Author: KMAN Staff

The Budget for 2013 has been approved by the Pottawatomie County Commission on Monday morning. Commission Chair Gary Yenzer said commissioners were able to lower the mill levy amount in comparison to last years numbers. The commissioners were also updated on the progress for the Justice Center construction project.  The facility will begin another stage of building in mid September.

Read More

BASEHOR, Kan. (AP) The city of Basehor will pay $200,000 to a former city administrator who was fired last year. The City Council on Monday also formally apologized to Mark Loughry for allegations of wrongdoing made by some council members when he was fired. The allegations were found to be false. The Lawrence Journal-World reports (http://bit.ly/Rd0mj6 ) the settlement comes after Loughry said he planned to sue the city for defamation, breach of contract and due-process violations. None of the council members who voted to fire Loughry in September 2011 are on the council. Voters recalled two of them, along…

Read More

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt plans to tour the state this week to announce a new anti-gang initiative. The Wichita Eagle  reports Schmidt will start his tour at 9 a.m. Wednesday in Kansas City, Kan., followed by stops at 11:30 a.m. in Topeka and 4 p.m. in Wichita. On Thursday he’ll be in southwest Kansas, with stops in Dodge City at 9 a.m., Garden City at 11:30 a.m. and Liberal at 3 p.m. Schmidt will conclude the tour Friday with a 9 a.m. presentation at the Kansas Highway Patrol auditorium in Salina. All of the attorney general’s…

Read More

Transportation was  one of the topics of Monday’s  Pottawatomie County Commission meeting. Dustin Trego, the county’s Management Assistant of Operations, said the number of people riding the bus has increased.  With that increase revenues from the program are up. For anyone interested in the program you can call 1- 877-728 -0433, or visit www.pottcounty.org for more information.

Read More

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) A Kansas man who called police last year to report committing a sexual act on a 3-month-old child has now pleaded guilty to the crime. The Hutchinson News reports that 25-year-old Michael Sherman faces up to life in prison following the plea Monday to aggravated criminal sodomy of a child. He could receive parole after 25 years, under Kansas law. Sherman’s lawyer and Reno County District Attorney Keith Schroeder both say there was no plea agreement in the case. Sherman had been scheduled to go on trial Tuesday. Sherman was arrested at his Hutchinson home last December…

Read More

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Relatives of a man who committed suicide at the Sedgwick County Jail have filed a wrongful death claim against Sheriff Robert Hinshaw. The family of Jonathan Haehn is seeking $250,000 in damages in the wrongful death claim, which is the first step toward filing a lawsuit. Haehn hanged himself with a bedsheet on May 24. The family claims they warned jail staff that Haehn was bipolar and an alcoholic and was a risk for suicide. Hinshaw told The Wichita Eagle that the county has denied the claim because a screening on Haehn didn’t show him being at…

Read More

GREAT BEND, Kan. (AP) The state wildlife department will set dates for this year’s duck season this week, which has become a contentious issue in southeast Kansas. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism commission will meet Thursday in Great Bend. The Wichita Eagle reports duck hunters say the birds arrive later in southeast Kansas than in other parts of the state, where the season opens in late October. The department is suggesting opening the season Nov. 3. But commissioners Don Budd, of Kansas City, and Robert Wilson, of Pittsburg, think it should open one or two weeks later.…

Read More