SALINA — Just before 6 a.m. Wednesday, first responders were dispatched to the scene of an accident on U.S. 81 just north of Interstate 70.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported the driver left the scene. Anyone with information about the accident is asked to contact KHP.
TOPEKA – A public hearing on the proposed permanent gun signage regulations has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 17, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in a news release Monday.
The hearing will be in the second floor auditorium of Memorial Hall, 120 SW 10th Ave., Topeka.
Last month, Attorney General Schmidt released his proposed regulations for signage that may be used to restrict the carrying of firearms – open, concealed or both – into buildings, in compliance with a new law passed by the Kansas Legislature earlier this year. Temporary regulations adopting these signage rules were approved by the State Rules and Regulations Board and took effect July 1.
State law requires a 60-day comment period and a public hearing before the regulations become permanent.
The proposed regulations are available at http://1.usa.gov/1tFyBof. Members of the public may submit comments on the proposed regulations on the website, by email to [email protected] or by mail to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, 120 SW 10th Ave., 2nd Floor, Topeka, KS 66612.
HUTCHINSON — A Hutchinson man was critically injured after he crashed his motorcycle during a high-speed early Sunday morning.
The Hutchinson Police Department reported 23-year-old Antonio Cordero was on the motorcycle at approximately 4 a.m. when police tried to stop him in the 400 block of North Adams for a traffic violation. At that time, Cordero raced off north on Adams. The chase, which lasted just a few minutes, continued to the Countryside Park area when Cordero crashed the motorcycle. He was taken to the intensive-care unit of Hutchinson Regional Medical Center.
He was arrested on suspicion of possession of meth, possession of marijuana, fleeing and eluding, and no driver’s license.
SALINA — The Salina Police Department is asking for help from the public in its investigation into shots from a high-powered rifle that struck two houses late Thursday night in the 500 block of West Beloit.
Capt. Mike Sweeney said anyone with information is urged to call Salina Police or Crimestoppers.
At least five shots were fired, with two striking one home, one striking another home across the street, and two more hitting trees outside the first home.
One slug went through the mattress of a woman who was asleep when the shots were fired about 11:30 p.m. Thursday night. It is believed the shots came from the north on Pershing Street.
EL DORADO, Kan. (AP) — The reward is up to $100,000 for solving the 1999 disappearance of an 11-year-old southeast Kansas boy whose adoptive parents never reported him missing.
An anonymous donor who wanted to see closure for the family of Adam Herrman put up a $50,000 cash reward in December.
KWCH-TV reports Butler County Sheriff Kelly Herzet announced Thursday that an additional $50,000 is now offered.
Herzet told reporters he personally does not believe Adam is still alive.
Adam disappeared from the adoptive family’s Towanda home in 1999 but wasn’t reported missing until 2008, when his older sister contacted authorities. He remains the subject of a missing person investigation.
His adoptive parents, Doug and Valerie Herrman, were convicted in 2011 of continuing to receive state adoption subsidies after Adam disappeared.
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EL DORADO (AP) — Authorities plan to give the public an update on the investigation into the 1999 disappearance of an 11-year-old southeast Kansas boy whose adoptive parents never reported him missing.
Butler County Sheriff Kelly Herzet has scheduled a news conference Thursday afternoon in El Dorado in the case of Adam Herrman.
The boy disappeared in 1999 from the family’s Towanda home in southeast Kansas but wasn’t reported missing until 2008. He remains the subject of a missing person investigation.
Authorities didn’t learn he was missing until late 2008, when his older sister contacted authorities.
His adoptive parents, Doug and Valerie Herrman, were convicted in 2011 for receiving state adoption subsidies after he went missing.
In December, an anonymous donor put up a $50,000 cash reward toward solving the case.
TOPEKA – The Kansas State Department of Education today announced the 2014 state finalists for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching during a ceremony held at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson. These awards represent the nation’s highest honor for mathematics and science teaching.
The 2014 state finalists for mathematics are:
• Michelle Kelly, Basehor Elementary School, USD 458 Basehor-Linwood,
• Anne Sobba, Nieman Elementary School, USD 512 Shawnee Mission
• Kandy Williams, West Elementary School, USD 320 Wamego.
The 2014 state finalists for science are:
• Elaine Colvin, Humboldt Elementary School, USD 258 Humboldt
• Brandi Leggett, Prairie Ridge Elementary School, USD 232 De Soto
• Clayton Schrader, West Indianola Elementary School, USD 345 Seaman
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching are presented to educators who show a high degree of knowledge, innovation, skill and leadership. Elementary and secondary educators are recognized in alternating years. This year, elementary educators are being recognized. Kansas had 12 mathematics nominees and 9 science nominees (a list of all nominees is included). Each of the finalists receives a $500 cash award and will go on to compete for a national finalist title. Two educators from each state, one in the area of mathematics and one in science, may be named national finalists next spring. Each of the national finalists will receive an award of $10,000.
The awards ceremony was part of a two-day conference open to the nominees and other members of the Kansas Exemplary Educators Network. The conference, which took place Monday and Tuesday at the Kansas Cosmosphere & Space Center in Hutchinson, included presentations from leading Kansas educators, Westar Energy and the Kansas Cosmosphere.
Two northwest Kansas educators were nominated for the science award: Terra Keeten of Phillipsburg Elementary School and Tamara Wynn of Trego Grade School.
DENVER (AP) — The University of Denver is welcoming its new chancellor.
Rebecca Chopp, who most recently served as president of Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, is scheduled to be at the school Friday morning to meet with the campus community.
The university announced Thursday that Chopp would succeed Robert Coombe, who is retiring after 33 years in office. Chopp will be the first woman to lead the school, one of the largest and oldest private universities in the Rockies.
The Salina native is also a scholar of American religious movements. She is scheduled to start work before the fall semester.
The Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland Council, which includes the western two-thirds of Kansas, has won the Great American Can RoundUp-Scout Council Challenge for the third consecutive year after recycling 32,199 pounds of aluminum cans.
Girl Scout Troops 50244 and 50028 of Hutchinson were the top two recycling troops in the national recycling challenge. Both troops collected about 15,000 pounds of aluminum cans each.
The GACR Scout Council Challenge, sponsored by Can Manufacturers Institute, began Jan. 15 and ended April 30, with 800 Girl and Boy Scouts from 56 troops across the country competing.
The Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland Council contributed a majority of the aluminum collected in the challenge: 32,199 pounds of the 57,504 pounds collected overall from scouts.
“We are extremely proud of our girls’ hard work and the incredible commitment they make to recycling year after year,” said Liz Workman, CEO of Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland in a news release.
“The GACR Scout Council Challenge helps create awareness of the environmental benefits of recycling cans,” Workman added.
ASSARIA — Someone broke into the Assaria Hardware between Monday evening and Tuesday morning taking cash, flashlights, lighters, cigarettes and chewing tobacco.
Saline County Sheriff Glen Kochanowski said entry was gained by breaking out a glass panel to a door. Kochanowski said the inside of the business was ransacked.
Surveillance cameras inside the business were among the items damaged.
Loss and damage is estimated at $1,895.
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., held a second conference call with the media Thursday morning to give an update on the systemic dysfunction at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which led to his call for VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign.
Moran said that, as far as he knows, there have not been any investigations into VA misconduct in the state of Kansas.
“Many of the veterans that I talk to are very grateful and appreciative of the quality of care they receive when they are admitted to a VA hospital in our state,” he said. “But it is clear to me that there are plenty of others who are falling through the cracks, and it seems to be more of the bureaucracy of the department as compared to the ability of the folks who actually provide the health care.”
The issue continues to be a leadership issue, according to Moran.
“I’ve asked the Inspector General to inform me whether any Inspector General activities are occurring in our state, and my understanding is at the moment, even though that may have or could change, there are no active Inspector General reports in Kansas,” Moran said.
HOISINGTON–Hoisington High School principal Meg Wilson filed Thursday for the Kansas State Board of Education, District 5.
The position is currently held by Dodge City resident Sally Cauble, who serves as board vice-chair.
“I believe that as educators, we have the greatest opportunity to influence our nation’s future through the leadership and character development opportunities we provide to our youth,” Wilson said in a news release.
“My vision for educational leadership in Kansas is one of a facilitative approach which allows local school boards to empower the administration, staff, students, and community to be an innovative collegial team. Through allowing districts to identify their needs to serve their student population, local school boards have the opportunity to support administration in providing an engaging curriculum for students as well as school staff to focus not simply that students are taught but to ensure that they learn; to work collaboratively on matters related to learning; and to hold ourselves accountable for the kind of results that fuel continual improvement.”
Wilson, a Republican, has served in the education profession for more than 31 years, the past four years as Hoisington High School principal.
She also taught special education in northwest Kansas at the Smith Center elementary school where she coached volleyball and track and served as a board of education member.
Since 2010, Wilson has served as a co-chair for the Social, Emotional, and Character Development Standards (SECD) Writing Committee which has local, state, and national support. The standards were adopted by the Kansas State Board of Education in April, 2012.
“It would be a sincere honor to serve the people of District 5 on the Kansas State Board of Education,” said Wilson. “I am eager to put my 31 years in education to use in promoting local control of education standards, which will provide our schools in Kansas the ability to be competitive with states throughout the country.”
HUTCHINSON — Just after 3 a.m. Thursday, Hutchinson firefighters responded to the area of Kansas 61 and Lorraine for a reported brush fire. Prior to arrival, the calling party called back and advised it was a structure fire.
When units arrived, they found a fully involved two-story house and also a second fire in a mobile home one-eighth of a mile east of the house that was fully involved. Both houses were vacant. The fire was near the 2400 block of South Lorraine.
The fire in the two-story house was controlled in 30 minutes, and the fire in the mobile home was allowed to burn. Fire officials said access to the mobile home was difficult because it was surrounded by a plowed field and set back off the road. The fire was allowed to burn because there was no threat of it spreading. Units and investigators were still on the scene late Thursday morning. Both structures are considered a total loss.
The fires have been ruled as suspicious and are under investigation with assistance from Reno County Sheriff’s Office. No one was injured in either fire.
LAWRENCE (AP) — While most discussion about water shortages in Kansas focuses on western parts of the state, officials say the eastern region also needs to address looming water shortages.
The state is planning a $20 million project to dredge sediment from the John Redmond Reservoir near Burlington. But researchers say by the end of the century, the state’s 24 federal reservoirs will have lost more than half their original capacity, and dredging won’t be possible.
The Lawrence Journal-World reported Gov. Sam Brownback has directed state agencies to develop a 50-year plan for sustaining the state’s water resources. Much of the work so far has been on western Kansas, where the Ogallala Aquifer is a primary source of water. The aquifer is rapidly being depleted, mostly by irrigation.
