1.) A routine traffic stop lead the Riley County Police Department to arrest a Dwight Kansas man. Police pulled over Jake Fechner at the intersection of Hayes and McCall Road Thursday evening, where Fechner was found to be driving with a revoked license. Fechner was also arrested for driving as a habitual violator and having warrants in Morris County for felony burglary and misdemeanor criminal damage to property. Fechner was pulled over because an unnamed citizen called into Riley County Police to report a reckless driver. Riley County Police are holding Fechner on a $6,000 bond. 2.) Junction City resident, Janis Rice, was arrested Thursday afternoon…
Author: KMAN Staff
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher has signed his restricted free agent tender, which was at the second-round level and will pay him $1,972,000 for the 2012 season. The team announced that Belcher had signed his tender Thursday. Belcher went undrafted in 2009 out of Maine, but he’s become a solid contributor in the middle of the Kansas City defense. He’s made 34 starts in 48 games over three seasons. He also has experience on special teams. Belcher will compete with Brandon Siler for the middle linebacker spot alongside Pro Bowl selection Derrick Johnson this season. Siler…
The Riley County commission spent part of its Thursday meeting ironing out the kinks in a charter resolution that establishes the interim public health advisory board as a formal body. Bylaws that have been developed by the board in the interim will be subject to approval by the county commission. In addition to bylaws, group composition was also discussed. “I think the debate needs to take place as to what specific occupations are represented,” Karen McCulloh, Riley County District #3 commissioner, said. County counselor Clancy Holeman outlined ways in which the commission could specify what professionals it wanted to be represented…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A 77-year-old former mail carrier has admitted in court that she failed to deliver thousands of pieces of mail on her 115-mile northeast Kansas route. Dixie Bontrager, of Whiting, pleaded guilty to mail theft Thursday in federal court in Topeka. Bontrager told The Associated Press last month she didn’t believe she had stolen mail, but simply failed to deliver it. She also said that much of the undelivered mail consisted of advertising. In her plea deal, Bontrager admitted that agents searched four nonworking vehicles on her property in 2010 and found 496 first-class items and more than…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Prosecutors have argued in closing arguments that an Oklahoma woman was so enraged that her ex-husband was remarrying that she killed him and his fiancee as they slept in a Topeka duplex. But an attorney for 52-year-old Dana L. Chandler of Duncan, Okla., countered Thursday that police bungled the investigation into the 2002 killings, describing the lack of evidence as “overwhelming.” The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the case is now in the hands of jurors in Shawnee County District Court. Chandler is charged with two counts of premeditated first-degree murder in the 2002 slayings of Karen Harkness and…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A spokesman says a northeast Kansas prosecutor’s investigation into private meetings of Republican legislators with Gov. Sam Brownback is likely to continue into next month. Lee McGowan, chief of staff to Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor, said Thursday that Taylor’s staff is still interviewing some of the 90-plus lawmakers invited to seven meetings in January at the governor’s residence. Taylor, a Democrat, launched his investigation in February. Brownback, a Republican, met with GOP members of 13 legislative committees, but spokeswoman Sherriene (SHUH’-reen) Jones-Sontag said Brownback is confident the gatherings didn’t violate the Kansas Open Meetings Act.…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Wichita area students have been using their spring break to help others and that includes teaching senior citizens how to play video games. Students volunteered this week at the Andover Senior Center, where they helped residents master a Wii video game that mimics bowling. The center bought the video game system with a grant from the Butler County Department on Aging. Students from Maize, Goddard, Derby, Rose Hill and Wichita are making the trek to Andover this week to help out with the Wii training and spring cleaning at the senior center. The Wichita Eagle reports that…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas teenager who pleaded guilty in the death of his 9-year-old stepbrother has been referred to a psychiatric hospital. Ryan Velez of Assaria pleaded guilty in September to unintentional but reckless second-degree murder in the shooting death of his stepbrother, Kaden Harper. Velez had been certified to stand trial as an adult. The Salina Journal reported that Velez is referred to Larned State Hospital on Wednesday. His lawyer, Mitch Christians, said Larned is better equipped to deal with Velez’s mental health needs than prison. A sentence report recommended Velez be admitted to Larned. His maximum stay…