For the first time in more than 45 years, the city and county of Dallas planned Thursday to resume dropping insecticide from the air to combat the nation’s worst outbreak of West Nile virus.
Author: KMAN Staff
Seven American troops and four Afghans died in a Black Hawk helicopter crash on Thursday in southern Afghanistan, the NATO military coalition said. White House press secretary Jay Carney says the incident is still under investigation.
Two items encompassed the Joint City/County/County Meeting as Riley County, the City of Manhattan and Pottawatomie County sat down to discuss the half-cent sales tax presentation by Riley County and also to talk about the Marlatt / Junietta extension update. The sales tax issue is still in the works, but Riley County is already making work of creating brochures and a powerpoint presentation that way they can go out and educate the public. The City of Manhattan, however, still has some work to do, but hopefully after their meeting on Tuesday there should be more answers. Karen McCulloh, Riley County…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is facing criticism over his budget director’s order to state agencies to draft proposals for 10 percent cuts in spending for the next budget year. House Minority Leader Paul Davis, a Lawrence Democrat, said Thursday the directives represent failed priorities. They come after the Republican governor signed income tax cuts into law. Brownback spokeswoman Sherriene Jones-Sontag says the governor is protecting core services and public schools. She said the 10 percent cut won’t apply to aid to public schools. The proposals would be for the fiscal year beginning in July 2013. Budget Director…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) A former student in Johnson County’s Blue Valley School District has refiled a lawsuit alleging students tormented him because they thought he was gay and staff failed to protect him. The plaintiff is seeking $75,000 in the sexual harassment lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Kansas City, Kan. The case was first filed in 2010 and voluntarily dismissed in February. Blue Valley spokeswoman Kristi McNerlin says the district only learned of the lawsuit Thursday and doesn’t comment on pending litigation. The former student says he was harassed while in middle school and high school from…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) A Kansas judge has ordered separate trials for a suburban Chicago couple accused of tying up and blindfolding two of their children outside a Walmart in Lawrence. Adolfo Gomez, 52, and his wife, Deborah Gomez, 44, both pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony child abuse and misdemeanor child endangerment. The Lawrence Journal-World reports Douglas County District Judge Paula Martin scheduled trials Oct. 22 for Deborah Gomez and Nov. 5 for her husband. A Walmart shopper called police June 13 after seeing a child blindfolded and bound near a vehicle in the store parking lot. Police have said Adolfo Gomez…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A judge will hear testimony on the legality of nearly $100,000 in future child support payments made by a former University of Kansas athletics official before he pleaded guilty in a ticket scam. Federal Magistrate Judge Kenneth Gale on Thursday scheduled an evidentiary hearing Sept. 25 in the case of former assistant athletics director Rodney Jones. He is serving a 46-month prison sentence in Oklahoma and will appear by telephone. Prosecutors have been pursuing assets from seven defendants who stole more than $2 million in Kansas football and basketball tickets. Jones made two transfers in 2010 from…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) The Salina Municipal Airport will be renamed the Salina Regional Airport. The city’s airport authority unanimously approved the name change on Wednesday. It will become effective in 30 days. Tim Rogers, executive director of the Salina airport, says the new name more accurately reflects the role the airport has in the regional economy. Rogers said airport staff would start changing logos on letterheads, newsletters and publications as soon as possible. The Salina Journal reports signs will be changed when they are scheduled for maintenance. The airport authority also was notified Tuesday it will receive a $475,182 grant to…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) The outcome of a conservative Kansas House Democrat’s close primary race could depend upon provisional ballots being reviewed by local election officials. The Reno County Commission was meeting Thursday to certify election results, including those from the 102nd Kansas House District. The seat is now held by veteran Rep. Jan Pauls, a Hutchinson Democrat. Gay rights advocates have targeted Pauls because she’s backed legislation they believe would nullify local ordinances meant to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination. In unofficial results, Pauls led her primary opponent, Erich Bishop, also of Hutchinson, by only seven votes, 417 to…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) Three snowy white baby owls rescued and raised at the Hutchinson Zoo are back in the wild. A Reno County resident found the owls three months ago when cutting down a tree. At the time, they were so small that zoo staff didn’t know what kind of owls they were. After being raised at the zoo’s rehabilitation center, the last of the three owls was released Wednesday. Zoo director Jana Durham says the three were among 10 owls rehabilitated at the zoo this year. She says she’s not sure why the zoo rehabilitated so many owls this…