Pvt. Thomas Lavrey, 21, was pronounced dead at Irwin Army Community Hospital, Fort Riley, Kan. after being found unresponsive in his living quarters May 14. The cause of death is under investigation. Lavrey was a utilities equipment repairer assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Special Troops Battalion, 1st Sustainment Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. Lavrey, a West Seneca, N.Y. native, joined the Army in March 2010. He was assigned to Fort Riley in September 2010.
Author: KMAN Staff
Riley County Treasurer Eileen King indicates the motor vehicle system is down, not only in this county, but statewide. The system went down completely a little after two Wednesday afternoon and King wasn’t sure how long it would be down. King adds driver’s license and property tax business can still be conducted. King had talked to Riley county commissioners earlier this week about problems with the new system, which was recently put into place across the state. Wait times last week varied from half an hour to about two hours. *Update 3:29 pm. The system is now up and fully operational.
– The 2011-12 school year has been one to remember for the Rock Creek boys. First the Mustangs advanced to the semifinals of the 3A state playoffs on the gridiron with a narrow one point loss to Silver Lake, followed a fourth place finish at the state basketball tournament. Now, the Rock Creek baseball team will join the fold with a trip to Tointon Family Stadium for state next Friday and Saturday. The Mustangs (21-2) beat Bennington 7-2 in the regional semifinals on Tuesday night at Leonardville, and then a 5-2 victory over Riley County in the finals. – The…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal law enforcement group is offering a $5,000 reward for information about an arson that severely damaged a Wichita mosque. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering the reward as it helps investigate the Oct. 31 fire at the Islamic Association of Mid-Kansas mosque. Investigators said last week that the fire was intentionally set. No one was injured but the fire caused an estimated $130,000 in damage. KAKE-TV reports that Wichita fire Capt. Stuart Bevis said the fire investigation has been slowed while investigators wait for technical analysis being performed in Maryland. Wichita…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Secretary of State Kris Kobach is asking a federal court to settle political redistricting issues for the Kansas Legislature. Kobach made his request Wednesday in response to a federal lawsuit filed earlier this month over redistricting. Kobach, the state’s chief elections officer, is the defendant in the case, which was filed by a Republican precinct committee member in Olathe. He’s asking that a panel of three judges impose plans to adjust the state’s political boundaries. Kobach’s filing came shortly before a news conference he scheduled to discuss redistricting and only hours before the Senate was debate a…
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Some Kansas college students are walking to Washington D.C. to protest a long-disputed plan to build a highway through wetlands near Lawrence. Students from Haskell Indian Nations University and the University of Kansas plan to walk for 58 days. When they arrive in Washington, they will present a bill to lawmakers that would amend the American Indian Religious Freedom Act to preserve Native American sacred places. The South Lawrence Trafficway would extend Kansas 10 through wetlands near Baker University. A fight over the proposed route has been in the courts for more than 25 years. The…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) After years of complaints about dirty cabs and rude drivers, the Wichita City Council has tightened regulations over taxis in the city. The council on Tuesday approved the first revisions of codes for the taxis since 1984. Under the new codes, cab drivers will be required to take customer service classes. It also establishes twice-yearly cab inspections and raises fees for licensing and inspections. The Wichita Eagle reports that in March, Mayor Carl Brewer said he was tired of customer complaints about driver behavior and customer service. Customers had complained to the city about dirty, improperly clothed…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Police and loved ones of a 23-year-old man say he has been missing from Lawrence since Saturday. Yelekal Alemu was last seen Saturday morning. Relatives say he has missed important family gatherings. His car was found Saturday night on private property in rural Douglas County southeast of Lawrence. It was not damaged. Zachary Luea, an attorney for Alemu’s family, said Tuesday that police had brought in a canine unit to search the area near the car. Alemu is black, 5-foot-10 and weighs 170 pounds, with short hair and a full beard. He was last seen wearing a…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A national group is asking people to contact Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s office and urge him not to sign a bill that would prevent judicial or administrative decisions from being based on foreign legal codes. The Council on American-Islamic relations notes that some supporters expressed concern about courts or government agencies relying on Shariah law in rulings, though there are no known cases in Kansas. The bill doesn’t specifically mention Shariah law, or codes within the Islamic legal system, but the Washington-based group considers the legislation discriminatory. Supporters contend it simply declares that legal decisions in Kansas…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas legislators negotiating the final version of a proposed state budget have decided to include $700,000 for a new Creative Arts Industry Commission. The commission will be formed in July by the merger of the state’s Arts and Film Services commissions under legislation signed last week by Gov. Sam Brownback. The commission will part of the Department of Commerce, focusing on creating arts-related jobs. Brownback proposed the merger and the appropriation of $200,000 for the commission for the fiscal year that starts in July. In their versions of the budget, both chambers included $700,000 and authorized the…