LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Lawrence residents will be asked to approve a $92.5 million bond issue for the city’s public schools. The Lawrence Board of Education voted Monday to put the bond issue to a vote. It is the maximum amount the district could issue without needing permission to exceed a state cap on bonded indebtedness. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the district would not have to raise its property tax mill levy because it is retiring other bonds this year. If approved, nearly $71 million of the bond proceeds would be used for 14 elementary schools. The city’s two high schools…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Shawnee County commission agreed to pay $150,000 to the survivors of an inmate who died while in the county prison. The commission voted Monday night to pay the settlement to the family of 34-year-old John Bradley Rippee, who died in November 2009 at the jail. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the family alleged in its lawsuit that Rippee was given several of his medications without proper clearance before he overdosed on the medicine. The family also alleged the jail did not provide proper medical attention that would have saved Rippee’s life. County counselor Rich Eckert says Rippe…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) A University of Kansas fraternity has been suspended indefinitely by its national organization amid reports that members abused and killed a turkey at a party. The suspension Tuesday came as Lawrence police investigate a report of possible animal cruelty during a party at Beta Theta Phi that drew about 150 people last week. A spokesman for the national organization told The Lawrence Journal-World its leaders were “a little shocked” by accounts of the turkey’s treatment. The turkey had been rented for the party. Witnesses said some fraternity members broke the bird’s cage, chased and choked it and…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A federal judge has found that a proposed class-action settlement in a lawsuit by employees of a Kansas meat packer is fair. U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren held a fairness hearing Monday on the motion for approval of the settlement with Creekstone Farms of Arkansas City. A court notation indicated final orders would be issued Tuesday. The lawsuit alleged that Creekstone failed to pay employees for all of the time they worked. The proposed $195,000 settlement calls for $110,000 to be divided among the 144 class members, based on the overtime weeks each of them worked during…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Let the fitness begin. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has picked the four members of his team that will compete in a state employee weight-loss contest. Brownback issued the challenge last month to encourage Kansas residents to live healthier and shed extra pounds. Joining Brownback’s team are Commerce Secretary Pat George, Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, acting Labor Secretary Lana Gordon and Transportation Secretary Mike King. The contest will run from Jan. 15 through May 15, coinciding with the annual session of the Legislature. Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer is also fielding a team. Brownback invited businesses and…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) A northeastern Kansas man has admitted failing to pay nearly $82,000 in income taxes on money he earned as a subcontractor in Iraq. The U.S. Attorney’s office says Gregory S. Light, 43, of Louisburg, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of tax evasion. Sentencing was scheduled for next April. Prosecutors said Light served in Iraq as a lieutenant colonel with the Kansas Army National Guard. He returned to Iraq following his deployment as a subcontractor with his own company, called Lighthouse Consulting. The government says Light was wired a monthly salary by one contractor, but received…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A stranger’s offer to sell a big-screen TV turned out to be much too good to be true for a Wichita family. KWCH-TV reports a man approached another man in a parking lot Saturday afternoon and showed him a 50-inch TV set. The prospective buyer called his wife, who invited the supposed seller to their home. But instead of selling her the TV, the man robbed her at gunpoint. He left the big TV behind, but it turned out not to work. The initial encounter took place outside a convenience store in south Wichita. No arrest was…
K-State will look to bounce back from last Saturday’s disappointing loss against #14 Gonzaga on Tuesday night when they host Texas Southern. K-State needs to improve on offense after putting up just 52 points against the Zags. The Tigers are just 1-8, but are led by first year coach Mike Davis, who led Indiana to the 2002 national championship game, along with former Oklahoma State point guard Ray Penn. Texas Southern is topped in scoring by Omar Strong, who dropped 39 points in a double overtime loss to Colorado last month. Strong drained nine of 21 three point attempt against…
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) In the entire history of the Kansas City Chiefs, one steeped in tradition, they have never before ranked last in the NFL in scoring over the course of an entire season. The Chiefs (2-12) were blanked by the Oakland Raiders, losers of six straight before Sunday, and thus failed to score an offensive touchdown for the fifth time in 14 games. The last time that happened to them was 1974, when they still managed to somehow win five games. That’s one more win than their best-case scenario this year. The Chiefs were playing their first…
NBC’s chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel and members of his production crew have been freed unharmed following a firefight at a checkpoint after five days of captivity inside Syria, the network confirmed on Tuesday.