HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) Both suspects in what authorities have described as a mistaken-identity killing in Hutchinson have now had their trials postponed. Billy Joe Craig and Charles Christopher Logsdon are charged with first-degree murder in the 2011 shooting death of Jennifer Heckel. Investigators have said they believe the men planned to rob someone else and went to the wrong house. The Hutchinson News reports that a Reno County judge granted a continuance this week for Craig, who was scheduled for trial Nov. 13. No new date was immediately set. Logsdon’s trial has been rescheduled from Sept. 24 to Oct. 22. Craig’s…
Author: KMAN Staff
KINGMAN, Kan. (AP) State wildlife officials are hoping their efforts to remove nuisance fish from Kingman State Fishing Lake will lure anglers back to the lake in south-central Kansas. Use of the lake near Cunningham has dropped 70 percent since 1999, mostly because it has become overrun with white perch, gizzard shad and common carp. The white perch and other nuisance fish destroy spawning and eat young fish after they hatch. The Hutchinson News reports workers from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, salvaged what they could of the lake’s pike this week before draining the lake. Koch…
HUGOTON, Kan. (AP) A southwest Kansas county that has long made its living from the oil and gas industry is welcoming a new dairy processing plant. Gov. Sam Brownback joined Stevens County officials Thursday to break ground for Kansas Dairy Ingredients, a cheese and processing plant near Hugoton. The $20 million plant is expected to bring 60 new jobs to the county. The Garden City Telegram reports county officials say the plant is also important because it diversifies the county’s economy and adds to the tax base. The governor said he expects more cheese and processing plants to come to…
ANDOVER, Kan. (AP) Voters in the Andover school district approved a local option budget increase but just barely. Canvassing of provisional ballots in Sedgwick County on Thursday found the issue passed by two votes, 1,591 to 1,589. The school district lies in two counties. Sedgwick County canvassed its provisional ballots Thursday and added those results to Butler County’s final results. The Wichita Eagle reports the issue will raise the Andover local option budget by 1 percentage point. The increase is expected to generate more than $430,000 for the school district, which will be used faculty, coaching and support staff, among…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) Opponents of a new gay rights ordinance in Hutchinson delivered petitions seeking to have the measure repealed or put to a public vote. Awaken Hutchinson and the Kansas Family Policy Council delivered a petition Thursday containing 1,364 signatures of people opposed to the ordinance. They needed 327 valid signatures for the petition to be certified. The Hutchinson City Council approved an ordinance June 5 that prohibits people from being fired or evicted because they are gay, lesbian or bisexual. After the signatures are certified, the city council will have 20 days to either repeal the measure or…
EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) Emporia residents could be fined up to $250 and have their water supply shut off if they do not comply with mandatory water restrictions. The Emporia City Council voted on Wednesday to impose the restrictions, beginning next week. The vote means restrictions that had previously been voluntary will be mandatory. The move was required after the Kansas Water Office issued a water warning for the Neosho and Cottonwood River basin. City Manager Matt Zimmerman says the warning became necessary because of continued drops in the Council Grove Reservoir. The restrictions include no residential car washing and no…
HOLTON, Kan. (AP) Three Topeka men survived when a small plane crashed in rural Kansas. Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse says the plane landed in a ditch west of Holton Thursday night. He says two of the men were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and a third suffered minor injuries. The Kansas Highway Patrol identified the men as 58-year-old David F. Osborne of Berryton, the plane’s pilot; 52-year-old Steve L. Stutzman and 47-year-old Stephen M. Graff, both of Topeka. The men were returning to Topeka from a business trip to North Dakota. Morse says Osborne began looking for a place to…
LENEXA, Kan. (AP) A northeastern Kansas elementary school is closed for a second day because of a widespread illness, and the Johnson County Health Department is investigating. The Shawnee Mission School District canceled classes Thursday and again Friday at Rosehill Elementary because of a gastrointestinal illness that swept through the school. The Kansas City Star reports the health department believes the problem is isolated to Rosehill Elementary. Crews spent Thursday scrubbing the building, and district officials canceled classes Friday to limit the risk of more exposure. Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. County health officials have sent specimens to the Kansas…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Kansas farm groups are putting together a workshop on electric fencing and livestock watering options amid the deepening drought. The free, daylong workshop will be held Sept. 11 near Jamestown in Republic County. Kansas livestock producers are facing challenges with dwindling stock water supplies and the need to fence conservation reserve acreage newly opened up for grazing. Agriculture Department conservationist Mark Green will demonstrate the latest electric fence products and discuss installation techniques. Green will also cover livestock watering issues such as water distribution for improved grazing. The workshop is sponsored by the Kansas Rural Center and…
The USD 383 Board of Education and teachers in the Manhattan/Ogden School District have ratified their negotiated agreement. Official word came Friday morning, following a special meeting of the board. Associate Superintendent Bob Seymour tells KMAN, the agreement involves a three percent compensation package increase. There’s also an increase of 900 dollars on the base salary for every teacher. with some teachers gettin more than 900 dollars. Teachers had ratified the agreement Thursday. [mp3-jplayer]