By Rod Zook ~ Hutch Post

Average groundwater levels throughout western and central Kansas dropped more in the past year than they had annually since 1996, according to preliminary data compiled by the Kansas Geological Survey.

In January the KGS and the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Water Resources measured levels in approximately 1,400 water wells in 47 western and central Kansas counties as part of an annual assessment program. The preliminary data show that the Equis Beds saw a decline of more than 3.1 feet this past year. Its significantly more than the 2/10ths of a foot and the 7/10ths of a foot it lost the two previous years. Before that the aquifer had seen an over all increase in its level of nearly half a foot from 1996 to 2011.

Big Bend GMD 5, centered on the Great Bend Prairie aquifer underlying Stafford and Pratt counties and parts of Barton, Pawnee, Edwards, Kiowa, Reno and Rice counties, had a decline of 2.95 feet. Levels there were up 0.63 feet two years ago, down 0.44 feet last year, and prior to the 2012 measurements, the district had a slight overall water-level increase of 0.82 feet between 1996 and 2011.

Federal officials say the five largest mortgage lenders have reached a $25 billion settlement with 49 states over foreclosure abuses that took place after the housing bubble burst.

More than 4,000 Kansas homeowners who lost homes to foreclosure and others still struggling to keep their homes out of foreclosure may be eligible for relief.

The settlement is expected to bring more than $50 million to Kansas in the form of direct payments. It is one of the largest consumer protection settlements in state history.

Eligible Kansans will be contacted and offered the chance to file a claim. More information is available at the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at (800) 432-2310.

The banks will have three years to fulfill the terms of the landmark deal.

The deal also ends a separate investigation into Bank of America and Countrywide for inflating appraisals of loans from 2003 through most of 2009. Bank of America will pay $1 billion to settle that federal probe.

Oklahoma is the lone holdout and will receive no money.

Police say an 89-year-old Kingman man who was the subject of a Silver Alert has been found dead.

The search for Wallace “Gene” Fairchild ended after his body was found late Tuesday. Details of where his body was found and how he died have not been released.

Fairchild, who suffered from dementia, was last seen about noon Tuesday driving on U.S. 54 near Kingman.

Family members contacted police after he didn’t show up at either of two daily visits with family members.

Attorneys for a man accused of killing a 14-year-old Great Bend girl say their client can’t get a fair trial in Barton County because most residents already think he is guilty.

There was no decision on Wednesday’s request in Barton County District Court to move the trial of 37-year-old Adam Longoria. He is scheduled to go on trial March 26 on charges of capital murder and sex crimes for the August 2010 death of Alicia DeBolt.

KWCH-TV reports Judge Hannelore Kitts said she would rule on Monday.

A survey of 400 Barton County residents conducted through Pittsburg State University found all were familiar with the case and 94% thought Longoria was guilty.

Prosecutors say the survey is not representative and argue Longoria could still get a fair trial.

A Kansas House committee has endorsed Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s proposal to require some potential Kansas voters to prove their U.S. citizenship ahead of this year’s presidential election.

The Elections Committee approved a bill to impose the proof-of-citizenship requirement starting June 15 for people registering to vote in Kansas for the first time. The state enacted the rule last year, but it isn’t scheduled to take effect until Jan. 1, 2013.

The committee’s endorsement of the bill allows a debate in the House. Kobach has said he wants to impose the proof-of-citizenship rule ahead of schedule because voter registration peaks once every four years in the months before a presidential election.

But critics say the bill will hurt voter participation.

Opponents to Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposal for cutting Kansas income tax rates say during a Statehouse event that Republican’s plan is misguided and would punish working families.

Brownback and his supporters were planning a news conference of their own on Wednesday, touting support for tax cuts.

Both events were held ahead of the first of three planned days of hearings over the proposal by the House Taxation Committee.

The governor proposes to collapse the state’s three income tax brackets into two and eliminate a number of credits and exemptions, a move he says makes the Kansas tax system flatter and fairer. He’s seeking to end the state’s earned income tax credit for low-income residents, saying the money would be invested in other social programs aimed at the working poor.

A scam artist claiming to be a down-on-his luck military man is trying to scam some Kansas churches.

The man claims his truck broke down while he was on his way home from his mother-in-law’s funeral. The Newton Kansan reports that he says he attended the church a few times and asks that money be sent to Walmart or any place with wire transfers.

Jason Reynolds, Harvey County sheriff’s department chaplain and minister, says the man gets belligerent and threatens to go AWOL if he can’t get the money.

Reynolds says at least five churches in Newton have had contact with the man, as well as churches in Wellington, Wichita, Emporia and Udall.

Law enforcement officers say never send a wire transfer to anyone unless you know them.

A diamond that was dropped into a Salvation Army red kettle in Kansas has sold for more than $6,000.

An unknown out-of-state buyer paid $6,325 Tuesday in an eBay auction. The diamond, which was set in a ring donated by a Kansas City jeweler, drew 86 bids during a weeklong auction.

It has a cut that is no longer used and is thought to have been cut more than 100 years ago.

The Salvation Army in Kansas City, Kan., said the proceeds would be used in Wyandotte County.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation has issued a Silver Alert for an 89-year-old Kingman man who hasn’t been seen since driving away from his home.

Wallace “Gene” Fairchild left his home about noon Tuesday in Kingman in his 2005 red Ford Ranger. The license tag is WCJ-100. His family says he suffers from dementia and has vision problems that make it difficult for him to drive at night.

Another resident saw Fairchild driving west on U.S. 54 in Kingman. Family members say he was wearing overalls.

Anyone with information is asked to call Kingman police at 620-532-3138.