It’s been three years since the last greyhound races took place at a track anywhere in Kansas. Now, a group that includes greyhound and business interests is hoping to revive the shuttered track in Wichita – and possibly others elsewhere in the state.

Businessman Phil Ruffin closed his Wichita Greyhound Park 2007, after Sedgwick County voters narrowly defeated a proposal to allow slot machines at the track. Ruffin and other Kansas track owners have argued they need slot machines to make the operations profitable.

The Wichita Eagle reports that a group called “Wichita Wins” is seeking support for a new vote in the county. The leaders include Kansas Greyhound Association vice president Tracy Wildey, who says the 2007 ballot question was poorly worded and may have confused voters.

by Randy Picking – Salina Post

Salina Police officers discovered the body of a man reported missing in November Thursday morning in a wooded area near the flood control levy in southeast Salina. Police Lt. Scott Siemsen says the department received information that 40-year-old Troy Rapp was known to have stayed in the area where his body was found.

Rapp’s body was found hanging in a wooded area near the 2000 block of E. Cloud, just outside the city limits.

The Saline County Sherriffs office is investigating, and Sheriff Glen Kochanowski says, there are no signs of foul play, and there were indications that Rapp had been camped out near the area where his body was found . The Sheriff said it appeared that Rapp may have been dead for awhile, and a autopsy in Topeka will determine the exact cause of death.

Rapp was last seen alive leaving a friends home on October 24th, and a missing persons report was taken November 8th, and his disappearance was released by police last week.

Students at a Kansas college say there was nothing funny about an apparent prank involving a dead coyote and a Christmas tree.

KSNW-TV reports that someone left the skinned carcass of a coyote under a dormitory Christmas tree at Southwestern College in Winfield.

Police were called to the campus Wednesday night after students discovered the animal’s body in the commons area on the residence hall’s third floor. Officers believe the coyote had been shot by hunters.

Investigators used a key-card tracking system to identify the perpetrators of what college officials called a sick prank. Police say it’s unlikely anyone will be charged because it doesn’t appear the suspects acted with criminal intent.

UPDATE: 

A fatal shooting investigation in Manhattan has led to a half-dozen arrests, including two people suspected of burglarizing the suspected shooter’s home while it was staked out by police.

The body of 31-year-old Steve Freel was found Wednesday along a dirt road north of Manhattan. On Thursday, Riley County police said a 19-year-old man suspected of first-degree murder was being held
on $1 million bond.

Police believe the victim and suspect committed several armed robberies together but had a falling-out that led to Freel being driven to a rural area and shot.

Also arrested were a 41-year-old man accused of conspiring to kill Freel; two women accused of joining the homicide suspect in armed robberies; and two teenagers accused of breaking into the suspect’s home and removing evidence.

ORIGINAL:

Riley County police have arrested a suspect in the death of a man found along a dirt road north of Manhattan.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the dead man has been identified as 31-year-old Steve Free, of Manhattan. A resident reported the body Wednesday morning.

Authorities haven’t disclosed how or when the killing occurred.

Police announced the arrest early Thursday. More details were expected to be released later Thursday.

by Randy Picking ~ Salina Post

A 69-year-old Salina man was arrested Wednesday afternoon on two counts of criminal sodomy, and two counts of lewd and lascivious behavior, after having sexual contact with a neighbors pet on at least two occasions.

Dennis Gress of 812 W. Ash was arrested after police were called by the neighbor who witnessed the sexual contact with a dog in the back yard of the owner of the dog.

Gress allegedly had sexual contact with the same dog in September, but the neighbor did not report it at that time.

Gress was released from the Saline County Jail Wednesday evening.

The Salvation Army in northeastern Kansas is trying to put a price on an unusual item dropped into 1 of its red kettles: a diamond.

Salvation Army business manager Richard Natividad tells KCTV the diamond turned up amid thecash donated outside a Walmart in the Kansas City suburb of Shawnee.

Natividad says he and other workers were counting the cash when they came across a balled-up piece of paper. He almost threw it out, thinking it was trash, but opened the paper to discover the diamond inside.

Natividad estimates the diamond is nearly a carat, but he’d like to get it appraised. He says one appraiser wanted $75 for the service. The Salvation Army hopes that someone will offer to appraise it for free.

By Fred Gough ~ Hutch Post

The 25-year-old Hutchinson man arrested after he reported to police that he sexually abused a 3-month-old child has been formally charged with aggravated criminal sodomy.

Michael Sherman is jailed on a 50-thousand dollar bond after his arrest early Monday morning.

According to Police Lt. Marty Robertson, Sherman was alone with the child and was watching pornography on his cell phone. He apparently became aroused and then sodomized the child.

The charge is a Jessica’s Law offense, meaning he could be looking at a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25-years.

He was back in court for the reading of the charge and his case will now be placed on a future waiver-status docket.

A Kansas man is criticizing state Attorney General Derek Schmidt for telling the Secret Service of his plan to arrest President Barack Obama as a British citizen holding office illegally.

Sixty-five-year-old Neil Jednoralski, of Salina, says he received a visit from a Secret Service agent and law enforcement officials at his home Monday evening. He was warned to stay away from Obama’s Tuesday speech in Osawatomie, about 150 miles away.

The Salina Journal reports the officials took a pair of handcuffs Jednoralski says he bought specifically to arrest Obama, along with four guns. Jednoralski remained in Salina and retrieved the items from the sheriff’s office Tuesday afternoon.

Jednoralski had announced his plan to the Kansas Highway Patrol and to Schmidt, who he hoped would prosecute president. Schmidt’s office confirms it informed the Secret Service.

The Army says a Fort Riley soldier has died from wounds he suffered in November during an attack in Afghanistan.

Army officials said Wednesday that 28-year-old Sgt. David Sharp of Idaho Falls, Idaho, died Saturday in Landstuhl, Germany. He was wounded by a roadside bomb on Nov. 21 while on patrol in Kandahar province in Afghanistan.

Sharp was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armored Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division’s 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team. He joined the Army in October 2002 as an armored crewmember.

He was assigned to Fort Riley in April 2006 and was on his third deployment. He is survived by his parents and two children.

Sharp’s military awards include the Purple Heart and Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters.

Butler County authorities have charged a man and a woman in the death of the man’s 69-year-old grandmother.

Jacob Allen Hoyt and Lyndsey Renee Giovinazzo, both 19, are charged with first-degree murder in the death of Hoyt’s grandmother, Loyce Cody. She was found dead in her Augusta home Monday.

The Wichita Eagle reports that both defendants are also charged with arson and felony theft. They appeared in court separately Wednesday without lawyers and will have court-appointed attorneys at their next hearing.

They are being held on $1 million bond.

Augusta police found Cody’s body after relatives reported she had not shown up for work as a special education teacher at Cessna Elementary School in Wichita.

Hoyt and Giovinazzo were arrested Monday night.