Author: KMAN Staff
Manhattan’s Regional Airport has been working on expansion plans for quite some time, and Tuesday night’s Manhattan City Commission moved plans forward a bit. Airport Director Peter Van Kuren brought the next phase of improvement to the Commission, the design development and bid services stage. Also included in the proposal was the acceptance of a 90-10% funding grant from the Federal Aviation Administration. The commission approved the package by a unanimous vote. The item that garnered the most discussion, however, came from the consent agenda. The debate resulted from a proposal to explore options for moving Parks and Recreation offices…
After 32 years of service, Battalion Chief Craig Paxton will be retiring from the Junction City Fire Department. Paxton began his career June 23, 1981 and has advanced from a firefighter position through every officer position within the department during his career. Paxton didn’t expect this to be his career. “A buddy and I were sitting around talking about it one day,” Paxton said. “We saw an ad in the paper. We were both working construction at the time way back. I talked him into applying with me and almost 32 years later, we’re both still firefighters.” Paxton’s last day will be June…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas House majority leader has been spared a primary election showdown with a fellow Republican lawmaker who’s also a political ally. This year’s political redistricting put Majority Leader Arlen Siegfreid and Rep. Mike Kiegerl in the same House district. Both are from the Johnson County city of Olathe. Kiegerl had made clear he didn’t want to run against his friend, but he filed before the redistricting was complete and was unable to meet a deadline for quitting the race. On Tuesday, the State Objections Board took care of the matter by granting Siegfreid’s request to remove…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas Democrat has lost a bid to get on the primary ballot for a state House seat after his filing form somehow went astray. Larry Meeker, of Lake Quivira, hoped to seek the Democratic nomination in the 17th House District in the Kansas City area. But Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s office refused to put Meeker on the Aug. 7 primary ballot, saying he never filed. Democrats contend Kobach’s office lost Meeker’s form when a party staffer delivered it before the filing deadline. Kobach’s office contends it has no record of receiving the form. The State…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas gay rights group has failed to block a conservative Democrat from seeking re-election to the state House. The State Objections Board on Tuesday rejected a challenge to the primary election filing by Rep. Jan Pauls, of Hutchinson. The challenge came from Tom Witt, executive director of the Kansas Equality Coalition. The coalition has clashed with Pauls over issues such as same-sex marriage. Witt questioned whether Pauls truly lives at a former church the lawmaker claims as her knew address. Witt said Pauls and her husband cannot live there legally. Pauls said she has made the…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Sedgwick County jailer is under arrest following allegations that the man raped two male inmates in their cells. Sheriff’s detectives arrested the 21-year-old detention deputy Tuesday on suspicion of several offenses, including aggravated criminal sodomy and mistreatment of confined persons. The case was being presented to the district attorney’s office for possible charges. The sheriff’s office in Wichita says it became aware of an initial allegation on June 3 and a second allegation Monday. In both instances, male inmates in their 20s said the deputy entered their cells in the middle of the night and sexually…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Illinois officials say the parents of two small children found tied up and blindfolded in a Kansas Walmart parking lot were investigated last year for possible neglect. A spokesman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services says the agency opened a case on the family in December after verifying a report of neglect. Kendall Marlowe says the case was closed in April and the children were allowed to remain with the family. Adolfo Gomez Jr. and his wife, Deborah Gomez, are charged in Douglas County with two counts of child abuse and five counts of…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) An official of the annual Wichita motorcycle parade that collects toys and holiday donations for charity has died in a motorcycle crash. Sedgwick County authorities say 55-year-old Holly Potelle, of Harper, was riding on Kansas 42 near Viola around 6 p.m. Monday when a strong gust of wind pushed her motorcycle into a ditch. KAKE-TV reports the motorcycle struck a driveway, throwing Potelle about 30 feet into the air. Potelle lived in Harper and taught language arts at Harper Elementary School. She was the director of the Wichita Toy Run, a benefit motorcycle ride that collects toys…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Texas man has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for robberies in Topeka, Lawrence and Wichita. Federal prosecutors announced Tuesday that 26-year-old David B. Johnson, of Lubbock, Texas, was sentenced for robberies at a yogurt shop and convenience store in Topeka, an adult entertainment store in Lawrence and a sandwich shop in Wichita. All the robberies occurred in January. Johnson was sentenced after pleading guilty to four counts of robbery and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm. Johnson led police on a chase that reached 100 mph shortly after the robbery in…