HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) A 27-year-old Hutchinson man who sexually assaulted a 4-month-old girl has attacked a Reno County prosecutor while appealing his life sentence. The attack happened Wednesday while Michael Sherman was objecting to being sentenced under Jessica’s Law. The statute mandates a life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years for adults convicted of certain sex crimes against children younger than 14. Sherman had performed oral sodomy on the infant and then turned himself in. Reno County Sheriff Randy Henderson says that after the judge upheld the original sentence, Sherman jumped on top of prosecutor Keith Schroeder.…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A police SWAT team has surrounded an apartment complex where the suspect in a shooting at Kmart store in south Wichita is believed to be holed up. Early reports indicate the man went to the pharmacy and demanded prescription drugs before pulling out a gun. Police say the robbery suspect fired some shots in the store and then fired back toward the building as he fled the scene Lt. Doug Nolte says authorities believe a woman who was in the store fainted, but she was not shot. KWCH-TV reports that witnesses described panic as customers and employees…
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) Finney County authorities say a freelance photographer working for National Geographic was arrested and briefly detained after he shot pictures of a feedlot near Garden City while on a paraglider. George Steinmetz, of Glenn Ridge, N.J., and his paraglider instructor, Wei Zhang, of Beijing, China, were arrested for misdemeanor criminal trespass on June 28 after flying over the feedlot. The Hutchinson News reports they were held briefly in the Finney County jail before each paid a $270 bond and were released. Finney County Sheriff Kevin Bascue says Steinmetz and Zhang didn’t have permission to launch their…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) A Saline County commissioner says the county is moving ahead with a proposal to take over the Salina-Saline County Health Department. County commissioners presented a proposal Tuesday to Salina city commissioners requesting that the city pay $500,000 toward the $1 million cost of roof repairs at the health department building. The Salina Journal reports the proposal also noted the city’s involvement with the health department would stop at the end of the year. County Commission Chairman Randy Duncan says the county is considering increasing the property tax levy to pay for the loss of city funding for…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Wichita City Council members agree the city’s current downtown library needs improvements but they say the money isn’t available to pay for a new one. The council voted Tuesday to solicit proposals for architectural plans for a proposed $29 million library. But the council opposed issuing bonds to pay for the project. Instead, the council directed the city’s library board to find alternative funding. Officials said the city could not afford to issue more bonds while it is considering water, sewer and road projects. No one disputes the city’s current library, which was built in 1965, has…
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) Pittsburg residents will vote in September on a proposed half-cent sales tax increase to help fund police and fire operations. The Pittsburg City Commission voted Tuesday night to put the issue up for a vote on Sept. 17. If the proposal is approved, the tax would take effect on Jan. 1, 2014. Police Chief Mendy Hulvey said the police department is understaffed and the city “sorely needs” a narcotics unit. The Joplin Globe reports the increase would provide about $1.2 million to fund 10 additional officers and updated technology. The increase also would fund five officers in…
LARNED, Kan. (AP) The state hospital for the mentally ill in western Kansas plans to hold its 10th annual conference on mental health next month. Larned State Hospital’s event is scheduled for Aug. 12-15 at the Larned Community Center. Superintendent Tom Kinlen says the conference provides professional development for psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, social workers and corrections officials but is open to anyone who’s interested in mental health issues. Topics to be addressed at the conference include suicide prevention and advances in the diagnosis and treatment of depression.
SALINA, Kan. (AP) A public hearing is scheduled for this week in Salina on Westar Energy’s proposed increase in electric rates. The Salina Journal reports the hearing is set for Thursday evening at the Salina College Center at Kansas State University-Salina. Westar has applied to the Kansas Corporation Commission for a 1.7 percent increase worth $31.7 million. The utility company says it needs the increase to meet federal requirements. Westar also wants to readjust rates so residential and small-business customers pay more while industrial consumers pay less. Under the proposal, residential bills will increase nearly 9 percent, or about $7.50…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas veteran accused of illegally possessing explosives faces trial next week while attorneys wrangle over what evidence jurors will hear. U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten on Tuesday set a hearing for July 16 in the case against Alfred Dutton. The Army and Marine veteran from Eureka faces trial later that day for unlawful possession of unregistered destructive devices. His attorney is seeking to bar evidence about computer documents and photos of fireworks, chemicals and firearms. Federal prosecutors say Dutton possessed one or more grenade bodies and the necessary parts to convert them into a destructive…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas State Board of Education members are asking state legislators and Gov. Sam Brownback to increase school funding in the next state budget by more than $670 million. The request, approved by a 7-3 vote Tuesday afternoon, asks legislators to boost education spending starting next year by more than 20 percent. The request includes general state aid and money for professional development and school lunch programs during the fiscal year that starts in July 2014. A similar request was made by the state board last year. The board’s budget recommendations go the Republican governor and GOP-controlled Legislature.…