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UPDATE: Police Say Missing Kansas State Player Found

A Kansas State football player from Arkansas who had been missing since Wednesday has been found, but Riley County police aren’t saying much beyond that.

Sam Harvill’s mother told investigators her son hadn’t been seen since 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. Riley County police issued a news release Saturday morning saying they had found Harvill in “good physical condition” Friday night.

Police declined to provide additional details.

Harvill came to Kansas State from Springdale, Ark., last summer and practiced with the team but got hurt and didn’t see any game action.

The defensive lineman is not currently on the team’s roster, but the team says he remains a member of the program.

Drought Intensifies In Kansas, Nebraska

A new report suggests that while recent rains stabilized the devastating drought gripping Iowa and other key farming states, the dry conditions intensified in Kansas and Nebraska.

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map released Thursday shows the overall expanse of land across the contiguous U.S. states weathering some form of drought dropped less than 1 percent to 61.8 percent as of Tuesday.

In Iowa, the nation’s leader in corn production, the amount of land mired in extreme or exceptional drought – the two worst classifications – dropped 7 percentage points to 62.05 percent over the past week.

But the amount of Nebraska in exceptional drought spiked 19 percentage points to 22.5 percent, while that number in Kansas rose from 38.6 percent last week to 63.3 percent now.

Kansas Man Formally Charged In Deadly Crash

Formal charges have been field against a Hutchinson man in connection with a two vehicle accident in Harvey County that killed an Alton, Kansas man.

40-year-old Bryan Reed has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated battery and battery of a corrections officer.

Reed was arrested after he ran a stop sign at the intersection of west 1st street and Ridge Road about three miles west of Newton, and hitting a north bound vehicle driven by 52-year-old Donald Nickles of Hesston. A passenger in Nickles vehicle, 28-year-old Jessi Stroup was killed in the accident. Nickles has been in critical condition at Wesley Medical Center. Reed was not injured.

Reed is being held in the Harvey County jail on a bond of $100,000. His preliminary hearing is set for August 31st.

New Mobile App for Exchanging Insurance Info After Traffic Accident

 

TOPEKA, Kan. — Many Americans don’t know what steps to take or basic information to share — or not share — after an auto accident. They may even put their identities and safety at risk by sharing too much personal information, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

The new WreckCheck mobile application from the NAIC can help eliminate that risk, according to Sandy Praeger, Kansas Commissioner of Insurance.

The app outlines what to do immediately following an auto accident and takes users through a step-by-step process to create their own accident report.

“It also provides tips for staying calm, safe and smart on the road,” Commissioner Praeger said, “and makes it easy to capture photos and document the necessary information to file an insurance claim.”

Additionally, the app lets users email a completed accident report directly to themselves and their insurance agents. The app is free and available for both iPhone® and Android® smartphone users. It can be downloaded by going to a user’s app store on his/her phone and searching “WreckCheck.”

“Consumers generally only need to share their names and correct vehicle insurance information, which should include the phone numbers of insurance providers,” Commissioner Praeger said.  “Sharing additional personal information, such as driver’s license numbers and home addresses, puts consumers, their property and their safety at risk.”

Man Killed After Reportedly Diving In Front Of Semi In Barton County

A Hoisington man was killed after reportedly diving in front of a semi on K4 in Barton County, shortly after 9:30 pm Wednesday.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, a semi was traveling eastbound on K4 (4 mi. east of U281), when the driver saw a pedestrian standing in the middle of the eastbound lane with is arms stretched out to his sides. The driver then reportedly swerved to the right shoulder to avoid the pedestrian, but as the driver passed, he noticed the pedestrian make a diving move toward semi. The left real duals of the trailer drove over the top of pedestrian.

37-year-old Richard T. Leach was pronounced dead at the scene.

Great Bend Man Appointed to KWPT Commission

TOPEKA — Roger Marshall, M.D., Great Bend,  has been appointed by Governor Sam Brownback to the Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission. Marshall replaces Frank Meyer, Herington.

Marshall lives in Great Bend and was born and raised in Butler County. He received a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Kansas State University and graduated from the University of Kansas Medical School.

He is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys hunting upland birds, waterfowl, and turkeys, as well as bowhunting deer, fishing, and boating.

Marshall and his wife of 29 years have four children. He operates an obstetrics and gynecology private practice in Great Bend and serves as the chairman of the Great Bend Regional Hospital Maternal and Child Health Service. He also served in the U.S. Army reserves from 1984 to 1991.

The seven-member KWPT Commission is made up of no more than four members of any one political party. Members are appointed by the Governor and serve staggered four-year terms. The commission advises the agency’s Secretary on planning and policy issues. Regulations approved by the commission are adopted and administrated by the Secretary.

Kansas State Fair, PETA Clash Over Booth Restriction

The group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is objecting to restrictions on its exhibit next month at the Kansas State Fair, saying they amount to unconstitutional censorship.

Fair officials say any videos or pictures of animals being decapitated, dismembered or butchered must not be readily visible outside PETA’s booth, so that fairgoers will have to make a conscious choice to view the material.

PETA calls that a content-based restraint. It says the fair is a public forum and cannot restrict viewpoints.

Fair general manager Denny Stoecklein responded Wednesday that the fair “supports Kansas agriculture and sends a strong pro-agriculture message.”

He added, “We also provide an equal opportunity to all individuals and organizations to apply for booth space and respect an individual or organization’s First Amendment rights.”

Kansas Man Missing Since Last Week Found Dead

The body of an Overland Park man who was reported missing last week has been found in Missouri.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says 66-year-old David Lee Dotson was found dead Wednesday afternoon in a car in rural Bates County, Mo.

A Silver Alert was issued for Dotson last Thursday after he left his home and didn’t return.

A man who noticed the car parked for several days found the body in a field outside Amsterdam, Mo., about 40 miles south of Overland Park.

Overland Park police said foul play is not suspected. His family said Dotson was an insulin-dependent diabetic.

Former Kansas Attorney General Employee Charged In Prostitution Sting

A former employee of the Kansas attorney general’s office is charged with a misdemeanor following a prostitution sting in Topeka.

Online court records show Steve Rarrick charged in Shawnee County District Court with one count of patronizing a prostitute. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Wednesday that Rarrick was one of 12 people arrested in the sting, which focused on Internet solicitations of prostitutes.

A call to Rarrick’s home was unanswered Wednesday. His attorney did not return a call seeking comment.

Rarrick is currently an attorney for the Citizens’ Utility Ratepayers Board, which represents residential customers and small businesses in utility regulation hearings. From 1995 to 2003 he was a deputy state attorney general overseeing consumer protection and antitrust work.

3 Kansas Irrigators Caught Cheating Meters

At least three south-central Kansas irrigators have been charged with cheating on their water usage by running their meters backward last year.

Two of the irrigators were in the Equus Beds region, while the third was in the Big Bend Groundwater Management District.

An official with the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Water Resources says people who are discovered reversing their meters receive a $1,000 civil penalty and a one-year suspension of their water rights. Additional fines can be levied for overpumping.

The Equus Beds aquifer lies under parts of Sedgwick, Harvey, Reno and McPherson counties. The Big Bend Groundwater Management District makes up part of western Reno County and runs to the Edwards, Pawnee and Kiowa county lines.

Safety Agency Recalls Popular Bumbo Infant Floor Seat

About 4 million Bumbo Baby Seats are being recalled after nearly two dozen reports of skull fractures.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says babies can wiggle out of the floor seats.

About 1 million of the molded foam seats were recalled in 2007 for additional warning labels against placing the seats on raised surfaces.

Since the first recall, CPSC and Bumbo International have learned about at least 50 incidents in which babies fell from Bumbo seats while they were being used on raised surfaces. CPSC says another 34 babies fell from the seats while they were being used on the floor or at an unknown elevation. In all, there were 21 reports of skull fractures.

Consumers can get a free repair kit that includes a restraint belt.

Chairman Of Kansas Board Of Education Suggests Legislation For Home Schooling

The chairman of the Kansas State Board of Education says the state needs to look into home schooling to make sure children are being adequately educated.

David Dennis of Wichita says he has heard reports of children being kept at home to babysit younger siblings while their parents claim they are being home-schooled.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports fellow board member Ken Willard of Hutchinson says he hasn’t heard any complaints. He disagreed Tuesday with Dennis’ suggestion that legislation might be needed to beef up reporting requirements for home-schoolers.

Kansas doesn’t specifically authorize home schooling, but does recognize “non-accredited private schools” that aren’t required to employ certified teachers.

The board agreed to discuss the matter more at its meeting next month.

Train Carrying Grain Derails In Kansas

Union Pacific Railroad is cleaning up after a train with 22 cars filled with grain derailed in eastern Kansas, sending at least two cars into the Marais Des Cygnes River.

The Miami County Sheriff’s Office says the train went off the tracks at 2:24 a.m. Wednesday near Osawatomie, but there were no injuries and no roads were blocked because of the derailment.

Union Pacific officials were on the scene Wednesday morning to investigate the crash. A spokesman for the railroad didn’t immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

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