Author: Brandon Peoples

Pottawatomie County commissioners are submitting paperwork to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment toward cleaning up some waste build up on a property near St. George. County Sanitarian Scott Schwinn told commissioners Monday he’s received complaints about the property. “Ultimately, if they decline to clean it up, the county is going to be on the hook for cleaning it up and we will be reimbursed up to $10,000 for that,” he said. Anything above that $10,000 threshold will be the county’s responsibility. According to the illegal dump notification and information form, the roughly 2-acre property is at 4385 Blackjack…

The owners of the former Munson’s Prime restaurant in Junction City, destroyed by fire nearly one year ago, are the new owners of the former Brookville Hotel restaurant property in Abilene. Reports surfaced online Monday that Charles and Deanna Munson bid $926,000 during a bankruptcy sale to acquire the property put up for sale by Pinnacle Bank. The Munsons had the lone bid and are planning to open a new restaurant called Legacy Kansas. They say they plan to acknowledge the history of both restaurants in their new venture. That includes the traditional family style chicken dinners the Brookville became…

A Fort Riley soldier accused of murdering a fellow soldier in Manhattan’s Aggieville district last weekend made his first court appearance Friday, via video conference. Seated in a wheelchair from the Riley County Jail with a visible right leg injury, 19-year-old Tremelle Montgomery stared ahead, without counsel, while Judge Kendra Lewison read the four charges against him, including a single count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder. Montgomery is accused in the Feb. 5 shooting death of 21-year-old Joshua Wardi, a Fort Riley soldier from Texas. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says according to witnesses, the…

No charges will be filed against a 31-year-old Wamego woman who was accidentally shot by a toddler in early January. In an email to KMAN Friday, Pottawatomie County Attorney Sherri Schuck said she is declining charges at this time, citing insufficient evidence to pursue charges of aggravated child endangerment. The shooting occurred Jan. 5 when a 2-year-old got a hold of a gun inside the woman’s home. A male adult was also home at the time. The woman, who has not been identified, was transported to a Topeka hospital in critical condition with gunshot wounds to the chest and shoulder.…

A Riley County jury on Thursday found a Manhattan man guilty of aggravated battery, for injuring an infant child last summer. Gerald Hartman III was on trial this week for the July 2021 incident. He also stood accused of child abuse, however the jury was unable to reach a decision on that beyond a reasonable doubt. The decision on the lesser count of aggravated battery, means the jury felt there was enough evidence to prove Hartman acted recklessly when he aggressively picked up 5-month old baby Lunix from his bouncer July 15 while babysitting. The incident caused the child to…

A special question to expand the Pottawatomie County Commission may end up on the November ballot if a petition effort is successful. Doug Kern, who currently sits on the Planning and Zoning board, tells KMAN that he’d like to see the county commission expand from three to five seats. “So I thought, if they had five commissioners, then they could talk to each other outside of the commission meetings on Monday morning, without potentially violating that open meetings law. So that’s really what’s motivating me,” he said. A five-member commission would mean two members could talk privately about county business.…

A rear-end crash on I-70 injured two from Fort Riley Wednesday. The Kansas Highway Patrol says 22-year-old Kent Tadeo was slowing down for traffic in the westbound lanes of I-70 in Lincoln County when a Chevy Silverado struck his vehicle from behind. Tadeo’s vehicle went off the roadway and into a ditch. The crash occurred about four miles east of K-156. Tadeo and a passenger, 20-year-old Joanna Rodriguez, were transported to Salina Regional Health Center with minor injuries. The other driver, 38-year-old Heather Marie Schmidt, of Topeka, was not injured. The crash report says all three involved were wearing seat…

The suspect in Saturday’s deadly shooting in Aggieville was released from the hospital Wednesday and transported to the Riley County Jail. According to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, 19-year-old Tremelle Montgomery, of Fort Riley, was released from Topeka’s Stormont Vail Hospital and booked into jail just before 4 p.m. on a single count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder, related to the shooting death of 21-year-old Joshua Wardi. KBI says charges related to the subsequent officer-involved shooting incident have not yet been determined. The investigation is ongoing and once completed will be presented to the Riley…

A Riley County jury heard closing arguments Wednesday in the case of a Manhattan man accused of child abuse. Deputy Riley County Attorney Bethany Fields argued that Gerald Hartman III acted aggressively last July when he removed a 5-month-old boy from his bouncer while watching the child. The state argued Hartman’s actions resulted in the child suffering a subdural hematoma (or brain bleed), a broken left clavicle and a bruised chest. The incident is said to have occurred when the child’s mother was away at work. Hartman was the lone adult home at the time with the child. Fields stated…

Pottawatomie County commissioners have moved the needle ever so slightly toward a future bridge to connect Junietta Road to Marlatt Ave. in Riley County. In a 2-1 vote Monday, commissioners approved applying for a grant through the governor’s recently launched Building a Stronger Economy (BASE) program. The program offers new opportunities to help support infrastructure development and advance economic development opportunities statewide. Commissioner Dee McKee said Monday while it may not ultimately lead to an alternative route to Hwy 24 over the Big Blue River, it’s worth a shot. “To say that it’s something that’s very significant to the operation…