TOPEKA — Room is running out for names on the memorial honoring Kansas law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty, so it will soon be expanded. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Gov. Jeff Colyer and Attorney General Derek Schmidt were among those announcing expansion plans on Monday. The project is expected to cost $500,000, funded with private donations. Organizers have already raised about $425,000. The memorial is outside the Kansas Statehouse. It includes the names of 281 officers, with room for 39 more. Plans call for adding a second concentric ring of memorial markers outside the existing monument…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA — Sedgwick County Commissioners will pay $77,000 to County Counselor Eric Yost in a separation agreement. The Wichita Eagle reported on the agreement Monday. Yost has been on paid suspension since Nov. 7, when he released details of the commission majority’s effort to oust County Manager Michael Scholes and confirmed an FBI investigation of commissioners. Scholes told Yost the commissioners were moving to oust him because he had provided information to the FBI in an investigation last year of Commissioner Michael O’Donnell, who is awaiting federal trial on wire fraud and money laundering charges related to campaign funds. O’Donnell…
TOPEKA — The state of Kansas will pay $75,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that the Department of Children and Families failed to intervene to protect an 18-month-old girl who eventually died. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Jayla Haag died in 2012 from blunt-force injuries to the head. The girl lived with her mother, Alyssa Haag, in El Dorado. The suit filed by the father, Steven Watters, accused the agency of ignoring warning signs that included calls to a child-abuse hotline. He also alleged that a DCF social worker was aware of the mother’s persistent use of illegal drugs. In…
Pottawatomie County Public Works Director Peter Clark gave an update to the county commission on Monday with two big topics addressed during the meeting. One of those was a recent bridge failure. The bridge will be closed for the next few months while they design and rebuild. The second topic discussed was over a local road safety plan which the Kansas Department of Transportation is wanting all counties to work on. Clark explained the details. KDOT has said it will split the cost of the plan 90/10 leaving the county to only pay $5,000 for the consultation and plan creation.…
The Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce will be honoring former Mayor Linda Morse at a reception this afternoon. According to a Facebook event by the Chamber, the reception is a chance for their board and associates to recognize Morse for her service to the community. Morse was elected to a 4-year term in the Manhattan City Commission in April of 2015 before serving as the city’s mayor starting in 2017. Mike Dodson, who was also elected in April 2015, is stepping in as mayor. The reception will start at 4:30 p.m. in the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce building.
Monday’s guests were Riley County Historical Museum Director Cheryl Collins and Curator of Design Allana Parker, discussing David Fairchild, Charles Marlatt and Walter Swingle, the food explorers who called Manhattan home in the late 1800s, early 1900s. We also spent segment four of the program discussing leaves and mulch, weeds and poinsettias with K-State Research and Extension Horticulture Agent Gregg Eyestone.
Riley County Public Works will be putting the final touches on the Marlatt-Denison connection project at the end of the week. As a result, Marlatt will be closed from Denison to College Avenue to all traffic starting Friday, November 23rd. Vicky McCallum from public works said the work is expected to finish up by Sunday. Any questions regarding the project can be directed to the Riley County Public Works Department at 785-537-6330
TOPEKA — The Kansas Republican Party will be getting a new chairman in February. State GOP Chairman Kelly Arnold has announced that he will not seek a fourth, two-year term after serving six years as the Kansas party’s top official. The Republican State Committee will name his successor during the party’s next statewide convention. Arnold began as chairman in 2013 with the GOP, which had won all statewide and congressional races starting in 2010. The party extended the streak through the 2016 election, with then-Gov. Sam Brownback and U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts winning tough re-election races in 2014 and U.S.…
Jason Simonds, 45, of Manhattan was arrested while in the 4000 block of Kimball Ave. in Manhattan on November 18, 2018, at approximately 10:25 AM. Simonds was arrested on a Riley County District Court warrant for probation violation and offenses of use/possess paraphernalia and possession of opiates, opium, narcotic or certain stimulants. Simonds was issued a total bond of $9,000.00. Simonds was not confined at the time of this report. Officers filed a report for theft in the 1100 block of Moro St. in Manhattan on November 17, 2018, at approximately 2:05 AM. Officers listed Caleb Bland, 22, of Fort…
LAWRENCE — A federal agency has found that administrators at Haskell Indian Nations University underreported crime statistics for a two-year period. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Interior also concluded in a report Friday that the Lawrence school had failed to follow internal policy when handling misconduct complaints. The agency’s report says university employees told investigators they felt “bullied and intimidated” by Haskell President Venida Chenault. The document concluded the president influenced, through her presence at a meeting, a family member’s appointment to a high-level campus job. Chenault told federal investigators Haskell’s annual…