WICHITA, Kan. (AP) McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita is getting a $500,000 award from the Defense Department. The Wichita Eagle reports that McConnell gets the money for finishing as a runner up for a national honor awarded annually to U.S military installations. Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss., won the Air Force category and will receive $1?million. McConnell and Keesler were the two finalists out of 166 bases considered for the 2012 Commander-in-Chief’s Installation Excellence Award. McConnell spokesman Stefan Bocchino says the money has to go toward improving the quality of life of airmen and their families, and…
Author: KMAN Staff
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Kansas City police are looking for a burglar who stole more than 100 bottles of liquor during five thefts at the same store. Sgt. Kevin Kilkenny says in each case, the thief threw something through glass at a Berbiglia store and then spent several minutes loading items into a gym bag. Besides cognac, whiskey and vodka, the thief also grabbed cigarettes and lottery tickets. The Kansas City Star reports the first burglary occurred March 25 and the last was Monday. Police say the man wore a blue hooded coat with the letter “M” inside a circle…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) A Salina man admitted that he broke into the church where he was baptized in order to support his drug addiction. Thirty-four-year-old Jonathan S. Shinn was sentenced Tuesday to two years and four months in prison for thefts from the Trinity Lutheran Church in February. He was also ordered to pay $4,156 in restitution to the church. Shinn is also a suspect in a break-in at the church on March 21. The Salina Journal reports the church break-ins occurred while Shinn was out of jail on bond awaiting sentencing for two burglaries of neighbors’ houses and two…
LARNED, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Highway Patrol says two Nebraska men died in a two-vehicle wreck in south-central Kansas. The patrol identified the victims of Tuesday’s accident in Pawnee County as Fidel Portillo-Moyao, 33, and Efrain Carrerea-Portillo, 23, both of Schuyler, Neb. The patrol says a pickup truck driven by Portillo-Moyao crossed into the westbound lane of U.S. 56 and was hit by a semi-trailer truck. He died later at a hospital. Carrerea-Portillo died at the scene. The driver of the semi-trailer was not injured.
SALINA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas county commissioner says he won’t resign after using a racial slur during a public meeting. Saline County Commissioner Jim Gile used a variant of a racial slur to imply a job done sloppily while the commission was discussing last week whether to hire an architect for a county project. The Salina Journal reports that when Gile was asked what he meant by the slur, he responded “Afro-Americanized.” Gile did not return phone messages seeking comment Wednesday and did not respond to an email. On Tuesday, two Salina residents attended the commission’s meeting to ask Gile…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A former high school football coach will be retried on a charge of electronic solicitation of a child arising from a sting operation. The retrial for former Garden Plain coach Todd Puetz is scheduled for June 24. A Sedgwick County jury on Monday could not reach a verdict on the solicitation charge. The jury acquitted Puetz of two other charges. He was one of seven men arrested in October 2011 in the operation aimed at men soliciting sex from minors. District Attorney Marc Bennett said Tuesday the court automatically placed the Puetz case back on the jury…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Washburn University is planning a film festival highlighting the futuristic tales told by 19th century novelist Jules Verne. The event will take place May 3 and May 4 in the Henderson Learning Resources Center at the university. Films begin at 7 p.m. the first day and 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on the second day. Verne was a pioneer of the science fiction genre. Works that will be featured include a film adaptation of Verne’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Parts of Kansas have had a fair amount of rain in recent weeks, but state officials say the persistent drought means it’s still too dry for outdoor burning. The State Fire Marshal and Kansas Interagency Wildfire Council issued a burn advisory Tuesday, citing high winds, low humidity and other factors. State Fire Marshal Doug Jorgensen says residents should plan to delay burning fields and other areas for another year. For instances where prescribed burns are essential this spring, the officials recommend checking for local burn bans, alerting neighbors beforehand and making sure adequate resources are available to…
Cathy checks in with the Pottawatomie County Schools as Darrel Stufflebeam, Rock Creek’s USD 323 Superintendent, and Denise O’Dea, Wamego’s USD 320 Superintendent, come on today’s InFocus. [mp3-jplayer]
According to a news release from Alco Stores Inc., the Abilene-based company is moving its corporate headquarters to Coppell, Texas for the purpose of being in a more metropolitan area. In a statement on Wednesday, CEO Rich Wilson said the move to Coppell from Abilene will give the company easy access to many of its stores, other major retailers and transportation for its workers and business partners. Wilson added that relocation to a more accessible location for its vendors is “critical,” and said that Coppell, a suburb of Dallas will help the company attract and keep executive-level personnel. The move…