MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) A Fort Riley nurse has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for stealing morphine from a Salina nursing facility. U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom says 25-year-old Melanie French Morrison pleaded guilty to one count each of consumer product tampering and alteration of a drug. The Manhattan Mercury reports Morrison took syringes from the medical room at Holiday Resort Nursing Facility, removed morphine from vials and replaced it with sodium chloride to hide the theft. Grissom says Morrison took the syringes home and injected herself with the morphine. A nursing director discovered in February 2010 that someone…
Author: KMAN Staff
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) Rekindling romance with an ex may lead to stress and unhappiness. That’s the finding of a Kansas State University researcher. Assistant professor Amber Vennum found that with college-age students, about 40 percent are currently in cyclical relationships the term used for couples who break up and then get back together. Vennum found that couples in a cyclical relationship tended to be more impulsive than other couples about decisions such as moving in together or having a child together. As a result, these cyclical couples tended to be less satisfied with their partner; had worse communication; made more…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The National Park Service says it will replace a plaque at a former Topeka elementary school after a community activist discovered it was missing. Sonny Scroggins says he went to the school last week and found the placque designating the former Sumner Elementary School as a National Historic Landmark was gone. The school was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 because of its role in the Brown v. Board of Education desegregation case in 1954. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the school was closed in 1996 as part of a desegregation plan, and sold…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) A Wichita man convicted of using his sister as a shield during a standoff with officers at a Hutchinson motel has been sentenced to nearly 28 years in prison. Twenty-eight-year-old Deron McCoy Jr. was convicted last month on 12 counts, including aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, kidnapping and aggravated child endangerment. The Hutchinson News reports McCoy was sentenced Friday by Reno County District Judge Tim Chambers. McCoy was arrested in March 2011 after a five-hour standoff that began when his former girlfriend came to pick up their 7-month-old daughter at a Hutchinson motel room. Authorities…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) An imprisoned Kansas doctor who admitted prescribing a painkiller to a woman he never met is getting a rare chance to prove his claim that his previous attorney provided ineffective counsel. U.S. District Judge Monti Belot will hear arguments and evidence Monday in the case of Lawrence Simons, the Goddard physician who pleaded guilty in 2010 to unlawfully prescribing narcotics. Simons is scheduled to complete his prison sentence on March 7. He wants the judge to remove the prohibition that keeps him from practicing medicine during his supervised release. Simons also contends he is innocent and says…
OSAWATOMIE, Kan. (AP) An eastern Kansas man is in custody after a standoff with police that included shots fired at responding officers. The Kansas City Star reports Osawatomie police were told by family members around 9:30 p.m. Saturday that a 31-year-old was intoxicated, heavily armed and possibly suicidal inside his home. Police say the man, who has not been identified, fired several shots inside the home before police arrived, then shot at officers who responded. Police spokesman Robert Butters says the man came outside several times and fired additional rounds. Miami County tactical officers were evacuating people in the neighborhood…
GREAT BEND, Kan. (AP) Few changes are expected at the central Kansas headquarters of Fuller Brush Co. following a bankruptcy protection filing that will let the company eliminate unprofitable products and improve its marketing, a top executive said. The 106-year-old company and its parent firm, New York-based CPAC Inc., both filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week in New York. Fuller Brush said its assets and debts both amount to between $10 million and $50 million. Chief restructuring officer Larry Perkins told The Great Bend Tribune that bankruptcy protection will allow the struggling company to afford raw materials, cover salaries…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Regional differences are complicating a redistricting debate in the Kansas Legislature that already is contentious because of political tensions. State senators are reviewing proposals for redrawing their districts in committee and huddling over maps in pairs and small groups. Some Republicans want to use redistricting to maintain the GOP’s dominance, while some GOP conservatives worry about a bipartisan alliance cutting them out. Enacting a Senate redistricting plan also is proving tricky because some rural senators are hoping to preserve their collective clout, despite population losses over the past decade. If they’re successful, they could keep Johnson County,…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A former aircraft mechanic who fled to Equador after he was charged with selling stolen aircraft parts has asked a federal judge for leniency, arguing his voluntary return to the United States to face charges shows remorse and a willingness to accept responsibility for the crime. Diego Alejandro Paz Teran is scheduled for sentencing Monday before U.S. District Judge Monti Belot on a charge of interstate transfer of stolen property. The former Cessna Aircraft Co. mechanic has admitted that for six months between 2008 and 2009, he stole aircraft parts from his employer and sold them on…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) New state guidelines are prompting the Hutchinson Zoo to limit the types of wild animals it will help at its rehabilitation center. The zoo says it won’t take in deer, pigeons, starlings, raccoons or skunks. The Hutchinson News reports the decision comes after the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism issued new guidelines on caring for wild animals. Zoo director Jana Durham says most wild animals have a better chance of surviving in the wild. And zoo curator Kiley Buggeln says safety is another concern. Many wild animals suffer from diseases such as rabies, distemper or…