Author: KMAN Staff
If you see a large gathering at Triangle Park Saturday night, don’t be surprised. A group calling itself “Occupy MHK” is planning a three hour effort, as part of international protests against what they call corporate greed. “The movement started on a national level on September 17 in New York City,” Jeremy Smith, one of the event organizers, said. “It’s spread to over 1,300 cities since then.” While he is one of the organizers, Smith indicates there’s no real leader of the local group, which began to organize primarily through social networking such as Facebook. Scott Poister is also involved…
The location of utility poles on Purcell and Marlatt road have drawn the ire of Manhattanites in recent weeks. The Riley County commission assessed the issue during a work session at Thursday’s meeting. While no motion was made regarding a solution, the commission did develop a number of alternatives, as the foundation for each pole cost roughly $100,000 to install. With the inherent cost of repositioning the poles being so high, McCulloh and the commission plan to seek other alternatives Riley County’s chief engineer along with the Manhattan Township plan to meet with Westar Representatives in the coming weeks to discuss the options.
Riley County Police were called to Mercy Regional Health Center’s emergency room early Thursday morning for an altercation between a patient and nursing staff. RCPD reports that at 12:35 am, Nurse Meranda Schmitz says that she was trying to calm down Chad Cozby, 35, Manhattan, when he pulled a knife and held it inches from her face. Police say Cozby became highly agitated and started yelling and screaming while being treated for a rash, and leg injury. Cozby was arrested for aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, and obstruction of the legal process. RCPD released Cozby on a $4,000 bond.
HAYSVILLE, Kan. (AP) Police in the Wichita suburb of Haysville say two men wasted law enforcement resources and caused the lockdown of three schools by calling 911 and claiming to be victims of sexual abuse. The Wichita Eagle reports the men, ages 20 and 21, were tracked down Tuesday through their cell phone calls to 911. Police say there was nothing to their claims they had been sexually assaulted. The schools were locked down as a precaution for about an hour Tuesday because of the men’s claims. Police say the calls also tied up 911 dispatchers. Both men were booked…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Department of Commerce is holding a Rural Opportunities Conference aimed at entrepreneurs and telecommunications professionals next month. The department says the two-day gathering in Salina will focus on how businesses can support rural economic development through technology. Sessions will look at market research, analysis and data usage, advertising through social media, technology expansion, and the future of rural telecommunications providers. Scheduled speakers include Gov. Sam Brownback and rural development experts from Manhattan and Lincoln, Neb. The conference takes place Nov. 16-17 event at the Bicentennial Center.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Deer in some parts of Kansas are dying from a disease spread by tiny insects. The state’s park department says epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD, has been found in much of the eastern one-third of the state and as far west as Butler and McPherson counties. Lloyd Fox, a big game coordinator with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, says the disease is most common in years with extended drought. That forces deer to drink from stagnant pools of water, which are breeding grounds for midges, tiny insects that pass infected blood from one deer…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration is offering plans to reform Kansas’ public school finance formula. The proposal includes setting a new baseline for state aid, giving block grants to districts and allowing counties to vote on a special sales tax for education. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the proposals were discussed Wednesday at a public forum in Topeka. Policy director Landon Fulmer says the proposal would allow the state to claim part of the money collected from a 20-mill local property tax collected for schools. That money would put in a state account and distributed to equalize financing…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The interim Topeka city manager has told Shawnee County that the city is offering to prosecute all misdemeanor cases except domestic battery. Dan Stanley met Thursday with Shawnee County Commission Chairwoman Shelly Buhler to discuss prosecution of misdemeanor domestic battery cases in Topeka. The city wants District Attorney Chad Taylor to prosecute those cases. It is the latest development in a flurry of activity that began after Taylor said in September that budget cuts were forcing him to stop prosecuting misdemeanors that occur in Topeka. That prompted the city to repeal its domestic battery ordinance so Taylor…
LINCOLN, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is examining the death of a 22-year-old Glen Elder man who was being held at the Lincoln County Jail. Lincoln County attorney Jennifer O’Hare says Nathaniel Grabast was jailed on Monday after being arrested in a non-injury hit-and-run accident in Barnard. During routine checks Monday evening, Grabast was found unconscious in a cell. O’Hare said a deputy administered CPR and an ambulance was called, but Grabast was pronounced dead at a hospital in Lincoln. The Salina Journal reports that O’Hare says the death is being investigated but no foul play is suspected.