Author: KMAN Staff

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) A former Internal Revenue Service agent has been spared any prison time after admitting she was paid for meetings with taxpayers that never occurred. The U.S. Attorney’s office says Becky L. Book, of Pittsburg, was sentenced on Tuesday to two years of probation and ordered to pay restitution of about $26,450. Book pleaded guilty in February to receiving more than $26,000 in salary and mileage payments that she didn’t earn. Prosecutors say Book claimed she worked 744 hours between March 2010 and April 2011, but she actually used those hours as unauthorized personal time. Book agreed…

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Shawnee County District Judge says a Topeka man committed indirect contempt by posting online comments while serving as a juror in a murder trial. James Reeder was ordered Monday to either pay a $1,000 fine within 30 days or serve three days in jail. Reeder was a juror in the summer of 2012 in the murder trial of Anceo Stovall. During the trial, he posted a comment on The Topeka Capital-Journal’s website, which disobeyed orders from the judge. Reeder’s attorney argued during Monday’s hearing that Reeder believed he did no harm by posting the comments. The…

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SALINA, Kan. (AP) Salina’s city commission will consider allowing liquor sales in the city on Sunday. The possibility arose during a meeting Monday, when the commission approved an ordinance that allows microbreweries in the city. During discussion of that ordinance, commissioners considered whether to allow Sunday liquor sales. Current Salina law prohibits Sunday sales at liquor stores and other places that sell packaged alcohol. Commissioner Randall Hardy says he thought the current law was a restraint of trade. Other commissioners also indicated they would support Sunday sales. The Salina Journal reports the city’s staff will bring the issue before the…

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Shawnee County officials say the death of a man whose body was found in a car on the campus of a Topeka school is not considered suspicious. A deputy found the man’s body in a car late Monday on the grounds of Washburn Rural Middle School. He was described as being in his mid-40s but his name was not released. Martin Weishaar, spokesman for the school district, says the man appeared to have died from a medical condition. The man was not associated with the school. The Shawnee County sheriff’s office also said the death didn’t appear…

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A veteran employee of the Kansas Department of Corrections has been named to the state Prisoner Review Board. Corrections Secretary Ray Roberts announced Monday that Peggy Lero would fill an opening on the three-member board. Lero has been with the corrections agency since 2000 and has nearly 40 years of experience in corrections and criminal justice. She’s currently the parole director in the northern parole region in Topeka. The Prisoner Review Board has several responsibilities, including decisions on parole and the conditions of inmates freed on supervised release. Lero replaces Kathleen Graves, who was named deputy director…

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It’s time to catch up on the City of Manhattan.  Cathy sits down with City Manager Ron Fehr and Commissioner Wynn Butler. [mp3-jplayer]

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Just a day after the catastrophic events in Oklahoma, the relief efforts have begun in Manhattan. Heidi Kitts is from Shawnee, Oklahoma and currently lives in Manhattan with her husband who is retired from Fort Riley and she is leading the efforts collecting donations. Donations can be non-perishable food items, clothing, and shoes for all age-groups and genders. Monetary donations are also being accepted. Cases of water are also accepted due to the sparse amount of clean water in Shawnee and Moore. Kitts says the devastation in Shawnee has affected her by not being able to reach…

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A former Kansas State University visiting assistant professor of interior architecture and product design will be in court Wednesday for his trial. 28 year old William Yankey was arrested in September of 2012 at his home on the 1800 block of Colorado street here in Manhattan. After being arrested on a $50,000 bond for suspicion of of rape, he was released. The reported rape occurred on December 8th of 2007, in the northeast portion of Manhattan. With the jury selection taking up most of Tuesday, Judge Meryl Wilson will hear from witnesses as the trial begins Wednesday. KMAN’s Laura Monsanto…

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