE COUNTY -Law enforcement authorities in Shawnee County are investigating two suspects in connection with vandalism at metro shelters and have made an arrest.
The Topeka Metro Transit Authority reported glass panels in numerous metro shelters were damaged in February, according to a media release from police. The damage is estimated at over $2700.
Two suspects were identified and interviewed. Police arrested Walker Shepherd, 20, and Haley Bradford, 18, both of Topeka.
TOPEKA – The Kansas Senate introduced a bill last month that would affect Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) retirees who return to work after retirement.
In short, House Bill 2268 would update some of the exemptions to the existing policy. Currently, for most newly retired individuals under KPERS, the most they can earn in one calendar year is $25,000.
“The purpose of this bill is to simplify things,” said Anne Sawyer, committee assistant to the House Committee on Financial Institutions and Pensions.
What is simplified is the exemptions to who could possibly earn more than $25,000.
Currently, when a retiree hits the $25,000 maximum, they can decide either to stop working for the rest of the year, or to stop receiving KPERS benefits. They also have to be retired from their current position for a minimum of 60 days before taking a new KPERS position.
According to Legislative Research Analyst Reed Holwegner, who specializes in retirement, this bill excludes the following people from facing penalties: those who take emergency vacancies, special education teachers, and those in hard-to-fill positions.
The bill also excludes those who retire at age 62 or older and are re-employed by a participating school district as well as private contractors and third-party employers.
KPERS exists to provide those who work in public service with benefits upon retirement. Those benefits are prefunded, and according to their online projections, the average, long-term return on investments is 7.75 percent. Currently, there are 151,962 active KPERS members. The majority of them, 84,000, are employed by public schools.
The bill has already gone through the Kansas House of Representatives, passing on a vote of 116-9. The Senate has since referred the bill to the Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance.
Matt Ostrowski is a University of Kansas senior journalism major from Roselle, Illinois.
BARTON COUNTY -Post office staff in Great Bend are warning residents of an internet scam that is making its way through the area and the rest of the country.
Emails are being sent that state they are from the United States Postal Service (USPS), telling customers their shipment could not be completed because no one was at their address.
The scam has a link in the email to click to view the notice and says if a new delivery is not arranged within 24 hours, the shipment will be cancelled and the package returned to the sender, according to Brent Mooney, Postmaster in Great Bend
The USPS has recently added email notifications which might be the reason for the start of these scams.
Mooney warns citizens not to click on any links or attachments.
Out of all the phone calls Mooney and the Great Bend office has received, none of the potential scam victims were expecting a package.
Mooney says another red flag to look for is the tracking numbers. The USPS typically has large tracking numbers for packages that use 20-plus numbers. The email scam has been using much smaller tracking numbers.
One observed email scam had a subject of “Shipment status change notification for parcel #34461600” and showed it was sent from “[email protected].”
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s first address to Congress is being called a “home run” by many.
Trump said largely what GOP leaders were hoping to hear last night, staying on-message and talking in optimistic tones.
Senator Pat Roberts has attended many joint sessions of congress and was pleased with what he heard on Tuesday. “After eight years under the Obama administration, President Trump is working to take our nation in a new direction, united, toward a better economy, a stronger military, and a health care system that actually works.”
Senator Jerry Moran agreed, “With a new congress and administration, we have a real opportunity to make changes in our federal government that will improve the everyday lives of Kansans and Americans. It was good to hear the president’s commitment to establishing an environment for businesses to thrive and hire more Americans. I want Americans to have better jobs and more take home pay.”
Trump showed America what a strong leader looks like, according to First District Congressman Roger Marshall. He said Trump’s message was a very optimistic vision of what our country can look like.
“I’m excited that he talked about making our borders more secure, strengthening our military, shoring up our economy and growing our infrastructure. I’m excited that Trump talked about president Eisenhower and how he built the interstates across the country and now it’s our turn to rebuild them,” said Marshall.
“I was also impressed with Trump’s heart and the compassion he indeed has and showed to these people who have lost loved ones. I’m honored to serve with this president.”
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has found sufficient evidence for a Topeka moving business employee to stand trial in the death of his employer.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that 35-year-old Michael Timothy Lamar Hall was bound over for trial on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery and related counts after a preliminary hearing Monday. The charges stem from the smothering death of 64-year-old Curt Cochran, whose head was encircled with plastic wrap after he was bound to his power scooter.
Detectives testified that Hall denied killing Cochran but said he might have information about what happened when he was being questioned four months later about a home burglary.
A second man also is charged in the killing of Cochran, who is a former teacher and principal in the Seaman school district.
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on a deadly shooting at a Kansas bar that some witnesses said was racially motivated (all times local):
Trump during Tuesday’s message to a joint session of congress
8:20 p.m.
President Donald Trump opened his address to a joint session of Congress by condemning the recent threats against Jewish community centers and a fatal shooting in Kansas being investigated as a hate crime.
Trump on Tuesday said that “while we may be a nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all its forms.”
The president had received criticism from some civil rights groups who accused him of being slow in denouncing the violent acts. He had yet to discuss the killing of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, one of two Indian men shot inside a bar in Olathe, Kansas.
There have also been dozens of threats against Jewish community centers — and vandalism in Jewish cemeteries
Police on the scene of fatal sports-bar shooting-photo courtesy KCTV
2:05 p.m.
The FBI is confirming for the first time that it is investigating as a hate crime last week’s Kansas bar shooting that killed an Indian man and wounded another.
The FBI said in a statement Tuesday that it bases that probe on “the initial investigative activity” involving the Feb. 22 attack at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas.
The FBI is declining additional comment, citing the investigation.
Witnesses to the shooting said 51-year-old suspect Adam Purinton yelled “get out of my country” at 32-year-olds Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani before opening fire.
Kuchibhotla was killed and Madasani was wounded. Both were working as engineers for GPS device-maker Garmin.
Another bar patron who tried to intervene also was wounded.
Purinton is charged with murder and attempted murder.
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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An aide says Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer plan to meet with India’s consul general over a bar shooting that left an Indian engineer dead and another wounded.
Brownback spokeswoman Melika Willoughby said the meeting will take place later this week. She said Brownback and Colyer plan to express their condolences and express their support for the Indian community.
Willoughby did not provide further details about the meeting in an email Monday evening.
Witnesses to last week’s shooting in Olathe said 51-year-old suspect Adam Purinton yelled “get out of my country” at 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla and 32-year-old Alok Madasani before opening fire.
Kuchibhotla was killed and Madasani was wounded. Both were working as engineers for GPS maker Garmin.
OLNEY, England (AP) — A trans-Atlantic pancake race has taken a battering due to a technological glitch.
Apron-clad women carrying and flipping pancakes in their pans have run through the English town of Olney in an annual Shrove Tuesday race that pits the community against the town of Liberal, Kansas.
But the timer in Olney failed, so no official time was recorded for winner Kaia Larkas and there will be no showdown with Liberal.
The Liberal leg of the race was won by Maggie Lapinski, of Liberal, in 61.06 seconds.
According to legend, the Olney race started in 1445 when a harried housewife arrived at church still clutching her frying pan with a pancake in it. Liberal challenged Olney in 1950 after seeing photos of the race in a magazine.
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OLNEY, England (AP) — A trans-Atlantic pancake race has taken a battering due to a technological glitch.
Apron-clad women carrying and flipping pancakes in their pans have run through the English town of Olney in an annual Shrove Tuesday race that pits the community against the town of Liberal, Kansas.
But the timer failed, so no official time was recorded for winner Kaia Larkas and there will be no showdown with Liberal, which runs its race later.
Shrove Tuesday, known in Britain as Pancake Day, was traditionally the last day for merrymaking before the start of Lent.
According to legend, the Olney race started in 1445 when a harried housewife arrived at church still clutching her frying pan with a pancake in it. Liberal challenged Olney in 1950 after seeing photos of the race in a magazine.
Still image from jail surveillance video of the incident in January of 2014 courtesy attorney Matthew Hoppock
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has sided with immigration agents in a lawsuit filed by a Kenyan man who alleges he was violently attacked at a Kansas jail for refusing to be fingerprinted before deportation.
U.S. District Judge Kathryn Vratil’s decision on Tuesday reverses her previous ruling that had granted a trial for Justine Mochama, an international college student who overstayed his visa. His lawsuit claimed the agents used excessive force during a January 2014 altercation at the Butler County jail.
Vratil cited a recent Supreme Court decision that tightened the legal standard to require plaintiffs to establish “beyond debate” that the actions were unconstitutional.
The judge sought written arguments from the parties on that point before summarily ruling that immigration agents Timothy Zwetow and Rodney Nichols are entitled to qualified immunity.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Court documents allege that a woman accused of killing a Wichita woman and kidnapping her newborn baby had been in contact with the victim shortly before the crimes occurred.
Yesenia Sesmas has been charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and aggravated interference with parental custody. The 34-year-old is accused of killing 27-year-old Laura Abarca and kidnaping her 6-day-old newborn. Sesmas was later found with the infant in Dallas and arrested.
The documents released in court Monday say a woman who went by the name of Yesenia Amiguita exchanged messages in Spanish with Abarca the day before and the day of the killing and kidnapping.
In some messages, the woman asks Abarca what time her boyfriend went to work and for her address. The phone number used by the Amiguita woman has been linked to Sesmas.
WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Congressman Roger Marshall released the following statement regarding President Trump’s executive order asking the EPA to repeal the Waters of the U.S. rule:
“President Trump’s executive order calling for the EPA to repeal the detrimental Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule is a promise delivered for Kansas farmers and ranchers.
Members of our state’s agriculture community spent the better part of the last decade trying to operate under the burdensome and uninformed regulations imposed by the Obama administration. Today’s executive order is an exciting step in rolling back these harmful policies.
We commend the Trump Administration’s bold action.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — University of Tennessee-Knoxville Chancellor Beverly Davenport on Tuesday named John Currie as the school’s new vice chancellor and director of athletics.
Currie currently serves as the Director of Athletics at Kansas State. He will begin his duties at UT on April 1, 2017.
Currie returns to Knoxville, where he earned his master’s degree and served in various capacities from 1997-2009, including time in external operations, development, marketing and ticket operations. He left UT in 2009 to accept his position at Kansas State.
“We are extremely pleased to announce John as our new vice chancellor and director of athletics,” Davenport said. “This is truly an exciting day for the University of Tennessee and our athletics department. As I said when we began this process, we were looking for the best candidate, and we feel strongly that we have him in John Currie. John exemplifies all the qualities we were seeking in an athletics director. He is a man of high integrity, strong values, a progressive thinker, he fully understands the importance of being compliant in everything we do, and he is a leader who will put the well-being of our student-athletes above everything.
“We would like to thank our internal search committee for all its hard work and dedication to the process. In February, the university hired Turnkey Search, a division of Turnkey Sports & Entertainment, to conduct a nationwide search for a new director of athletics. Turnkey is recognized as the leading executive search firm spanning college and professional sports and worked tenaciously to deliver an amazing result for the university.”
“It is a very exciting time for my family and me as we return to a place that remains very special to us,” Currie said. “We spent 10 years in Knoxville prior to taking the job at K-State, and I appreciate Chancellor Davenport and the University of Tennessee for providing us this special opportunity. As a graduate of the University of Tennessee, I know how much UT athletics means to the people in the state, and I look forward to serving all of the Big Orange Nation, its wonderful coaches, staff and student-athletes, for many years to come. We are excited to return to Rocky Top.”
Currie, who was hired in 2009 by Kansas State, has guided the athletics department through an eight-year period of unprecedented success with athletic, academic and fundraising excellence. K-State is the only university in Kansas and one of just two dozen in the country to operate in the black without any state tax or university tuition dollars or subsidies. Under Currie, K-State Athletics eliminated approximately $3 million in annual state and direct university funding of intercollegiate athletics.
When Currie took the reins at K-State, he and his staff were faced with a major financial deficit, but they turned KSU into one of the NCAA’s most financially solvent programs. Under his leadership K-State has completed $210 million comprehensive facility improvements, all privately funded with zero state tax or university tuition dollars, including the Vanier Family Football Complex, West Stadium Center, Basketball Training Facility, Intercollegiate Rowing Facility, Mike Goss Tennis Stadium and soccer competition/football practice fields.
Currie’s tenure at K-State has been highlighted by academic excellence with all Wildcat programs boasting multi-year APR marks of at least .944, with football, men’s golf, women’s golf, men’s cross country and women’s cross country sporting Big 12-leading scores. Approximately, one-half of all 450-plus Wildcat student-athletes achieved a 3.0 GPA or higher this past academic year.
The 45-year-old Currie’s eight-year tenure with K-State has included seven straight bowl games for the football program, Big 12 Championships in football (2012), men’s basketball (2013) and baseball (2013), 47 individual Big 12 and eight NCAA titles in track and field, five men’s basketball NCAA Tournament appearances, three in women’s basketball, four in volleyball and three in baseball. In the past seven years, 137 student-athletes have earned All-American distinction, while Wildcats have won nine NCAA individual titles and 50 Big 12 titles.
The 2012-13 campaign was also one of the most successful in school history as the Wildcats became just the fourth BCS school since 1998 to win league titles in football, men’s basketball and baseball in the same year.
K-State’s fundraising efforts have been completely overhauled under Currie’s leadership, with more than $200 million in cash contributions raised for athletics, more money over that period than it had in the previous 48 years combined. K-State donors stepped up with 27 private gifts in excess of $1 million since fall 2009, while grassroots Ahearn Fund membership reached all 50 states. The department operated with a budget surplus in each of the last seven years, allowing for annual investments and budget growth from $44 million to $73 million. K-State’s $46 million in cash contributions raised in the 2014 fiscal year almost quadrupled the annual total prior to his arrival and was the third-highest nationally that year behind only Texas A&M and Michigan.
Currie and his staff worked closely with then-President Kirk Schulz and the KSU Foundation to secure the largest individual donation in university history, a $60 million gift benefitting various academic and athletic initiatives, while the department reached its $50 million private gifts goal for the new Vanier Family Football Complex in just 13 months.
With the tag line of “Welcome to K-State” symbolizing the goal of providing The Best Fan Experience in the Big 12, K-State’s marketing and fundraising efforts were completely overhauled during Currie’s tenure. K-State supporters have pushed attendance to new heights, while $200 million in total gifts have been raised for K-State Athletics since Currie’s arrival.
New ticket initiatives have led to 42 sellout crowds since 2009 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, including a current streak of 33 straight. The Wildcats have also set new season total and average attendance records in baseball, sold a record number of season tickets for volleyball and baseball and rank among the top 35 nationally in attendance in men’s basketball, women’s basketball, volleyball and baseball.
The recipient of the 2013 Bobby Dodd AD Award and a 2013 Under Armour AD of the Year, Currie served as chair of the Big 12 ADs in 2013-14 and is a member of the NCAA Division I Administrative Cabinet. He was one of only two intercollegiate ADs named to Sports Business Journal’s 2011 prestigious Forty Under 40 list of national sports leaders.
Currie joined the Tennessee staff in 1997 as Executive Director of the Volunteer Athletic Scholarship Fund (VASF). Following a two-year stint as Assistant Athletics Director at Wake Forest, Currie returned to Knoxville in 2000 as Assistant Athletics Director for Development and was promoted to Associate Athletics Director for Development in 2002.
As chief deputy to the athletics director at UT, Currie was responsible for the direct management of units that annually produced $84 million in revenue and gifts, including the department’s fundraising, marketing, ticketing, media relations, public relations, internet and broadcasting offices. Currie also provided oversight for the men’s basketball program and other department initiatives.
Currie’s accomplishments at Tennessee included helping the university secure a $50 million commitment in 2006 for academic and athletic needs, a gift which represented the largest from an individual in Tennessee history. Under his leadership, giving to Tennessee athletics more than doubled from $19.5 million in 2003 to $41.6 million in 2008.
An integral member of the facility planning team for UT’s $200 million master plan renovations for Neyland Stadium, Currie led the negotiation and implementation of new student season-ticket sales for football in 2008, resulting in $900,000 of new department revenue in its first year. He also implemented new regular-season football sales strategies that helped Tennessee set a school single-game attendance record of 109,061 in 2004.
Currie also oversaw a $36 million arena renovation and the Pratt Pavilion basketball practice facility construction project that was completed in the fall of 2007. He developed and implemented the revenue models to fund both projects without outside funding from the state or local government, tax dollars or university-derived support.
Tennessee’s athletic facilities as a whole benefitted from Currie’s efforts as the development office secured individual-naming recognition gifts that included $4 million for a new aquatic center, $2 million for a new softball stadium, $1.5 million for a new soccer stadium and $2 million for baseball renovations. During his last year at UT, ground was broken for the Day Golf Facility.
He began his professional career at Wake Forest in 1993 as a Deacon Club intern before being named Assistant Deacon Club Director in 1994, a position he held until 1997.
Currie earned his master’s in sports management from Tennessee in 2003 and is a 1993 Wake Forest graduate. He and his wife, Mary Lawrence, have three children: Jack, Virginia and Mary-Dell.
