(KAIR)--Helicopter transport was required after a car and motorcycle collided Tuesday evening in rural Atchison County.

Atchison County Sheriff Jack Laurie said it happened when a Ford Focus, driven southbound on U.S. Highway 59 by 18-year-old Atchison resident Allison Herbig, attempted to turn east onto 254th Road. As she made the maneuver, a Harley Davidson motorcycle, driven by 58-year-old Clay Biester, of Valley Falls, attempted to pass the car on the left side.

The motorcycle struck the driver's side of the car, then ran into the southeast corner of the intersection and into the ditch.

Biester was flown from the scene by LifeStar helicopter to the University of Kansas Hospital, in Kansas City, Kansas, for the treatment of what Laurie identified as severe injuries.

Herbig was transported to the Atchison Hospital by Atchison County EMS for the treatment of unspecified injuries.

According to a report from the Kansas Highway Patrol, Herbig was buckled up at the time of the wreck. Biester was wearing a helmet when he was ejected from the motorcycle.

The wreck happened around 6:45 Tuesday evening.

(KAIR)--A mill levy reduction is noted in the budget approved for publication by the Atchison County Commission.

In 2018, the budget included a mill levy of 54.444, while the budget now compiled for 2019 shows a mil levy of 53.137 mils.

According to the Atchison County Clerk's office, one mill represents a tax value of $165,709.

The 2019 budget carries a budget authority of nearly $17.5 million, compared to the 2018 authority of $16.8 million.

A public hearing is now set for the afternoon of August 7, at 1:30, in the commission room at the Atchison County Courthouse.

(KAIR)--The female victim of aggravated sexual battery at the hands of an Elwood, Kansas Police Officer was "detained or confined" by him at the time of the crime.

That allegation is outlined in a criminal complaint filed Monday in Doniphan County District Court.

30-year-old Aaron Matthew Newberry was arrested by the Elwood Police Department July 21 on charges of aggravated sexual battery and mistreatment of a confined person.

He has since been formally charged, making a first appearance in a Doniphan County courtroom on Monday.

He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on August 7.

Nemaha County Attorney Brad Lippert is named in court documents as the special prosecutor in the case.

Newberry remains in custody at the Doniphan County Jail.

His bond is set at $50,000.

It remains unknown how long Newberry had served as an Elwood Police Officer.

His current status with the department, following his arrest, also remains unknown.

A telephone message left for Elwood Police officials on the morning of July 27 has gone unreturned.

A Freedom of Information Act request sent to the City of Elwood by MSC News later that day, seeking public information pertaining to Newberry's employment, has also gone unanswered.

A photo of Aaron Newberry, as posted to his now deleted Facebook profile/Credit: Facebook 

(KLZA)-- A Falls City man was arrested the afternoon of July 25th on a felony charge of assault of a health care professional.

The Falls City Police Department received a call due to a disturbance in the Community Medical Center emergency room. 

Police say 26-year-old Joshua Murphy was in the emergency room when he became combative and allegedly assaulted a  hospital staff member.  

Murphy was booked into the Richardson County Jail.                                                      

(KAIR)--An early Monday morning traffic stops ends with the arrest of a Topeka man, accused of possessing drugs as he traveled through Atchison.

Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson told MSC News the vehicle, driven by Corey Rosenberger, was stopped by police around 2:00. “We had an officer on patrol stop a vehicle in the 2000 block of U.S. Highway 59,” Wilson said. “That led to the discovery of methamphetamine inside the vehicle. Not only does the 49-year-old Topeka man now face a number of traffic charges but also drug charges.”

Rosenberger was taken into custody on charges including possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, driving while revoked, no liability insurance, expired registration, and speeding.

Following his arrest, Rosenberg was booked in to the Atchison County Jail.

(KMZA)--A $45,000 grant is gifted to the Original Pony Express Home Station, in Marysville.

That word comes in an email to MSC New from Administrator Jan DeGroot, who says the funds were provided by the National Park Foundation.

The money will be used to strengthen the roof support system of the historic barn.

According to a news release, announcement by the National Park Foundation of the award is made in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the National Trails and National Wild and Scenic Rivers system.

The release says the funds for the Barn Roof Stabilization Project will include additional support for re-pointing the mortar in the old stone walls and improving parking for the museum due to what the release calls “an increasing number of visitors in recent years.”

Museum Board President Charles Weickert in the release says that due to the grant, restoration efforts that have long been needed can now be addressed, allowing for the preservation of the integrity of the structure “that was an important part of America's past.” Weickert notes that “seismic activity is an increasing problem in Kansas and makes it even more important to keep [the] barn secure for the future.”

The project is one of 20 across the country being funded by the National Park Foundation.

(KMZA)--The Nemaha County Sheriff's Department has launched an investigation following the theft of an all terrain vehicle from a rural Sabetha location.

The Sheriff's Department says an unknown person took a 2004 Polaris Sportsman 400 ATV from 2739 X Road sometime between July 20th and 25th.

Described as being green in color, the value of the ATV is estimated at around $2,500.

Anyone with information on the theft should contact the Nemaha County Sheriff's Office in Seneca.

(KLZA) -- The Department of Home Land Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency's Region VII office will coordinate a one-day exercise Tuesday involving several local entities.

The states of Nebraska and Missouri,  the counties on Richardson and Nemaha in Nebraska and Atchison County, Missouri along with the Nebraska Public Power District which owns the  Cooper Nuclear Plant, located near Brownville,  will all take part in the drill. 

The routine exercise will test the liabilities of the states, the utility, and the participating counties to protect the health and safety of the public living and working in the vicinity of the Cooper Nuclear Station. 

The exercise is required to be completed on a biennial basis to determine the adequacy of the state and local radiological emergency preparedness and response plans. 

FEMA will monitor the state, county and local units of government and Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials will observe the on-site performance at the Cooper plant. 

Thursday, August 2, a public meeting will be held to describe and explain the full-scale response exercise process.  Only preliminary findings will be reviewed.  

The public meeting will be at 10:00 A.M., at the Nebraska Public Power District, Emergency Operations Facility at 902 Central Avenue, in Auburn. 

(Monday, July 30)-  An Endangered Missing Advisory has been issued for eastern Nebraska.

The Nebraska State Patrol is attempting to locate, Terrese A. Tressler, who is a 63 year old, white female, approximately 5'6" tall, approximately 200 lbs, with blonde/grey long hair, and blue eyes.

Tressler has a tattoo on her right wrist of infinity and a tattoo on her right big toe of a flower. Tressler wears glasses and has a scar on her forehead. Tressler is missing from the Meadow Grove area and was last seen in the Nebraska City area at about 2:30 AM, July 30, 2018.

Tressler is known to drive a silver, 2012 Toyota Corolla, bearing Nebraska license plate number 7C5071. If you have any information, please call 911 or contact the Nebraska State Patrol at 402-331-3333.
 

(KMZA)--A scam is circulating using the name of a well known cell phone company in an attempt to rip off targeted victims.

That word is delivered in a release issued by the Nemaha County Sheriff's Office.

The release notes that phone calls are being received from an 800 number, with the caller claiming to be working for Verizon.

The caller tells the recipient that their account has been suspended, and then provides another number to be called.

The Sheriff's Office said the number does not belong to Verizon, but to scammers, and the company does not use such methods to contact customers.

No information should be provided, and those who receive the call should simply hang up immediately.

The release notes that a similar scam attempt is also being reported with DIRECTV being falsely represented.

(KAIR)--A 25-year-old man is in custody in connection with what the Leavenworth Police Chief is calling a potential road rage incident.

In a Facebook post Monday afternoon, Police Chief Pat Kitchens said his department received a call regarding a disturbance involving a weapon.

Officers responded, located the suspect vehicle, and a pursuit began, which traveled into Missouri.

It was there the Missouri Highway Patrol and Platte County Sheriff's Deputies joined the effort.

Crossing back into Kansas, the Kansas Highway Patrol became involved, and stop sticks, along with other unspecified measures, were used to disable the vehicle at I-435 and Wolcott Road.

The man was taken into custody a short time later.

His name is not immediately made public.

Kitchens said he was evaluated by medical personnel prior to being booked into custody.

The type of weapon reported to police has not been disclosed.

(KLZA)-- A Falls City man is being held at the Richardson County Law Enforcement Center following his arrest, escape and a foot pursuit on July 21. 

Falls City Police officer Zach Ractliffe and Sgt. Patrick Stamper located 33-year-old Jeremy Vice who was wanted on a warrant.

During the process of making the arrest, Vice was combative and allegedly assaulted one of the officers, then fled on foot.  The officers pursued Vice on foot.  

Officer James Wason who was not on duty at the time, viewed what had occurred and assisted in stopping Vice when he fled.

Vice was arrested for escape, assault of a police officer , possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest in addition to the charges in the warrant.

(KLZA)-- Nemaha County, Nebraska Commissioners have awarded a bid for a bridge project.  

During their Wednesday meeting the Board opened six sealed bids for the work.  The contract was awarded to  Midwest Underground in an amount of $383,561 which includes a discount of just over $5-thousand as the county will provide and haul the rock after the bridge is completed.

Bids ranged from the low bid from Midwest Underground to more than $615-thousand.  

Commissioners also discussed the future costs of Nemaha County employee health insurance with representatives of the Harry Koch Agency and the Auburn Agency. 

Sharon Hessler was reappointed to the Nemaha County Visitors / Tourism Board for a 4-year term and Cory Jeanneret was reappointed to the Veterans Service Board for five years.                                                       
 

(KAIR)--An engagement ring disappears after furniture is delivered to an Effingham residence; and when the investigation wraps up, a furniture delivery employee goes to jail.

The disappearance happened on August 15 of last year. “Investigators were able to get a hold of the furniture company and find out who the employees were who delivered the furniture,” Atchison County Sheriff Jack Laurie told MSC News.

Laurie who told MSC News the case concluded when the arrest was made in Topeka last week. “The [Kansas] Highway Patrol had encountered him, and they arrested him on our warrant, and we picked him up on it.”

Arrested on the warrant, which had been issued just days after the furniture was delivered, was Damion McClelland.

He had been delivering furniture on behalf of Topeka's Furniture Mall of Kansas at the time the ring disappeared.

Following his arrest, McClelland was booked into the Atchison County Jail on July 24, and faces a charge of theft.

(KNZA)--A Saturday morning Brown County motorcycle crash left a Hiawatha man injured.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, 55-year-old Richard Siebenmorgen was eastbound on U.S. Highway 36, just west of Kestrel Road, when he rounded a corner.

The Yamaha didn't make the maneuver; instead, it went off the roadway to the south and struck a sign, with the impact ejecting Siebenmorgen from the motorcycle.

The Patrol report says he was transported to the Hiawatha Community Hospital for the treatment of disabling injuries.

The wreck happened shortly before 10:30 Saturday morning.

(KAIR)--The body of a missing Leavenworth woman has been found.

According to the Leavenworth Police Department's Facebook page, the body of Brittany Janae Fields was recovered around 12:15 Saturday afternoon in the Missouri River.

Leavenworth Police Chief Pat Kitchens, in the Facebook post, said Leavenworth Police and Fire recovered Fields' body about 4 miles south of what he identifies as the blue bridge.

In the post, Kitchens said the investigation is continuing.

Early Friday, Fields' car was discovered in a parking lot, near a boat ramp, along the Missouri River.

Police said her personal belongings were found both inside the car and on the boat ramp.

Fields was 22-years-old,

Anyone with information should contact Leavenworth Police at 913-682-4411.

(KNZA)--A Topeka woman is dead, killed Saturday night in a single vehicle Jackson County crash.

The Kansas Highway Patrol identifies the victim as 43-year-old Lyndee Scott.

She was driving her Toyota Camry eastbound on 158th Road, just west of U.S. Highway 75, 2 miles south of Mayetta, when she lost control.

The car left the roadway and crashed into the southbound ditch, went airborne and flipped, coming to rest upside down.

The fatal crash happened around 11:40 Saturday night.

(KAIR)--An Elwood Police Officer is jailed in Doniphan County, arrested this month on sex related charges.

According to Doniphan County Jail records, 30-year-old Aaron Matthew Newberry was arrested July 21 by the Elwood Police Department.

According to the records, he's facing charges including aggravated sexual battery and mistreatment of a confined person.

Photos on Newberry's Facebook page, posted within the past two months, show him in uniform, wearing the Elwood Police Department's badge.

Credit: Facebook

It's not immediately known how long he has worked for the department, what his status was at the time of his arrest, or his current status with the department.

A phone message left by MSC News for Elwood Police officials Friday was not immediately returned.

According to Doniphan County District Court, Newberry's first appearance is scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Court records regarding the details of the alleged crimes are not immediately filed.

(KLZA)-- A Skidmore, Missouri man was arrested earlier this month and  charged with vehicle theft and possession of drug paraphernalia. 

33-year-old Nick Schuetz allegedly stole a 1993 Chevrolet in Falls City on July 18th.  Schuetz was located along with the vehicle Sunday, July 22nd in Falls City. 

During the course of the arrest, Falls City Police officers also allegedly discovered Schuetz to be in possession of drug paraphernalia at the time of his arrest. 

Schuetz has bonded out of jail.                                                        
 

(KAIR)--A Thursday night all terrain vehicle crash required helicopter transport for a Lancaster man.

According to Atchison County Sheriff Jack Laurie, 20-year-old Blake Camp suffered disabling injuries when he was thrown from the ATV, including a possible broken leg and arm.

He was flown to the University of Kansas Hospital, in Kansas City, Kansas, for treatment.

The wreck happened shortly after 10:15 just south of 302nd Road on Morton Road.

Laurie said Camp lost control of the 2008 Honda, which caused him to be thrown from the vehicle, leading to his injuries.

(KNZA)--Uninvited guests are inhabiting the Brown County Historical Society’s Memorial Auditorium Museum in downtown Hiawatha---little brown bats.

Historical Society Director Lynn Allen discussed the problem when she met with the Brown County Commission during their July 23rd meeting.

Allen said a pest control company has told them there is a colony of around 200 bats nesting among the rafters in the century-old building--mostly in the auditorium above the stage.

Allen said they have been regularly cleaning up bat poo from the stage area. She said they worry about disease being spread from the droppings and don't want people entering the auditorium exposed to it.

The Hiawatha Area Arts and Theatre Society--which regularly puts on productions in the auditorium--has told the Historical Society they may have to find another place unless the problem is resolved.

Allen says they have obtained the services of Critter Control from the Topeka/Lawrence area to address the problem, but it will cost $14,000.  

The company plans to seal up all entry points into the auditorium--including small cracks or gaps.  Once all the cracks are sealed, the company will install one-way valves for the bats to exit the building.  

The little brown bat is one of the most common bats in the United States  Its very small--from 2.5 inches to 4 inches--and weighs no more than half an ounce.

(KNZA)--A single-vehicle Jefferson County rollover wreck early Thursday evening sent a teenager to the hospital.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reports 17-year-old Aftyn Hankins, of Eudora, was westbound in the 49-hundred block of 102nd Road when her Chevy Suburban left the right side of the road.  The vehicle struck a fence and rolled 3 ½ times.

Hankins, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from her vehicle.

She was transported to Topeka’s Stormont-Vail hospital with what the Patrol describes as disabling injuries.

The wreck was reported shortly before 6:00 Thursday evening.

Pictured clockwise from left: Kristina Lewis, Elton Provo, Myra Hagler, Barbara Slemp, Jami Weeks, and Gary Allen/Credit: Brown Co Sheriff's Office

(KNZA)--A lengthy investigation by the Hiawatha Police Department has lead to the arrest of seven people on drug related charges.

According to a press release from Hiawatha Police Chief John Defore, a search warrant was served at 607 Ottawa Street Wednesday evening following the investigation into allegations of illegal drug use and sale from the residence.

Taken into custody were 45-year-old Gilbert Allen, 35-year-old Myra Hagler, 47-year-old Kristina Lewis, 51-year-old Elton Provo, 42-year-old Barbara Slemp and 37-year-old Jami Weeks, all of Hiawatha, along with 26-year-old Stephen Cadue of Horton.

Steven Cadue/Credit: Brown Co Sheriff's Office

All seven were booked into the Brown County Jail.

The Kansas Highway Patrol assisted in the execution of the search warrant.

Defore says criminal charges are pending against the seven individuals following completion of investigative reports and review by the Brown County Attorney.

The investigation is ongoing.

(KNZA)--A former Horton man charged in Brown County child abuse case has waived his preliminary hearing.

28-year-old Justin Ziegler, currently of Cuba, Missouri, was bound over to Brown County District Court Wednesday  on charges of aggravated battery and felony abuse of a child.

Arraignment was scheduled for September 10th.

Ziegler is accused of beating a child born last year.  The child required hospitalized treatment.

Ziegler was charged in April following an investigation by the Horton Police Department and Brown County Sheriff’s Department.

He remains free on bond.

(KNZA)--The preliminary hearing for a Hiawatha woman facing a pair of child sex charges has been pushed back again.

Brown County Attorney Kevin Hill says the attorney for 19-year-old Teaini
Simmons requested a continuance Wednesday so they could enter in to formal plea negotiations.

The court granted the request and rescheduled the preliminary hearing for August 22nd.

Simmons faces charges of rape and aggravated indecent liberties with a child.

She was arrested May 15th following an investigation by the Hiawatha Police Department.

The investigation was launched after the department received a report from a concerned citizen that Simmons was romantically involved with a child under the age of 14.

She remains in the Brown County Jail, held on a $100,000 bond.
 

(MSC News)--A plea deal has been reached, and a bond reduction granted, in the case against an Ohio Man charged in May’s bomb threat at Highland Community College.

The Kansas Chief reports D’Vonte Guyton recently waived his preliminary hearing on a felony charge of aggravated criminal threat and was bound over to Doniphan County District Court for arraignment on August 29th.

The newspaper reports Guyton’s attorney, Bill McQuillan, told the court that he and Doniphan County Attorney Charles Baskins have worked out a plea agreement.  Details of that agreement haven’t been disclosed.

McQuillan also requested Guyton be released from jail on an OR ( own recognizance) bond.

The judge denied the request for an OR bond but did reduce his bond from $450,000 to $10,000.

The bomb threat, which was received by telephone on May 9th, led to the evacuation of the Highland campus and to the postponement of finals for students.

No explosive device was discovered following a search of the campus, and its buildings, by law enforcement.

Authorities were able to trace the call to an address in  North College Hill, Ohio.  Guyton, who was an on-line student at Highland, later turned himself in to police.   

(KNZA)--A former Hoyt man facing multiple child-sex related charges is to be sentenced next month after being found guilty on a single count of sexual exploitation of a child.

The Holton Recorder reports a Jackson County jury returned the verdict in the second trial against 53-year-old Leon Holloway, currently of Onaga.

Holloway was charged in May 2015 with rape, aggravated indecent liberties with a child and two counts of aggravated criminal sodomy in connection with alleged offenses occurring between April 2013 and March 2015 in the city of Hoyt involving a girl under the age of 14.

An additional case was then filed against Holloway in 2017 charging him with nine counts of sexual exploitation of a child involving the alleged possession of  child pornography.

A judge declared a mistrial in December 2017 in the first case after a jury was unable to reach an unanimous verdict.

The two cases were combined and a new trial date set.

Holloway is to be sentenced August 24th in Jackson County District Court.    

(KAIR)--One person required hospital treatment following a single vehicle Atchison County wreck late Wednesday afternoon.

A news release issued by Atchison County Sheriff Jack Laurie identifies the injured as 21-year-old Kansas City resident Carlynn Micky.

She was the driver of a 2002 Infinity, southbound on U.S. Highway 73, that went off the roadway when Micky tried to negotiate a curve near Rooks Road.

She lost control of the car, which ran into the ditch on the north side of the highway.

Micky was transported to the Atchison Hospital for treatment of injuries.

A passenger in the car was not hurt.

The release states that several witnesses had reported to deputies prior to the wreck that the car was being driven recklessly at a high rate of speed.

A DUI investigation was conducted, and is now complete, but the results are pending.

The wreck happened shortly after 4:30. 

(KNZA)--The Hiawatha Police Department is gearing up for it's annual National Night Out event.

On Tuesday, Aug. 7, neighborhoods throughout Hiawatha are being invited to join forces with thousands of communities nationwide for the “35th Annual National Night Out” crime and drug prevention event.

For the 24th year, the Hiawatha Police Department will sponsor the National Night Out. Agencies will set up displays in the Schuneman Addition at the Fisher Center on East Iowa Street from 6–8 p.m. These include the Brown County Sheriff’s Department, Squad 48, Town and Country Ambulance and Hiawatha Fire Department.

Hiawatha Police Chief John Defore said this year's event will be extra special. 

"We are serving corn dogs and bottled water donated from our local Sonic," he said. "Sonic is also donating toys to give away with meals. We will also have Dr. Pepper and Diet Dr. Pepper donated by the good folks at Seneca Wholesale. We will have chips purchased through donations from Wal-Mart, Casey’s General store and Citizens Bank. We will be icing down those drinks courtesy of Nigus Retail Liquor’s Ice donation and since we need tubs for ice, Farm and Home has been a long time donator of stock water tanks for the event."

"So please help us thank these longtime supporters, without them we could not do any of this," he continued.

Residents can also swim free of charge that evening from 7 to 9 at the Hiawatha Acquatic Park.

(KNZA)--A Topeka man is facing child-related sex charges, arrested on a Jackson County District Court warrant in connection with the alleged crimes.

According to a news release issued by Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse, 28-year-old Jamie Michael Woltje was taken into custody Tuesday, following an investigation into “allegations of sex crimes involving a minor child.”

The arrest warrant for Woltje was issued July 10 for the charges of rape of a child under 14-years of age, aggravated criminal sodomy of a child under 14-years of age, and aggravated indecent liberties with a child under 14-years of age.

The release says the crimes allegedly occurred in March 2015 in the City of Holton.

Woltje was apprehended in Shawnee County Tuesday evening by the U.S. Marshal's Task Force.

He was booked into the Shawnee County Jail, with bond set at $25,000.

(KAIR)--Damages in excess of $75,000 are sought in a lawsuit filed against an Atchison County owned senior care facility.

The lawsuit, filed last month in Atchison County District Court, alleges that a former resident suffered injuries, resulting in death, due to negligent practices at Atchison Senior Village.

The lawsuit is filed on behalf of Atchison County resident Terrie Goodpasture whose mother, Towanda Juanita Goodpasture, died July 2, 2016 while residing at Senior Village, where she had lived since December, 2014.

The lawsuit claims that Towanda Goodpasture received improper care, neglect, and abuse, which ultimately played a role in her death, following a fall that broke her hip on June 22, 2016.

The lawsuit alleges that numerous state and federal regulations “governing intermediate and skilled nursing facilities" were violated, and makes the claim that steps were made to change the records related to the late resident's physical condition following the fall.

Named in the lawsuit are Atchison Senior Village, the Atchison County Commission, Atchison Senior Village Administrator Peggy House, Directors of Nursing Tina Paradise-Hall and Leesa Mosher, and Andrea Clark and Donna Peterson, both identified in the lawsuit as employees who provided care to Towanda Goodpasture following her fall.

Four counts are outlined in the document: negligent health care, wrongful death, breach of warranty of habitability, and breach of contract.

The lawsuit was filed June 27 by the Saint Joseph, Missouri law firm Murphy, Taylor, Siemens, and Elliott P.C. on behalf of Terrie Goodpasture and the Estate of Towanda Goodpasture.

A hearing date is not immediately set.

(KNZA)---Representatives of the Brown County Historical Society met with the County Commission Monday to ask that they reconsider the organization’s  2019 budget allocation.

Historical Society Treasurer Delores Waite showed the Commission that as of July 19, the organization was operating at a more than $5,000 loss so far for the year.

Since submitting their budget request, Waite says the Historical Society has approved a $14,000 contract with a local pest control firm to address the  ongoing problem with bats in their downtown Memorial Auditorium Museum.

The Hiawatha Area Arts and Theatre Society, which uses the building, has told the Historical Society if the problem is not resolved they may have to find a new home.  

Historical Society Director Lynn Allen said the stage curtains in the auditorium need to be replaced. Grants will be sought to help cover the estimated cost of $20,000.  

Waite also explained the ongoing expense of the Hiawatha World office building, owned by the organization, which is responsible for paying the taxes and insurance.

Commission Chairman Steve Roberts told the Historical Society representatives the 2019 county budget is already set and has been approved for publication.

It includes $52,500 budgeted for the Historical Society, a $2,500 increase over what they received for 2018.  The Historical Society had requested $55,000 for 2019.  

The Commission is to consider adoption of the 2019 budget following a public hearing at their August 6th meeting.

(KAIR)--A Jefferson County roofer is banned from doing business in Kansas.

That word is delivered in a press release issued Tuesday by Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

Along with the ban, the release says Sonny Peterson, of Nortonville, has been ordered to repay two consumers after being found in violation of the Kansas consumer protection laws.

The release says Peterson, who did business as S&J Carpentry/Roofing and S&J Carpentry, is prohibited from operating as a roofing contractor in the state “until he properly registers with the attorney general's office, as required by law.”

A Jefferson County District Judge last week entered the injunction after Peterson's company failed to respond to a lawsuit filed by the attorney general in 2016.

The case had been on hold after Peterson filed for bankruptcy in 2017, with that case dismissed last week.

The Judge has ordered Peterson to pay a total of $13,400 in restitution to two Jefferson County consumers, as well as a civil penalty and the costs of the attorney general's investigation.

The release says the attorney general had alleged that Peterson was operating as a roofer despite having not properly registered with the state, and accepted payment to perform roofing services that he never delivered.

(KAIR)--An Atchison man is accused of the theft of a vehicle, and when he was arrested, he was allegedly in possession of drugs.

Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson told MSC News the investigation began last week. “We investigated the theft of a 1991 Chevrolet truck, from the 1000 block of North 10th, that was taken on July 19,” Wilson said.

The investigation into the theft led to the issuance of an arrest warrant for Brent Buettgenbach who was located Monday. “That investigation led to a warrant being issued for a 52-year-old Atchison man, who was located at 8 p.m. Monday evening in the 800 block of Parallel. During his arrest he was found to be in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, specifically a glass smoking pipe used to smoke marijuana. He's been a focus of several, recent investigations, which included also a burglary, that he's now been charged with, also in the 1000 block of North 10th.”

Wilson said the vehicle was located prior to Buettgenbach's arrest. “The vehicle did belong to a person out of Dekalb, Missouri. The vehicle had been in Atchison for a number of days and then was reported stolen...soon after the theft was reported, the vehicle was recovered.”

According to a report from Atchison County Sheriff Jack Laurie, deputies stopped the pickup truck, just inside Leavenworth County, near Easton Road, the same evening that it was stolen.

Although no arrest was made at the time, the truck was recovered and the stop led to the identities of the truck's occupants.

Following his arrest on the related charges, Buettgenbach was booked into the Atchison County Jail.

(KAIR)--A local firm is chosen to serve as general contractor for the renovation of Atchison's lone movie theater.

That word comes in a news release issued by the Executive Director for Theatre Atchison, with the nonprofit organization working to renovate the former downtown movie theater into a state-of-the-art facility.

Travis Grossman, in the release, says Atchison based L&L Construction will serve as general contractor for the Fox Movie Theatre renovation project, and calls the selection “a great partnership” due to what Grossman says is L&L's commitment to “awarding subcontracts to as many local companies as possible,” which he says “resonated with [Theatre Atchison's] board of directors.”

Theatre Atchison in October of last year officially purchased the downtown movie theater, and has over the past year been working on the planning, designing and fundraising necessary for what is known as the Silver Screen Project. The goal is develop a first run movie theater with three auditoriums and a total seating capacity of around 275.

The theater building, located at 612 Commercial Street, last housed the Royal Theater, which closed in 2014.

Design contracts are already in place with WDM Architects, of Wichita, and Henderson Engineers, of Lenexa, while fundraising efforts continue to advance.

Grossman, in the release, says the project has secured about $1.5 million in commitments, with the total costs expected at around $2 million.

A spring 2019 opening is expected for the Fox Theatre.

(MSC News)--The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has issued a high-risk warning for West Nile virus infections (WNV) for northcentral, southcentral, and southwest Kansas.

Northeast, southeast, and northwest Kansas are at moderate risk for WNV infections.

West Nile virus can be spread to people through mosquito bites, but it is not spread from person to person. About one in five people who are infected develop a fever and other symptoms. About one out of 150 infected people develop swelling of the brain or brain tissue, that in some cases, can result in death. There are no vaccines or medications to treat WNV. People who have had WNV before are considered immune.

“Know your risk and take action to prevent mosquito bites to protect yourself and your family against West Nile virus”, said Dr. Greg Lakin, State Health Officer.”

KDHE recommends the following prevention measures:
When you are outdoors, use insect repellent containing an EPA-registered active ingredient on skin and clothing, including DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR3535. Follow the directions on the package.

Many mosquitoes are most active at dusk and dawn. Be sure to use insect repellent and wear long sleeves and pants at these times, or consider staying indoors during these hours.

The elderly or those with a weakened immune system should consider limiting their exposure outside during dusk and dawn, when the Culex species mosquitos are most active.

Make sure you have good screens on your windows and doors to keep mosquitoes out.

Get rid of mosquito breeding sites by emptying standing water from flower pots, buckets and barrels. Change the water in pet dishes and replace the water in bird baths weekly. Drill holes in tire swings so water drains out. Keep children's wading pools empty and on their sides when they aren't being used.

Horses can also be infected with WNV. Talk with your veterinarian about vaccinating your horse to protect them against WNV.
 
Most WNV infections occur in the late summer and early fall. Although there have been no cases of WNV reported to KDHE in 2018 there have been more than 600 cases of the most severe form of WNV and 30 deaths in Kansas from 1999-2017.

(KNZA)--The Brown County Commission is proposing a 2019 county budget of nearly $11 million that calls for a nearly one mill decrease in the property tax levy.

The proposed budget contains an estimated tax rate of 31.937 mills, which is the lowest tax rate among area Kansas counties.

The county is to collect more than $6 million in taxes, a $335,000 increase over this year.

The Commission was able to lower the property tax levy due to a nearly $16 million increase in the county’s assessed valuation.

The proposed budget contains a more than $450,000 increase in funding for the county’s road and bridge department.

It also includes a $90,000 increase in funding for the county’s two ambulance services, which is to be split equally.

The Commission will consider adoption of the 2019 budget following a public hearing at their August 6th meeting.  

(KAIR)--A stolen vehicle is recovered, and an Atchison man is arrested in connection with the crime.

Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson told MSC News the vehicle had been reported stolen in Overland Park two months ago. “Shortly after midnight on Saturday morning, we developed information that a stolen van was in the area of the 900 block of South 5th. Officers did locate the 2012 Honda Odyssey van that had been reported stolen in Overland Park, in May, and we did take a 28-year-old male into custody.”

Arrested was Cory Ruhnke, taken into custody on a charge of possession of stolen property.

Following his arrest, Ruhnke was booked into the Atchison County Jail.

(KAIR)--When Atchison's public school leaders meet in August, setting the date for a forum, focused on the fate of the school district's mascot, will be among the priorities of the session.

Currently, Dr. Susan Myers, the Superintendent of Schools for USD 409, is researching possible moderators.

In an email to MSC News, Myers explained that the Board of Education, at their July meeting, directed her to do that research, with the focus to be placed on finding a neutral moderator not associated with the Atchison community.

She is expected to share her recommendations during the August 13 session.

At issue is the controversial, long discussed, possibility of moving the district away from the current Redmen mascot.

A committee, formed in late 2016, has completed it's work, compiling a list of pros and cons pertaining to the Redmen name.

The committee, which held a series of meetings, was formed after the school district received what Myers, at the time, called “written communications pertaining to the use of the Redmen mascot.”

The Redmen name, as the committee documented, is viewed by some as being racially insensitive to Native Americans.

A cost analysis has been conducted as to what the price tag will be in order to make that change.

According to Myers, making the switch is expected to cost $14,764 for Atchison High School and nearly $4,575 for the Middle School.

However, Myers said the estimate for AMS could soar to nearly $29,575 if the School Board were to choose to drum sand the gym floor off the regular cycle. She said she would recommend using the regular schedule, which would alleviate that additional cost.

Also, Myers said there would be no additional cost to change uniforms, as they would be replaced in the normal rotation.

There is currently no decision made on whether or not to move forward with the mascot change, with the public's input to be gathered on the matter during the as-yet-determined public forum.

2018 Doniphan Co 4-H Fair prince Broc Leatherman (left) and fair princess Lillian Juhl (right)/Photo credit: Justin Fluke

(KNZA)--The 2018 Doniphan County 4-H Fair prince and princess were crowned during a ceremony Monday evening.

Selected as prince from among five candidates was Broc Leatherman,  a 7-year member of the Bendena 4-H Club and current president of the club.  He is the 14-year-old son of Ben and Jodi Leatherman of Denton.  

Lillian Juhl, a 6-year member of the Wathena Sunflower Club, was selected as fair princess from among seven candidates.  She is the daughter of Jarred and Sara Juhl of Wathena.

Leatherman will be a freshman at Doniphan West High School this fall, while Juhl will be a freshman at Riverside High School.

In their roles as fair prince and princess, the pair will hand out the ribbons and awards during the fair.  The fair runs through Friday at the fairgrounds in Troy.      

(KAIR)--A Monday afternoon afternoon accident sent a Horton man to the hospital.

According to a report from Atchison County Sheriff Jack Laurie, 52-year-old Darren Thorson was struck by a hay express trailer, pulled by a 2003 Ford F250, when the trailer went into the ditch where Thorson was at work in the10000 block of Osborne Road, in rural Atchison County.

Laurie said Thorson was observing power lines for Brown-Atchison Electric Cooperative when the trailer's tires ran over him.

Thorson was transported to Mosaic Life Care, in Saint Joseph, Missouri, for the treatment of unspecified injuries.

The driver of the truck, 40-year-old William Falk, of Atchison, was not hurt.

The accident occurred shortly after 2:15.

(KNZA)--The Doniphan County Commission has approved for publication a proposed 2019 budget of nearly $11.8 million that calls for an about 3.2 mill property tax levy decrease.

The action came Monday on a 2-1 vote, with Commissioner Tim Collins casting the lone no vote.

The proposed budget contains an estimated tax rate of 40.39 mills, and calls for the county to collect nearly $5.7 million in taxes.

The Commission was able to lower the property tax levy due to an about $11 million increase in the county’s assessed valuation.

The Commission will consider adoption of the budget following a public hearing at their August 13th meeting.

In other action, the Commission voted to increase the salary of County Economic Development Director Leah Johnson to $43,000 annually upon completion of her 60-day probationary period, effective August 1st.

Johnson was hired in April to replace Adrienne Korson who resigned in March to take a position in Wichita.  

Johnson had served as part-time administrative assistant since April of last year.

(KLZA)--Non-Incumbent candidates wanting their names to appear on the 2018 General Election  have until Wednesday, August 1st to file for the following offices. Public Power Districts and Village Board of Trustees of Barada, Dawson, Rulo, Salem, Shubert, Stella and Verdon and Educational Service Unit #4.

Candidates who have filed for Village Board Of Trustees to date are.

Village of Barada, with two positions to fill, nobody has filed.

Village of Dawson with three positions to fill Michelle Wedntlandt, Dennis McClarnen and incumbents Charles B. Laux and Lindsay A. Maahs have filed.

With 2 positions to fill in the Village of Salem incumbents Kenneth C. Strauch and Jon D. Kean have filed.

With 2 positions to fill in the village of Shubert one person has filed and that is incumbent Linda S. Patchen.

The Village of Stella has 2 positions to fill and 2 people have filed, Rick Ramer and incumbent Jerry Joy.

For the village of Rulo only the three incumbents have filed to fill the three positions and they are Norman E. Thompson, Dion Grier and Quincey L. Smith

The village of Verdon has 2 positions to fill. Those running are Verna M. Shelton, Jacob A. Bents, Brett Lewis Townsend, Gale Moore and incumbents Denise Koso and Brenda K. Streit.

Filings must be received by 5 P.M. on Wednesday. August 1st. Those filing for Village Board of Trustees must file at the Richardson County Clerk's office. Those filing for Public Power Districts and Educational Service Unit #4 must file at the Office of the Nebraska Secretary of State.

(KNZA)--The 2018 Doniphan County 4-H Fair prince and princess were crowned during a ceremony Monday evening.

Selected as prince from among five candidates was Broc Leatherman,  a 7-year member of the Bendena 4-H Club and current president of the club.  He is the 14-year-old son of Ben and Jodi Leatherman of Denton.  

Lillian Juhl, a 6-year member of the Wathena Sunflower Club, was selected as fair princess from among seven candidates.  She is the daughter of Jarred and Sara Juhl of Wathena.

Leatherman will be a freshman at Doniphan West High School this fall, while Juhl will be a freshman at Riverside High School.

In their roles as fair prince and princess, the pair will hand out the ribbons and awards during the fair.  The fair runs through Friday at the fairgrounds in Troy.      

(KNZA)--A single-vehicle Brown County wreck early Monday afternoon claimed the life of a Falls City, Nebraska man and left another injured.

The Kansas Highway Patrol says killed in the wreck on U.S. 73 Highway, north of Hiawatha, was 58-year-old Charles Kreifels.

The Patrol reports that Kreifels was northbound when his pickup truck, which was pulling a trailer, left the highway and entered the west ditch.  The vehicle then traveled back across the highway and entered the east ditch where it struck the bank of an adjacent creek bed.

Kreifels was pronounced dead at the scene.

A passenger, 63-year-old Falls City resident David Warner, was transported to the Hiawatha Community Hospital.

The Patrol says neither occupant was wearing a seatbelt when the wreck happened north of 260th Road around 1:00.

(KNZA)--A street rehab project is set to begin Wednesday, July 25th in Hiawatha and continue through August 5th, weather permitting.

The city says the rehab work will be done on 8th Street from Miami to Iowa; 10th Street from Oregon to Delaware and 11th Street from Miami to Iowa.

Residents are asked to remove their vehicles from the streets throughout the duration of the project.  Vehicles not removed, will be towed at the owners expense.

Crews will start work at 7:00 in the morning. Residents are asked to have their vehicle removed prior to that time.

Those with questions, can call the Hiawatha Street Department at ( 785) 742-7850.  

(KLZA)--The Johnson County Central School Board has hired an interim superintendent to serve for the next year.

A contract has been approved with Dr. Galen Boldt to serve through June 30, 2019.    Boldt will be paid $140,500.

Boldt is a Sterling native and started his career in education at a teacher at Sterling, later serving as principal and then moving  on as an administrator in the Tecumseh School District and served as Superintendent at Norris and later Wahoo before retiring from full-time duties following the 2015-16 school year.         

(KMZA)--Nemaha County registered voters may now vote an advance election ballot for the August 7th Primary Election either by mail or in person at the Nemaha County Clerk’s Office.

To vote by mail, a person must complete an application form and return it to the County Clerk’s Office before a ballot can be mailed to them. All application forms must be received by July 31st.

Voters may come to the County Clerk’s Office to vote in person up until 12:00 noon on Monday, August 6th.

The County Clerk’s Office is open Monday thru Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

All Nemaha County registered voters who will not be able to get to their polling place on Election Day, August 7th, are encouraged to use the advance voting option in order to cast their vote in this election.

Due to Kansas election law, every voter in Nemaha County is required to provide identification before voting. If a voter requests a ballot to be mailed to them, they must include their driver’s license number on the application or include a copy of their photo ID with the completed application.

Anyone with questions concerning the advance voting process should contact the County Clerk’s Office at 336-2170.

(KMZA)--A semi driver from Frankfort was involved in a three-vehicle wreck Sunday morning in Coffey County that claimed the life an elderly man.

The Kansas Highway Patrol says 38-year-old Jason Brammer was not hurt in the wreck on U.S. 75 Highway about 7 miles south of Burlington.

Killed in the wreck was 80-year-old William Castle, of Clearwater.

The Patrol says Castle was driving a pickup truck, which was pulling a camper, that struck the rear of a car that was stopped waiting to turn left onto K-58.  Castle then crossed the center line and struck Brammer’s oncoming semi-tractor trailer head-on.

The driver of the car was transported to a local hospital with possible injuries.

The wreck was reported around 10:00 Sunday morning

(KNZA)--It’s fair time in Doniphan and Jackson Counties.

The Doniphan County Fair kicks off Monday, July 23rd at the fairgrounds in Troy and runs through Friday, July 27.

A highlight of the Fair will be the coronation of the 4-H Fair Prince and Princess Monday evening.

Thursday evening will bring the livestock sale and the Fair will wrap up Friday evening with the public style revue and 4-H Council dance from 9 to midnight.

The Jackson County Fair also kicks Monday, July 23rd at the Northeast Kansas Heritage complex south of Holton and runs through Thursday, July 26.

The Farm Bureau Kiddie Tractor Pull will be held Monday evening at 7:00, with registration from 5:30 to 6:45.

Tuesday brings the swine, beef and bucket calf shows.

The Fair parade will be held Wednesday evening in Holton, beginning at 6:00

The Fair wraps up Thursday evening with the livestock sale, beginning at 6:00.

(KAIR)--Starting Friday night with the traditional concert kick-off, Atchison's 22nd annual Amelia Earhart Festival wrapped up Saturday night following a full day of events, ending with fireworks over the Missouri River. “It was a great weekend,” Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson told MSC News. “We had officers deployed throughout the weekend, located at various points, and it was large crowds everywhere that we worked. On Sunday morning, we reflected that everything went fantastic.”

The LakeFest concert at Warnock Lake began the weekend's festivities, featuring the country music of Brett Young, Maddie and Tae, and a Thousand Horses, Friday night.

On Saturday morning, the festival officially began, with events running throughout the day.

Among them was the speaker's symposium, on the campus of Benedictine College, featuring Amelia Earhart Pioneering Achievement Award Winner, Jessica Cox, the first armless pilot in aviation history.

Jessica Cox/Submitted photo

Afternoon activities included a who's who of Amelia Earhart experts speaking on the festival's namesake during the Chasing Earhart Project's symposium held on the college campus.

Evening activities were focused at the Atchison Riverfront where music was heard, and an aerobatic display by Captain Julie Clark was viewed.

Captain Julie Clark flies above the Missouri River, at Atchison. Credit: Dan Bird

Festival Chair Karen Seaberg told MSC News she was pleased with the weekend's turnout. “We had one of the largest crowds at LakeFest we've ever had, probably 8,000 to 10,000 people. The weather, I don't know who the weather gods are, but thank you, thank you, thank you. The symposium, the Chasing Earhart, this has been one incredible weekend.”

On Saturday night, the festival concluded, per tradition, with the Concert in the Sky fireworks spectacular.

Seaberg was at a loss for words immediately following the display. “I have no words. This was amazing!”

The fireworks display began with the launch of two rockets in honor of two pilots killed in 2017.

Bethany Root, of Atchison, and Vlado Lenoch, of Bluff Ridge, Illinois, died when the plane they were traveling in crashed 5 miles south of Atchison's Amelia Earhart Airport on July 16, 2017.

Lenoch had performed the previous night as one of the featured pilots in the annual aerobatics display.

Bethany Root (left) and Vlado Lenoch (right)

(KNZA)--A September 4th preliminary hearing has been set for an Ohio man charged in May’s bomb threat at Highland Community College.

The Kansas Chief reports 21-year-old D’Vonte Guyton was recently transported by the Doniphan County Sheriff’s Department to Troy after waiving extradition.

He faces a felony charge of aggravated criminal threat.

The bomb threat, which was received by telephone on May 9th, led to the evacuation of the Highland campus and to the postponement of finals for students.

No explosive device was discovered following a search of the campus, and its buildings, by law enforcement.

Police were able to ping the phone number, tracing it to an address in North College Hill, Ohio.  Guyton later turned himself in to North College Hill Police.

HCC officials say he was an on-line student at the college at the time.

Guyton remains in the Doniphan County Jail, held on a $450,000 bond.

(KLZA)-- Around 200 people attended the  Taking Back Our Community group meeting Tuesday night at Falls City High School. 

The audience provided a lot of thoughts and ideas during the meeting attended by 1st District State Senator Dan Watermeier of Syracuse and Senator Laura Ebke from Crete, who serves as Chair of the Legislatures Judiciary Committee.  

Program moderator Bob Witt told the Senators that “we are looking for help from our leaders.”  Witt said it is just a few people that are terrorizing a lot of people with their actions. 

Audience members asked questions and made suggestions to the Senators as well as law enforcement personnel concerning the large amount of thefts and drug issues in the area. 

County Judge Curtis Maschman and District Judge Julie Smith were both invited to attend the meeting but were not there.

Deputy County Attorney Samantha Scheitel read a letter from the Judges explaining that without a specific agenda  and having the types of questions to be asked, they could not attend.  In the letter they pointed out that a Judge must take special care to avoid comments that could manifest  a bias or prejudice in a case they may be presiding over.
Following the meeting, Senator Watermeier said he supports the effort to organize a group to take on the problems. He suggested the group look to see how other communities are dealing with such issues. 

Senator Ebke said she could sense the frustration from the audience. She suspects the crime and drug issues are similar in other towns where  the population has decreased  and a different element is moving in to take advantage of the lower cost of living. 

Ebke said its likely going to take some time to solve these types of problems, but  hopes between probation, law enforcement and the judicial system things will improve.  

The audience asked why law enforcement can't do anything about what are perceived to be “drug houses”.  How to get a Drug Court started in Richardson County. It was also suggested to put pressure on the so called “drug houses”  by watching them and making the residents uncomfortable. 

Law enforcement suggested the public needs to be involved in solving the problems by calling in complaints and passing along information.  Representatives with the State Probation Office suggested neighbors can submit letters to the Probation Office or the County Attorney's Office with information about people for probation reviews as well as pre-sentence investigations.  

For more information on the Taking Back Our  Community group you are invited to check out their page on Facebook. 

(KLZA)-- The Pawnee County Commissioners discussed the Handibus agreements between Southeast Nebraska Community Action and Pawnee County when they met Tuesday. 

The Board will request Vicki McNeely with SENCA attend the July 31 Commission meeting  to discuss the agreement. City of Pawnee City representatives will also be invited to attend the meeting. 

The Pawnee City Council has not approved the agreement with the County for the Handibus.  The agreement proposed by the Board of Commissioners was for the City to pay the same amount in the next fiscal year as the current year.  However, the City Council asked why the amount was the same, when SENCA had noted in January the cost for the agreement for the next year would be reduced by just over $500.

Commission Chairman Dennis Schaardt will attend the August 13th meeting of the Pawnee City Council if needed to answer questions regarding the agreement.         
                                     

Representatives of the Brown County Chapter of Quail Forever presented L.J. Trant with the chapter's first ever " L.J. Trant Community Service Award" Friday.

(KNZA)--A local radio host gains special recognition, awarded for his three decades of bringing attention to area outdoor recreation.

L.J. Trant, the host of “Outdoors in Kanzaland,” is recognized by the Brown County Chapter of Quail Forever.

Chapter President Bill Vonderschmidt on Friday presented Trant with the chapter’s first Community Service Award, named in Trant's honor. “It's in appreciation for his outstanding community service to the outdoors, to promoting the outdoors,” Vonderschmidt said when presenting the honor. “It's [presented] especially [for Trant's focus on] all the events that we are involved with, and sponsor, be it youth hunts, youth outdoor activities, workshops, etc., he's always been a big supporter.”

Trant was surprised when informed of the honor. “I'm surprised, for sure,” Trant said when presented with the honor. “I appreciate being recognized [but] it's not something I look for. I just do what I think needs to get done to help promote things people need to know about. Don't mind doing it a bit.”

“Outdoors in Kanzaland” airs Friday evenings and Saturday mornings on KNZA 103.9 FM and KMZA 92.1 FM.

Trant has hosted the program for nearly 30 years.

(KNZA)--The Hiawatha school district has been awarded a grant to fund a 4-year-old preschool.

Superintendent Lonnie Moser made the announcement Thursday.

He said the district is currently taking applications for the 2018-19 school year for the free developmentally appropriate preschool.

Children must be four years of age on or before August 31, but cannot have reached their fifth birthday and must meet at least one of criteria listed below.

    Living in a single parent home

    Have a parent who was a teen parent

    Have a parent lacking a high school diploma or GED

    Low income (qualifies for free lunches)

    Developmentally or academically delayed

    DCF referral

    Limited English proficiency

    Child qualifies for Migrant status

Applications are available at the USD 415 Board of Education office at 706 South 1st Street and on-line at hiawathaschools.org

(KNZA)--A Highland man accused of the theft of money from a Highland business has entered into a plea agreement.

45-year-old Christopher Lee Coffelt pleaded no contest Tuesday in Doniphan County District Court to charges contained in an amended complaint of two counts of misdemeanor theft.

The plea canceled a jury trial that had been set to begin July 31st.  

Coffelt had originally been charged with one count of felony theft .

He was accused of taking about $32,000 cash from the Highland Stop and Shop.

Coffelt was arrested in March of last year.

Sentencing is set for the morning of August 8th.  

(KAIR)--A consensus is reached in the name of pedestrian safety.

That word is announced by the City of Atchison and USD 409 following what's described as a collaborative meeting between representatives of both.

At issue is the long running discussion regarding the future of four way stops put in place on a trial basis near the Atchison Middle School.

The temporary stop-signs, which stand at the intersections of 5th and Santa Fe and 6th and Santa Fe, were implemented by the Atchison City Commission at the start of the year.

A motion to approve a resolution at the June 18 meeting of the Commission failed due to the lack of a second, meaning the signs would be removed.

However, a public push, spearheaded by community health and wellness organization Live Well Live Atchison, brought the issue before the Commission again this month, and that led to the decision for the city leaders and those from Atchison's public schools to meet and outline a strategy for safety in the area of the stop signs.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Susan Myers told MSC News she's pleased with the outcome of the meeting. “At that meeting we had some representatives from the City Commission as well as School Board members and then myself and [City Manager Becky Berger] and Police Chief [Mike Wilson]. We were able to look at not only the school and the needs but also the other pedestrians that are affected by the stop signs in those two areas, such as people who work, and participate, in Achievement Service's program, the Presbyterian Church, Theatre Atchison. Very happy about it.”

According to a joint statement released by the two entities, the all-way stops will again be addressed August 6 during the City Commission's regular meeting.

At that time, a resolution to make permanent the all-way stops near the Middle School will be considered; and according to the join statement, it's expected that the resolution will be approved.

The Commission will also consider the adoption of an ordinance officially lowering the speed limits on 5th and 6th Streets from 30 mph to 20 mph in the vicinity of the Middle School.

Atchison Mayor Allen Reavis, in the release, says the City is committed to “making it more safe for kids to walk to school,” and calls the speed limit reduction “a big part of that strategy.”

The release also notes sidewalk improvements, made possible through grant funding, which the city has undertaken to improve pedestrian walkways.

City Manager Becky Berger, in the release, says she's “glad to see some consensus emerge,” adding that “improving pedestrian infrastructure is something [the city has] focused on the last few years” and that through repeated success with several grant programs, “it's something [the city expects] to focus on in the future as well.”

Items seized in apartment raid at 416 Atchison Street/Credit: Atchison Co Sheriff's Office

(KAIR)--An arrest is made, and drugs, a gun, and cash seized, following the execution of a search warrant Thursday morning.

Atchison County Sheriff Jack Laurie told MSC News Deputies responded to 416 Atchison Street in search of 41-year-old Landon Bain, Sr., who was wanted on felony warrants for methamphetamine distribution.

Laurie said Bain saw the deputies from a door of the apartment, but his attempt to run didn't last long. “He did flee from the apartment and ran north across the street where a deputy was able to take him into custody without really any incident.”

With Bain in custody, Laurie said a search warrant was executed at the address, which is located within 1,000 feet of the Atchison Middle School. “We did locate methamphetamine, cocaine, some drug paraphernalia, and also a handgun that we seized there. Also, a good amount of cash that was seized on his person.”

Bain was arrested on charges including distribution of methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school, distribution of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school, possession of drug paraphernalia, felony interference with law enforcement, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Following his arrest, Bain was booked into the Atchison County Jail.

Laurie said the warrants that led to Bain's apprehension stemmed from investigations his office conducted within the last month.

(KLZA)-- A crowd estimated at 200 attended the third meeting of the Taking Back Our Community group Tuesday evening at the  Falls City High School Auditorium. 

First  District State Senator Dan Watermeier and District 32 State Senator Laura Ebke who chairs the Nebraska Legislatures Judiciary Committee attended the meeting along with several representatives of the State Probation Office. 
                                                     
During the TBOC meetings a common theme has been the frustration from the audience as well as law enforcement due to what is perceived as sentences in court not being tough enough on criminals.  Senator Dan Watermeier from Syracuse agreed, pointing out the overcrowding in prisons. 

Senator Ebke said there are people going to prison, but overpopulation of Nebraska's 10 state prison facilities is an issue. She estimated over 100 people per month are sent to prison in Nebraska. 

During the meeting it was revealed that the Nebraska prison population is more than 150 percent of capacity. Senator Ebke said if a lawsuit were to be filed and reach the federal court system, it could be a real problem, noting that in California the state was ordered to release prisoners due to overcrowding and some that were released were violent offenders which no one wants. 

Senator Ebke said alternatives to prison time such as more probation for non-violent offenders create problems at the local level, creating issues for the County Sheriff's Departments, County Commissioners have to spend more money on jails and personnel. She said it then becomes more of a burden on the Probation Department. 

It was also pointed out that it costs taxpayers approximately $38-40-thousand annually to have someone in prison. 

One thing that is being discussed for the District 1 Probation area that includes Richardson, Pawnee, Nemaha, Johnson, Otoe, Gage, Saline, Thayer, Fillmore and Jefferson counties is a Drug Court.  

District Judge Julie Smith is reviewing the requirements.  It would require approval from the Nebraska Supreme Court, and also approval and additional funding at the county level. 
 

(KLZA)-- During the Monday evening Falls City Council meeting, members of the Falls City  Volunteer Fire Department presented information to the Council concerning the City's  37-year-old pumper truck. 

Fire Fighter Jon McQueen, who is the Public Information Officer for the department presented the information.  McQueen says the Fire Department is very concerned about safety for citizens and fire fighters when responding to a fire call with the current truck.

McQueen also noted the  Department is reviewing the age of all of the trucks and ways to replace them in the future. 

The National Fire Protection Association recommends fire trucks be replaced every 20 years.  With the responsibility of responding to fires, saving lives and protect property, it takes special equipment to do this. 

The longtime member of the volunteer department reviewed some of the issues with the current pumper truck which include concerns about the hydraulic lines, the cylinders that move the ladders and an outdated air system that will not work with the air-mask equipment now used by the  Falls City Rural Fire Department. 

Like everything else, a new pumper truck with an 85-foot boom could cost  three-quarters-of-a-million dollars or more. McQueen noted that it would be possible to save some money if you could purchase a demonstrator truck that might not be exactly what you have on your wish list, but could save money. 

With only a few places producing the pumper trucks it is unlikely you would be able to purchase anything less than an 8-foot boom. Currently there are four trucks in production in Nebraska and they should all be completed by the end of this year.  McQueen estimated it would take a year to get a truck built once you placed on order.  

Wednesday, July 25 a demonstrator pumper truck will be in  Falls City for officials to take a look at and compare new technology with 37-year-old equipment. The Fire Department invited Mayor Jerry Oliver, Council members and those seek seats on the Council and Mayor to come to the demonstration and go up in the current pumper truck and the demonstrator.   

During his presentation McQueen listed a large number of buildings in and around Falls City requiring this type of fire truck be available, including the Grand Weaver Hotel which is now offering permanent homes,  churches, downtown buildings and the CGB facility on the south edge of town. 

McQueen did note the troubles with the current pumper truck in fighting a fire in downtown Falls City this past January.  

(KMZA)--A Sabetha man accused of child sex-related crimes has waived his preliminary hearing.

27-year-old Eric Carlson was bound over to Nemaha County District Court Tuesday on charges of aggravated indecent liberties with a child and two counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

An arraignment date hasn’t been set yet.

Carlson was arrested May 3rd following an investigation by federal, state and local authorities.

He’s accused of sex offenses occurring last year in Nemaha County involving two children under the age of 14

Carlson remains in the Nemaha County Jail, held on a one-million dollar bond.      

(KAIR)--An attempt to stop a stolen vehicle leads to a pursuit and to two arrests.

Atchison County Sheriff Jack Laurie told MSC News it happened Wednesday afternoon around 3:00 when deputies spotted, and attempted to stop, a 2014 Ford F-150 that had been reported stolen from Leavenworth County.

Instead of stopping, the driver fled from the the City of Atchison, leading to the pursuit that ended near 302nd and Kingman Road, in rural Atchison County.

It was there that the driver, 32-year-old Brett Buckley and his passenger, 43-year-old Tracy Shepard, were taken into custody in a field after they were located with the assistance of the Sheriff's Office's K-9 unit.

Both Atchison residents face charges of possession of stolen property and felony interference with law enforcement.

Buckley also faces charges of felony flee and attempt to elude law enforcement, criminal damage to property, and driving while suspended.

Following their arrests, Buckley and Shepard were booked into the Atchison County Jail.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A settlement between Kansas agencies and Westar Energy may lead to utility customers seeing rate drops instead of previously expected increases.

The Wichita Eagle reports that the settlement reached Monday would reverse Westar's request for a $17 million rate increase and turn it into a $66 million rate cut. The settlement also drops Westar's effort to raise the basic per-month service charge.

The Kansas Corporation Commission must still approve the settlement, which could end what's been a hotly contested fight over rates that brought hundreds of angry customers and Kansas lawmakers to recent public hearings.

David Nickel represents the Citizens' Utility Ratepayer Board, the small state agency for residential and small-business customers. He says regular electric customers would see a rate decrease of about $4 a month under the agreement.

HOYT, Kan. (AP) — Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse says 12 horses were removed from a farm this week after a veterinarian determined they were not receiving proper care.

Morse says the horses were taken Monday from a farm near Hoyt. Medical staff is caring for the four stallions, two colts and six mares.

He says some horses were not getting adequate water despite recent high temperatures and hay on the farm was old.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports another 35 horses were determined to be in adequate health and remained at the farm. Those horses will be checked daily.

Morse says the sheriff's office received complaints for almost 18 months about poor conditions at the farm but substantial evidence wasn't found before Monday despite repeated visits to the property.

The Jackson County attorney will determine if any charges are filed.

(KNZA)--Scam artists are using fear, and the name of the IRS, in an attempt to gain personal, financial information.

That message comes in the form of a news release issued by Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse.

Morse, in the release, says he has received complaints from residents who say they have been receiving phone calls from someone representing themselves as an IRS agent.

The phone number showing on caller ID falsely indicates that the call has been made by the IRS.

According to Morse, the caller demands immediate payment of uncollected taxes, and may threaten to have the would-be victim arrested if they don't pay.

Morse says the IRS will never place such phone calls, adding that no personal information should ever be provided if such a call is received.

Editor's note: the following was submitted by Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse

(MSC News)--The Jackson County Sheriff’s continues to receive complaints from residents of an ongoing IRS scam.

The scammer who calls will typically state to the victim an immediate need to pay uncollected taxes, and may threaten to have the sheriff arrest the victim if they don’t pay up.

There are a variety of similar scams that try to create hysteria for the victim. Scammers may state they are from a law enforcement agency and that the victim or a family member is in danger of being arrested on a warrant. These are all scams and are an attempt to bully people out of their money.

IRS scammers like to demand immediate payment via a debit card or a money wire transfer.

Callers will spoof their phone calls to make it appear on your caller I.D. as if it is coming from a legitimate source.

The IRS will not call you demanding immediate payment, and will send you a bill by mail and allow you to appeal the amount owed if desired. The IRS will never provide you with a specified method of payment for the amount owed. Don’t be surprised if they have information about you to make them appear legitimate

 If you receive such a call, do not provide the caller with any of your information and hang up.

Many of these calls originate from foreign countries, and it is nearly impossible for victims to ever retrieve their money.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Campaign finance records show that the last candidate to enter the 2nd Congressional District race in Kansas collected more in contributions than any other Republican during the past quarter.

Six other GOP candidates in the Aug. 7 primary with state Senator Dennis Pyle of rural Hiawatha relied heavily on loans and personal funds from April through June.

But presumed Democratic nominee Paul Davis outstripped them all in the eastern Kansas district by raising $395,000 in contributions during the quarter.

Pyle reported raising $134,000 from contributions during the quarter.

State Senator Caryn Tyson of Parker raised nearly $56,000 in contributions during the quarter, and Army veteran Steve Watkins collected more than $54,000. State Senator Steve Fitzgerald of Leavenworth collected about $30,000.

All three raised larger amounts through personal funds and loans.

John Weingart appeared before the Hiawatha City Commission Monday evening to request that the ballfield at Noble Park be named " Paul Rockey Field" in honor of the memory of the longtime American Legion manager and coach.

(KNZA)--A Hiawatha ballfield will be named in honor of the memory of a longtime coach and community volunteer.

John Weingart, speaking on behalf of a group of residents, appeared before the Hiawatha City Commission Monday evening to request that the ballfield at Noble Park be named  “Paul Rockey Field.”  

Paul died May 26th at the age of 63.

Weingart says Hiawatha baseball was a major part of his life. “ Paul  spent the last 38 years involved in Hiawatha baseball programs in someway.   He started in 1980 by coaching little league baseball and was a member of the youth baseball board for many years.  In 1993, Paul became involved in the American Legion baseball program by coaching.”

Weingart says Paul spearheaded the renovations of Noble Park at its former location, where the Hiawatha Middle School is currently located, and as a result secured a state American Legion tournament in Hiawatha.  “ The field became an icon among baseball fields in northeast Kansas and area teams wanted to come and play on it.“

When the park was relocated, Weingart says Paul and several volunteers cut and moved the sod from the old park location to its new location to save the city money.   

Weingart says the ballpark became Paul's dream.  “The hours and labor he spent on this project are almost unbelievable for a volunteer.  He actually took Friday's off  (from his job) so he could work three full days at the ballpark.  He designed equipment for the field and put a lot of his own money into the field.”  

The Commission voted to have a resolution prepared for their approval making  the ballfield name change.

On hand at the meeting were former players, coaches, Hiawatha American Legion representatives and members of his family.
    

Editor's note: Below is a press release issued by Atchison's Benedictine College about the Amelia Earhart Festival events planned on the college campus. 
Among them is the Chasing Earhart panel. MSC Radio News Director Brian Hagen on July 14 had a chance to talk to Chasing Earhart founder Chris Williamson about the panel. That interview is also embedded below.

ATCHISON, KAN. - On Saturday, July 21, 2018, Benedictine College will host a number of events for the annual Amelia Earhart Festival, including a book signing with Earhart authors, the Speakers Symposium, the Pioneering Achievement Award Luncheon and  “Chasing Earhart: The Discussion Panel.” Information on these events, along with the concerts, carnival, museum tours, fireworks display and more can be found here.

The Discussion Panel event, created by Chris Williamson, founder of the Chasing Earhart Project, is new this year and will feature more than a dozen experts who will both celebrate the life of Amelia Earhart and discuss her disappearance, her impact and her legacy. The discussion will take place in O’Malley-McAllister Auditorium on the college’s Atchison, Kan., campus beginning at 2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, but due to space limitations, tickets are required for entry. Tickets can be obtained on the Chasing Earhart website at https://chasingearhart.app.rsvpify.com/.

“We are honored to be bringing an event to the public that is both historic and exciting with some of the most incredible guests that the Amelia Earhart Festival has ever seen,” Williamson said.

Panelists brought to Atchison by the Amelia Earhart Festival include:

• Kate Jerome, author of Who Was Amelia Earhart?

• Jessica Cox, the world’s first armless pilot and 2018 Amelia Earhart Pioneer Achievement Award recipient

• Bill Snavely, author of Tracking Amelia Earhart, Her Flightpath to the End

• Tom King, senior archeologist for The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR)

• Dick Spink, participant in the History Channel’s documentary, “Amelia Earhart: The Lost Evidence”

• Sammie Morris, head of Archives and Special Collections for Purdue University’s library

• Gary Lapook, world renowned authority on celestial navigation

• Tom Dettweiler, former VP at Nauticos who helped locate the Titanic

• Ann Pellegreno, female pilot who retraced and completed Earhart’s flight path in 1967

• Lisa Cotham, secretary for The Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots

• Larry Inman, owner of the largest private Earhart memorabilia collection in the world

• Shaesta Waiz, the youngest woman to fly solo around the world in a single-engine aircraft

• Abigail Harrison, popularly known as Astronaut Abby, the founder of The Mars Generation

• Douglas Westfall, author of The Hunt for Amelia Earhart: America’s Greatest Search

• Scott Philbrook and Forrest Burgess, founders and co-hosts of the Astonishing Legends podcast

“This panel will be a representation of the Chasing Earhart documentary and project guests that are featured in the largest scale Amelia Earhart project ever created,” said Williamson. “Each guest brings a unique and fascinating background to the panel; discussing how Amelia impacts them personally and professionally.”

Amelia Earhart set many flying records and championed the advancement of women in aviation. She became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and served as the first president of The Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots. During a Purdue University-funded flight to circumnavigate the globe in July 1937, Earhart disappeared somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. Her plane wreckage was never found and she was officially declared lost at sea. Her disappearance remains one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the twentieth century.

Earhart was born in Atchison and the city features the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum in her childhood home. The city is also home to “Muriel,” a 1935 Lockheed Electra L-10-E, which was the same model plane Earhart flew on her final voyage and is the only remaining such aircraft. Each year, the festival awards the Pioneering Achievement Award and this year’s recipient is Jessica Cox, the only armless pilot in aviation history. She will speak during the Symposium, at the award luncheon, and on the Chasing Earhart panel.

Events at Benedictine College on Saturday, July 21, include:

• 9:00 a.m. – Breakfast with the Books on the first floor of the St. John Paul II Student Center. FREE Visit with the authors of a number of Amelia Earhart books and get books signed.

• 10:15 a.m. – Speakers Symposium in O’Malley-McAllister Auditorium inside the St. John Paul II Student Center. FREE Hear from Jessica Cox, Pioneering Achievement Award recipient; Abigail Harrison, founder of The MARS Generation; and Shaesta Waiz, the youngest woman to fly solo around the world in a single engine aircraft.

• 12:00 p.m. – Pioneering Achievement Award Luncheon in the Benedictine College Dining Hall. $20 and reservations are requested (call 800-234-1854).

• 2:00 p.m. – Chasing Earhart: The Discussion Panel in O’Malley-McAllister Auditorium inside the St. John Paul II Student Center. FREE with ticket.

(KLZA)-- A semi-truck loaded with frozen meat was blown onto its side Tuesday afternoon just west of Humboldt.  

 According to a Richardson County Sheriff's Department news release, 51-year-old Iowa resident Brian Isom was driving the semi east on Highway 4 when a strong gust of wind blew the truck onto its side.   

Isom suffered minor injuries.  Traffic on Highway 4 was re-routed around the wreck for a period of time while a crane was brought in to lift the truck and trailer.     

The Humboldt-Volunteer Fire Department also responded to the scene.  

Pictures posted with this story are from the Humboldt Volunteer Fire Department Facebook page.                                              
 

(KNZA)--The new superintendent of Valley Falls USD 338 on the job.

Dr. Volora Hanzlicek took over leadership of the district July 1st.

She replaces Loren Feldkamp who resigned at the end of the 2017-18 school year after 10 years with the district.

Hanzlicek, who was among three finalists interviewed for the job, was offered a two-year contract at an annual salary of $105,000.

According to a news release from the district, Hanzlicek had broad educational experience as a teacher, administrator and an educator of educators.  Most recently she served as the educational leadership consultant with the Southwest Plains Regional Service Center headquartered in Sublette.  Hanzlicek served as assistant superintendent of Prairie Hills USD 113 in Sabetha for a number of years.

USD 388 Board President Jody Lockhart says the Board feels they made the right selection to serve the district’s students and community.

Hanzlicek and her husband, Matt, have two daughters.     

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A proposal for a high-voltage power line carrying wind energy across the Midwest has received a jolt of new life after the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that regulators wrongly rejected it.

The court ruling Tuesday means that Missouri must re-evaluate whether Clean Line Energy Partners deserve approval for a $2.3 billion project that would build one of the longest electric transmission lines in the U.S.

Plans call for the line to run from wind farms in western Kansas across Missouri and Illinois before hooking into a power grid in Indiana that serves the eastern U.S.

Clean Line has been working on the so-called Grain Belt Express power line since 2010 but hasn't been able to start construction because of regulatory hurdles.

(KNZA)--Brown County residents will have the opportunity to vote early for the upcoming August 7th primary election.

The Brown County Clerk Office will provide early voting Wednesday morning, July 18th at the Maple Grove complexes in Hiawatha in the west complex from 9 to 10:30 and in the east complex from 10:30 to noon.

On Thursday, the County Clerk’s office will provide early voting in Morrill at the Morrill Community Building from 9 to 11 in the morning and in Everest from 1:30 to 4 in the afternoon at the Northfield Community Room located at 326 Locust Street.

Then beginning Monday, July 23 through noon, August 6th, residents can vote by advance ballot at the County Clerk’s Office on the second floor of the Brown County Courthouse during regular business hours.     

The County Clerk’s Office reminds residents that a photo ID is required to vote.

Voters will decide during the August 7th primary election which candidates for county, state and federal offices advance to the November general election ballot.   

(KNZA)--The state will provide Brown County with an interim appraiser while the county continues its search for a new full-time appraiser.  

The Brown County Commission Monday approved a six-month contract with Angela Wright from the State Division of Property Valuation to provide interim appraiser services.

Wright will help the county on a part-time basis.

The county appraiser’s position came open in May following the resignation of Tami Antoine.  Antoine had served as county appraiser since July of last year.  

Deputy County Appraiser Theresa Clements has been serving as interim appraiser since that time.

(KNZA)--A Horton woman has died from injuries received in a single-vehicle wreck early Sunday morning on a Brown County road.

30-year-old Chenenia Johnson died Monday afternoon at Topeka’s Stormont-Vail Hospital.

The Kansas Highway Patrol says Johnson was eastbound on 130th Road near Horton around 3:00 Sunday morning when her car left the roadway and struck a tree head-on at a driveway.

A passenger in the vehicle, 30-year-old Iowa resident Diaz Vincent, was transported to Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph with what the Patrol described as disabling injuries.

Neither occupant was wearing a seatbelt.

Drum services for Johnson will be held Thursday evening at 6:00 at Golden Eagle Road site #2 on the Kickapoo Reservation, with burial Friday morning at the Kennekuk Cemetery.  

(KLZA)-- A Falls City man was arrested by the Richardson County Sheriff's Department early Monday morning following an incident in Salem involving  an assault and gun shots being fired. 

According to an affidavit in Richardson County Court,  a  Richardson County Deputy responded to a call in Salem at 24  Church Street.  Deputy Dexter Holliday was rerouted to 203 South, 3rd Street to see an injured man. 

Upon arrival Deputy Holliday found Buddy Graves in the home with a person holding rags to his head. Graves had three large gashes and was bleeding steadily.  

Graves alleged that he had went to his fathers garage at 24 Church Street to change a tire and a neighbor told him to leave.  Graves later went back to speak with the woman living there and said he was attacked by the woman's boyfriend, 44-year-old James E.  Liming of Falls City.

Graves alleges Liming hit him in the head with a pistol, then pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger.  The gun misfired. According to court documents, Graves and the person he was riding with, Matt  Hillyard ran back to their vehicle and then Liming fired shots into the radiator of the vehicle. 

Liming allegedly admitted to the Deputy that he fired shots at the vehicle but denied hitting Graves with the pistol.

Liming gave the gun to law enforcement officers who allegedly discovered blood on the barrel of the .22-caliber pistol. 

Liming was arrested on charges of terroristic threats and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony.  He bonded out of jail on Monday.

Graves was transported to Community Medical Center in  Falls City with what the affidavit said was a fractured skull. He was transferred to a Lincoln hospital for further treatment of his injuries.  

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) - The family of a Leavenworth man who was fatally shot by a police officer is suing for the video of the shooting.
 
The Kansas City Star reports that family members of Antonio Garcia Jr. gathered Monday with lawyers in Kansas City, Kansas, to announce the open records lawsuit filed last week against the city of Leavenworth.
 
The Leavenworth officer who shot Garcia last summer while investigating a domestic dispute was later fired for what the police chief said was a violation of the department's use of deadly force policy. Prosecutors say a separate investigation to determine if the officer violated Kansas law remains underway.
 
The family's attorney, Ben Crump, says it's been a year since the shooting and time to show the video. He asked, "What are they hiding?"
   

(KNZA)--A Hoyt man convicted on a pair of child sex charges has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.

28-year-old Theodore Purdy was sentenced Friday in Jackson County District Court on charges of rape and aggravated indecent liberties with a child.

Purdy was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

A Jackson County jury found him guilty on the charges in May following a one day trial.

Purdy was charged in connection with offenses involving a three-year-old girl occurring in September and October of 2016.    

(KLZA)-- Trash burning in Falls City will soon be a thing of the past. 

On a 6 -2 vote Monday evening the Council voted to amend an ordinance to prohibit most fires within the City, except certain fires in fire pits and outdoor fireplaces and by burning permit at the Itha Krumme Memorial Arboretum. 

Casting nay votes were Council members  Kirby Robidoux and Charlie Bentley.

Leonard  Brown was the only person to address the Council. He did not want the burning of trash to be banned in the city limits.   Brown said he burns and will continue to burn.  He called the 158 complaints the Falls City Police Department  have received about burning misleading, because the figure could include a disgruntled neighbor that called in 50 times a year. 

Brown said he thinks a trash burning ban will lead to more littering along county roadsides and over bridges. 

In a final effort to sway the vote of the Council, Brown said he would be notifying the EPA of an undisclosed issue if the Council did not vote to continue allowing trash to be burned two days per week. 

In November, 2012, Falls City voters defeated a proposal to ban any open burning except when the Fire Chief issued a permit. 

Fourth Ward Council member Derek Leyden introduced the proposal to ban trash burning in June.  
 

(KAIR)--A teenage boy is being blamed for a break-in at an Atchison residence.

Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson told MSC News the teen is accused of forcing his way into the home Thursday morning and stealing coins. “Midday on Thursday, we investigated a burglary that occurred at a residence in the 1000 block of North 4th where several containers of coins were taken. Force entry was made into the residence. The burglary was discovered by the victim midday. We began an investigation that continued through the afternoon that led to this arrest.”

Wilson said the containers of coins are valued at around $300.

He said the victim and accused teen were acquainted prior to the crime.

The teen, who was released to a parent following his arrest, is facing charges of burglary and theft.

(KNZA)--The burn ban that had been issued for Doniphan County has been lifted.

That word Monday from County Emergency Management Agency Coordinator Julie Meng.

Meng still advises county residents to use caution when burning.

The burn ban was issued last Wednesday due to the extreme dry conditions and heat at the time.

Rain fell in the county Friday night and there are more chances of rain this week.

(KLZA)--The Pawnee City Pride Committee presented a report to the City Council July 9th.

There were a dozen homes on the list the committee feels need attention.  The needs ranged from need for paint, lawn mowing, general cleanup all the way to suggestions the house be razed.  

The committee will make personal contact with the homeowners before the City sends letters to them. Committee members feel they might be able to organize some groups to help with projects such as painting.

Committee members want to public to know they are not out just looking for homes in disrepair,  they also  plan to begin a “Yard of the Week” program to recognize property owners that put in an effort to have their homes looking nice.

(KNZA)--An early Sunday morning single-vehicle wreck on a Brown County road near Horton sent two to the hospital with disabling injuries.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reports 30-year-old Chenenia Johnson, of Horton, was eastbound on 130th Road when her car left the roadway and struck a tree head-on at a driveway.

Johnson was transported to Topeka's Stormont-Vail Hospital.

A passenger,30-year-old Tama, Iowa resident Diaz Vincent, was transported to Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph.

The Patrol says both occupants were not wearing seatbelts when the wreck happened shortly after 3:00 Sunday morning.     

(KAIR)--Despite rumors to the contrary, there was no major explosion outside the Atchison County Courthouse early Sunday morning.

Instead, authorities are blaming the explosive sounds, and thick smoke, on fireworks.

Both Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson and Atchison County Sheriff Jack Laurie tell MSC News the remnants of what appears to have been a large firework were found, possibly an M-80 or ¼ stick type firework.

Wilson, following an investigation Sunday, said it appears fireworks were thrown onto Parallel Street, near the Courthouse, from a vehicle traveling in the 400 block of North 5th Street around 1:30 Sunday morning.

Laurie said the only damage discovered was a small spot in the street where the firework debris was found.

Wilson said investigator's believe more fireworks were thrown in, or near, the 400 block of Riley Street around the same time that a hit and run accident occurred.

The investigation is continuing.

(KMZA)--The Nemaha Central Board of Education has approved a negotiated agreement with teachers for the 2018-19 school year.

The Board ratified the agreement with the Nemaha Central Education Association during their regular meeting Monday evening.  

Under the agreement, teachers will see an average salary increase of 3.06 percent.

Superintendent Darrel Kohlman says the base salary was increased 3.93 percent and the extra duty compensation to $11.50 an hour.  

Following an executive session, the Board also approved an average 3.06 percent salary increase for classified, administrative staff along with special licensed personnel.

In addition, the Board elected officers for the 2018-19 school year.  Jason Hammes was re-elected board president and Owen Zinke was re-elected vice-president.
 

(KLZA)--The Falls City Board of Education approved amendments to a number of policies during their July 9th meeting.

District 56 Board members approved revising a policy on school buses. The revision will allow local nonprofit entities promoting educational, civic, or community activities to lease school buses for transporting to and from non school-sponsored activities within the state.

The transportation cannot interfere with or disrupt the education program of the school district and cannot interfere with or delay the transportation of students.

The local nonprofit must pay the cost of using the school district vehicle. The District reserves the right to decline any request by a non-profit entity at the superintendent's discretion.

(KNZA)--A Sabetha man accused of sex offenses involving a three-year-old child has waived his preliminary hearing.

27-year-old Roy Tidwell III was bound over to Brown County District Court Wednesday on charges of rape, aggravated internet trading in child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child.

Brown County Attorney Kevin Hill says arraignment was scheduled for the morning of August 6th.

Tidwell is charged in connection with alleged crimes occurring in Hiawatha  between July and December 2017.

He was was arrested in May following an investigation by federal, state and local authorities.

Tidwell also faces charges of aggravated indecent liberties with a child and sexual exploitation of a child in Nemaha County.

He remains in the Brown County Jail, held on a $3 million bond.       

(KNZA)--A St. Joseph, Missouri man charged in the murder of another St. Joseph man last year in Doniphan County will stand trial.

41-year-old Christopher Colhour was bound over to Doniphan County District Court Thursday on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and felony theft after waiving his preliminary hearing.

Arraignment was scheduled for August 8th.

Colhour is charged in the death of 64-year-old Daniel Purvis in May of last year.

Purvis’ body was recovered from the Missouri River, south of St. Joseph, on May 27th of last year after a week long search. The search was launched after his vehicle was located in Troy.

A judge found Colhour competent to stand trial in January, based on an evaluation report from the Larned State Hospital.

He remains in the Doniphan County Jail, held without bond.     

(KAIR)--It was one week ago, in the early morning hours of July 6, that an explosion in downtown Atchison caused damage, but no injuries.

Occurring around 2:30 in the morning, investigators say the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device that was placed outside of the Hair Spital Barber Shop, located at at 120 North 8th Street.   

Atchison Police and Fire were joined by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the State Fire Marshal, the Kansas Highway Patrol, and others, in overseeing the investigation immediately after the explosion happened.

With no arrest yet made, Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson tells MSC News the probe is continuing, with the outside agencies continuing to partner with his department in the goal of finding who is responsible. “We continue to work that case every day...ATF has returned to Atchison this week, several agents have continued to work with our detectives. The Fire Marshal has been up every day this week. We have followed leads [that have not only led us] to a number of things in Atchison but has also led us to several cities outside of Atchison. The investigation has broadened...we think that we continue to not only make progress, but to get closer to where an arrest is going to be made.”

A suspect van was caught on surveillance video; and Wilson says since the time the images were released, hours following the explosion, tips have poured in, and those leads continue to be followed. “We've literally ran down dozens of tips on possible vehicles. We're not certain that we've located the specific vehicle we're interested in, but it's still encouraging that people are calling in, and we will find the right vehicle.”

The van sought by investigators.

A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever put the explosive device in front of the business.

While the barber shop reportedly incurred the most damage, nearby businesses also felt affects, including shattered windows.

(KNZA)--The Board of Education for the South Brown County Schools of USD 430 held their first meeting of the new fiscal year Monday evening, which included the election of board officers for the 2018-19 school year.

Jason Smith was re-elected Board President and Jacob Bruning was re-elected vice president.

Following information presented by Everest Middle School Principal Travis Torkelson, the Board voted to bringing back 8th grade algebra for the 2018-19 school year.

The Board voted to reject all the bids received for the purchase of a school van.  New bids will be due July 25th.   The Board voted to give Superintendent Jason Cline approval to accept the lowest bid up to $29,500.

Following an executive session, the USD 430 Board voted to hire Jennifer Willcott as a 1st grade teacher, Morgan Thomas for 2nd grade as a long term sub, Crystal Willich for 5th grade as a long term sub and Barb Scoggins as a para/tutor.

(KNZA)--Atchison County’s USD 377 Board of Education held its annual organizational meeting Wednesday evening.

Nancy Keith was re-elected board president for the 2018-19 school year. Barb Chapman was re-elected vice-president.

The Board took no action again on placing a resolution before voters that would give the district the authority to levy up to 8 mills for the capital outlay fund.

That comes after district patrons filed a protest petition against the resolution approved by the Board in April.

Currently, the district has the authority to levy up to 4 mills.

Superintendent Dr. Andrew Gaddis told MSC News the Board plans to communicate the need for the additional capital outlay authority to patrons and hope to successfully pursue it in the future.

(KNZA)--The Doniphan County Commission has approved a pair of zoning changes that will allow for the construction of homes on two properties north of Wathena.

The Commission voted this week to approve a request from Warren and Christina Sutton to rezone property located at 1059 and 1067 Treece Road from agriculture to mixed use.

The Doniphan County Regional Planning Commission voted last month following a public hearing to deny the zoning change for both locations, pending an engineering system to concerning the stability of the bluff sites and septic system.

County Zoning Administrator Julie Meng said the septic system plans have been approved by Northeast Kansas Environmental Services.

In other business, the Commission received the second draft of the 2019 county budget.  

County Clerk Peggy Franken provided an overview of the proposed budget.  She said it decreases the amount of tax to be collected by about $6,000, reduces the property tax levy 3.2 mills and allows for a 50 cent an hour pay increase for all employees.

The Commission is able to lower the mill levy due to a nearly $11 million increase in the county’s assessed valuation.

The Commission took no action pending review of the budget draft.

(KMZA)--The Marshall County Fair is underway at the fairgrounds in Blue Rapids.

The fair kicked off Thursday and runs through Tuesday.

The theme this year is “ Boots, Buckles and Barrels of Fun at the Marshall County Fair.”

Saturday will bring the swine show, bucket calf show, a demolition derby at 7:00 in the evening and performance by the Rewind Band at 8:00.

The beef and rabbit shows will take place Sunday morning.  A Christian music concert featuring “ House of the Rising Sun” will be held Sunday afternoon at 4:00.  

The Fair parade will be held Sunday evening at 6:00, followed by a performance by Tim Strathman and Blacktop Road at 8:00.

Monday brings the sheep, poultry and dairy shows, with a watermelon feed in the evening.

There will be a carnival and petting zoo on the fairway Saturday through Tuesday evening.

The Fair wraps up Tuesday evening with the livestock auction, beginning at 7:30.   

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A Kansas utility company has launched a new program aiming to make it easier for large businesses to access affordable green energy.
 
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the Kansas Corporation Commission on Tuesday approved the Direct Renewable Participation Service by Westar Energy.

The approval led to Westar announcing a day later that it has reached a 20-year agreement with a NextEra Energy Resources affiliate to purchase energy from a new 300-megawatt wind farm being developed in Nemaha County.
 
Westar officials say the program offers large commercial businesses a way to meet sustainability goals by accessing Kansas wind energy. Participating businesses will be able to claim part of the energy generated by the wind farm as their own.
 
 The wind farm is expected to be operational by 2020.
  

(KLZA)-- The Auburn City Council took action Monday night on five requests for $10-thousand housing program grants and one for a free lot.

Following much discussion, and tie votes broken by Mayor Scott Kudrna, four of the six requests were approved,  The votes followed the recommendation from the Keep Auburn Beautiful Committee on four of the six requests but it appears there has been a shift in how the grant funds can be used.  

Mayor Scott Kudrna said the initial money in the program was for new housing, and infill housing to build a new house where an old house and been torn down. 

Grants were approved for Richard and LeeAnn Warner who are building a new single family home in the Glenrock Addition at an estimated cost of more than $340-thousand. Council members Rick Janssen, Tom Clark and Katie Billings cast nay votes.  Council members Jeff Jeanneret, Shawn  Clark and Chris  Erickson voted in favor with Mayor Kudrna casting the deciding vote.

The Keep Auburn Beautiful Committee recommended approval. 

A request form Nick Bantz for a free lot in consideration of him clearing the lot at 1300, 7th Street at his own expense and constructing a house within a year was approved 4-2.  The KAB  recommended the request be approved.

Also approved was a request from Lonnie Haynes for money to use to renovate a house at 621 Central Avenue which has an estimated material list of $35-thousand.  The vote was 4-2. The KAB had recommended the request be denied. 

Also approved was a request from John Barnard for a grant to renovate a house at 710, 10th Street, which has an estimated cost of $8,900.  The vote was 4-2 in favor.  The KAB had recommended the request be denied. 

The requests that were denied, were from the owners of the Arbor Manor Steakhosue and Motel who submitted a request for a grant to renovate the apartments above the steakhouse estimated to cost $15-20-thousand.  The vote was 3-3 with Council members Erickson, Jeanneret and Tom Clark voting to deny and Mayor Kudrna also voting to deny the request. Also denied was a request from Brett and Lauren Vinson for funding to renovate a house at 2501 R. Street, with an estimated cost of $10,500.  The KAB recommended denial of both requests.

While the Mayor prefers the money be used for new construction he said the Council members have the right to vote how they like.  

Mayor Kudrna estimates there will be about $10-thousand left in the fund following Monday nights grant awards. He said he is concerned with the precedent set, it will create quite a bit of interest and an influx of new applications wanting funding for rehabilitation projects rather than new housing. 

Prior to this year, there had been no applications for funding.

(KAIR)--The Huron City Council member, facing numerous charges stemming from alleged attacks on law enforcement, has only attended one meeting since she gained the seat.

According to a report from the Associated Press, Carol Fowler faces removal due to her lack of attendance, according to fellow council member Paula Clem.

According to Atchison County election documents, Fowler was elected to the council in November by only two write-in votes.

On June 29, Fowler is accused of resisting Sheriff's deputies, leading to the use of a stun gun to subdue her.

On July 2, as Atchison County jail staff finalized the booking process, Atchison County Sheriff Jack Laurie said Fowler turned violent, biting the thumb of a correctional officer, which sent him to the hospital for treatment.

Atchison County Attorney Jerry Kuckelman says Fowler is charged with felony battery on a law enforcement officer, misdemeanor battery on a law enforcement officer and misdemeanor interference with a law enforcement officer in connection with the June 29 altercation.

Charges filed in connection with the July 2 attack include felony battery on a correctional officer.

Kuckelman tells MSC News Fowler is undergoing a mental health evaluation at Larned State Hospital, and a new court date won't be set until that is completed.

(KNZA)--A Hiawatha teenager accused of the rape of a 13-year-old girl has waived his preliminary hearing.

19-year-old Nicholas Miller was bound over to Brown County District Court Wednesday on the felony charge.

Brown County Attorney Kevin Hill says arraignment was scheduled for the morning of August 6th.   

A judge in November found Miller competent to stand trial based on an evaluation conducted by KANZA Mental Health.

He was arrested last June following an investigation by the Hiawatha Police Department.

Miller remains in the Brown County Jail, held on a $150,000 bond.

(KLZA)-The Richardson County Commission has approved salary adjustments for the non-union road and bridge employees.   

A 2-percent increase was approved Tuesday for the Road Department Foremen and the Administrative Assistant.

The raises are retroactive to July 1.    

In other action, the Commission approved the purchase of a 2017 Dodge Charger pursuit vehicle for the Sheriff’s Department.

The used vehicle has a $20,000 price tag but comes with a fully equipped patrol package—including siren and light system.

The purchase will be made from Kansas Highway Patrol Fleet Sales of Topeka.    

(KNZA)--The Brown County Commission has approved for publication a proposed 2019 county budget that calls for about a half mill decrease in the property tax levy.

The action came Monday after the Commission agreed to provide additional funding for the Register of Deeds Office.

Register of Deeds Nellie Brockhoff told Commissioners the proposed $84,000 allocation would not even meet payroll.

She said she did not feel the just over $91,000 she had requested was out of line.

Brockhoff noted the money her office brings into the county.  She said her office took in nearly $112,000 in 2016 and nearly $87,000 last year.  So far this year, as of June 30th, the office has brought in more than $52,000.

Following discussion, the Commission agreed to increase the amount allocated for her office to $90,000.  That would be about a $9,000 increase over what she received this year.

The Commission will consider adoption of the budget following a public hearing at their July 31st meeting.  

(KAIR)--An investigation is launched following the discovery of two bodies at a Highland residence.

They are identified as 61-year-old Daniel Ingles and 57-year-old Theresa Gurwell.

According to a press release from Highland Police Chief Brandon Whetstine, his department conducted a welfare check at 108 South Vermillion Street, in Highland, after they were requested to do so around 6:00 on the evening of July 3.

At that time, an officer discovered Ingles and Gurwell, who are identified as residents of the address.

Whetstine says it's not believed anyone else was involved in their deaths, but the investigation is ongoing.

Assisting Highland Police in the investigation are the Doniphan County Sheriff's Department and Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

(KLZA)--The Pawnee City Board of Education voted unanimously to  confirm the appointment of Mary Moser to fill a vacancy on the Board when they met Monday evening. 

Moser will serve the remainder of the term of A.J. Tomky who resigned in June. 

In other action the Board approved a proposal from Constructors Inc. of Lincoln to add a concrete curb and gutter and concrete driveway to the south high school parking lot.  The $11,541 cost will be paid for out of the Special Building Fund.  

Board members also approved increasing substitute teacher pay from $115 to $120 per day and an increase for bus drivers from $40 to $45 per route.  
 

(KLZA)--New security measures now in place at the Richardson County Courthouse in Falls City. 

There are no firearms or any other weapons allowed in the Courthouse by members of the public. The only point of entry for the public to the Courthouse will be the south entrance. 

Individuals entering the building must walk through a metal detector. You are advised to leave pocket knives, sharp tools, pepper spray and personal defense items in your vehicle.  On-duty staff will not be storing any items and will require you to take them back to your vehicle prior to gaining entry. 

Those that will be able to use the other entrances to the Courthouse will be Judges and their employees.  County employees, Deputies and Jailers from the Sheriff's Office and inmates in their custody.  Uniformed State, Federal and or Tribal Law Enforcement Officers and State of Nebraska employees, whose primary office is located in the Richardson County  Courthouse. 

(KNZA)--A burn ban has been issued for Doniphan County due to the extreme dry conditions and heat.

That word came Wednesday in an email from Doniphan County Emergency Management Agency Director Julie Meng.

Meng says the burn ban will remain in place until further notice.  

(KNZA)--The Prairie Hills USD 113 Board of Education held its first meeting of the new fiscal year Monday evening, which included the election of board officers for the 2018-19 school year.

Superintendent Todd Evans says Ed Reznicek was re-elected Board President for the 7th consecutive year.  Kathy Lippert was re-elected vice-president.

In other action, Evans says representatives of the Sabetha Booster Club presented a proposal for the installation of a sound system for the new Sabetha High School press box.

He said the proposal from Sound Products Inc., of Olathe, places speakers on the scoreboard.  The district’ s cost will be $9,800 of the $19,600 system, with the Booster Club paying the remaining balance.

The Board previously agreed to pay 50 percent of the cost of the new press box, up to $60,000.  So far, that amounts to just under $48,000.  The total cost for the district, with payment of half the sound system, would be nearly $58,000.

Discussion was held regarding the proposed relocation of Axtell School office to the current high school library location.

Two architects toured the school.  They provided estimates on the cost of relocating the current office and re-purposing the current office into learning space, which ranged from $100,000 to $150,000.

Evans was directed to obtain more information regarding architectural fees and a time frame as to how long the project will take to complete.

The Board will revisit the item at the August meeting.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - The firm working to build a mine in southeast Nebraska to extract a rare heat-resistant element says the project won't need to dump saltwater in the Missouri River.

NioCorp Developments said Tuesday the proposed niobium mine near Elk Creek won't need an expensive water line to the river, and the project won't need two federal permits.

The change is possible because NioCorp recently determined that the proposed mine will produce significantly less bedrock water.

NioCorp CEO Mark Smith says this change will reduce the environmental impact of the proposed mine.

The U.S. currently imports nearly all the niobium that's used in this country to harden steel and make it more heat-resistant for industrial uses.

NioCorp is based in Centennial, Colorado.

(KMZA)--The Seneca City Council has approved for publication a proposed 2019 city budget of $11.8 million that calls for a nearly 4.2 mill property tax levy increase.

The Council took the action last week.

The proposed budget contains an estimated tax rate of 36.46 mills, which is the maximum the city is able to levy to remain under state property tax lid.

The mill levy would generate just over $858,000.

The mill levy has remained at about 32 mills for several years.

The Council is to consider adoption of the budget following a public hearing at their August 15th meeting.

City Administrator Matt Rehder says the Council can lower the mill levy following the hearing but it can’t go up from what’s been published.   

(KMZA)--An Omaha, Nebraska man facing a pair of child sex charges in Nemaha County, Kansas has waived his preliminary hearing.

48-year-old Daniel Russo was bound over to Nemaha County District Court Monday on two counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

Arraignment was set for August 9th.

The criminal complaint alleges Russo persuaded, induced or enticed a child under 18 years of age to engage in sexually explicit conduct with the intent to promote the performance.  It also alleges that Russo promoted a performance that included sexually explicit conduct by a child under 18.

He was arrested May 7th following an investigation by the Nemaha County Sheriff’s Department, Hiawatha Police Department and Omaha Police Department.

Russo remains free on a $50,000 bond.

(KNZA)--A plea agreement has been reached in a Holton rape case.

The Holton Recorder reports 38-year-old Antonio Ramirez-Garcia, a resident of southern Mexico, recently pleaded no contest in Jackson County District Court to a charge of aggravated sexual battery.

In exchange for the plea, charges of rape and aggravated criminal sodomy were dismissed.

Sentencing was set for August 10th.

A 3-day jury trial in the case had been set to begin August 1st.

Ramirez-Garcia was initially charged with rape but the two additional charges were added following a March 27th preliminary hearing.

He’s was charged with sexually assaulting a former co-worker during a party at a Holton residence early February 10th.

Ramirez-Garcia was arrested five days later after Jackson County deputies located him in Topeka.

He remains in the Jackson County Jail, held on a $100,000 bond.     

(KLZA)--New security measures are now in place at the Richardson County Courthouse in Falls City.

There are no firearms or any other weapons allowed in the Courthouse by members of the public. The only point of entry for the public to the Courthouse will be the south entrance.

Individuals entering the building must walk through a metal detector. You are advised to leave pocket knives, sharp tools, pepper spray and personal defense items in your vehicle. On-duty staff will not be storing any items and will require you to take them back to your vehicle prior to gaining entry.

Those that will be able to use the other entrances to the Courthouse will be Judges and their employees. County employees, Deputies and Jailers from the Sheriff's Office and inmates in their custody. Uniformed State, Federal and or Tribal Law Enforcement Officers and State of Nebraska employees, whose primary office is located in the Richardson County Courthouse.

The Richardson County Sheriff's Department is supervising the Courthouse Security.

(KAIR)--Minor injuries are the reported outcome of a two vehicle, Monday afternoon Atchison wreck.

Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson said it happened at 5th and Q Street, around 3:00.

Wilson said it occurred when a Chevy Cavalier, southbound on 5th Street, was struck by a Honda Accord, that failed to yield when eastbound on Q Street.

The driver of the Cavalier, 31-year-old Atchison resident Buffy Tatman, and her 6-year-old passenger, were both treated at the scene by Atchison County EMS.

They were later taken to the Atchison Hospital by private vehicle.

The driver of the Accord, 16-year-old Madison Helton, of Nortonville, was not hurt.

She was cited for failure to yield.

(KNZA)--The Hiawatha Board of Education held its first meeting of the new fiscal year Monday evening, which included the election of a new board president, acceptance of several retirement resignations and approval of several new high school courses.

The Board voted to elect Ian Schuetz as board president for the 2018-19 school year.  

Dr. Pete Rosa, who has served as board president the past three school years, was elected as vice-president.  Rosa said with his work schedule he preferred not to continue as board president but agreed to serve as vice-president.

The Board accepted ,with regrets, the retirement resignations of Elementary School Principal Tom Schmitz along with two longtime teachers--Middle and High School vocal teacher Sarah Kleopfer and 5th grade teacher Staci Charles.  All three resignations are effective at the end of the 2018-19 school year.

In addition, the Board accepted the resignation of Middle and High school Nurse Cheryl Mishler, effective immediately.

The Board also approved the hiring of Amanda Hinton as High School Administrative Assistant.

Following discussion, the Board approved the addition of three new high school classes and fees for the classes. They include two new "shop" classes--- small engines and welding.  Also added was a recreational sports class. The classes will be offered to all high school students.

Maintenance Director Matt Cluck provided an update on district projects—including the new high school track.   He said the old track has been torn out and the contractor hopes to pour the concrete base for the new track by the end of this week.

He also said High School auditorium ceiling and lighting replacement project is 90 percent complete.

(KLZA)--Two Verdon residents were injured Friday evening in a motorcycle wreck in Richardson County.

The Richardson County Sheriff's Office reports 61-year-old Zach Vice was operating the motoricycle and 64-year-old Kathy Vice was a passenger.

The wreck occurred about six miles north of Falls City on U.S. 73 Highway.

Both Zach Vice and Kathy Vice were transported to Community Medical Center in Falls City. Kathy Vice was later transferred to a Lincoln hospital for treatment of her injuries.

No other details of the wreck have been made available.

(KNZA)--A public meeting on the proposed expansion of the Holton Community Hospital and its Family Practice Associates clinic is set for Wednesday, July 11th.

The meeting will take place at The Hotspot, located on the north side of the Holton Square at 124 West Fifth Street, at 6:30 in the evening.

The public is invited to attend the meeting and provide comments on the proposed project.

Rural Health Resources of Jackson County Inc., which does business as the Holton Community Hospital, has filed a pre-application with the USDA Rural Development for financial assistance to renovate and expand the hospital and to build a new, nearly 12,000-square-foot rural health care clinic.

Hospital officials say a larger clinic will provide more room for the hospital’s growing roster of outpatient services.

The cost of the expansion and remodeling is estimated at $16.5 million.

The hospital will be notified in October if its loan application is approved, and a groundbreaking for the new clinic could occur as soon as spring 2019.    

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The University of Kansas Health System has received a gift of $2 million from Cloud L. "Bud" Cray, Jr., chairman emeritus of MGP Ingredients in Atchison, KS, and his wife, the late Sally Cray. The gift is given in recognition of the exceptional care received by the Cray family from Dr. Charles Porter, cardiologist, and the staff of the heart program at The University of Kansas Health System. The gift will support the cardiomyopathy and heart failure program and the cardio-oncology program.

"I am very proud that Sally and my foundation will help foster advances in these two critical areas of cardiac treatment and care," said Bud Cray. "Many in our family have benefited from cardiac care at The University of Kansas Hospital and we continue to be impressed with the advances that have taken place within the entire health system over the past 15 years."

"We are so grateful to have Bud Cray and his late wife Sally as supporters and friends of The University of Kansas Health System," said Bob Page, the health system's president and chief executive officer. "Because of their belief in our heart program, their gift will help future patients who are the sickest of the sick receive the most advanced care."

Dr. Porter's relationship with the Cray family in Atchison centers around his nearly 25 years of practice at the Cardiovascular Medicine clinic in Atchison, formerly known as Mid-America Cardiology. "I'm humbled by their generosity. Over the years I told them The University of Kansas Hospital's story as it and its cardiovascular programs grew continuously. I never asked them for anything specific, they just recognized they could trust me and that the health system could do great things with their gift," said Porter. "The cardio-oncology program support is particularly special because it has not been recognized previously with any specific financial support. The program has developed over the last 10 years through the efforts of multiple cardiologists and oncologists who recognize the need for collaboration in order to provide the best possible cancer treatment results while minimizing adverse cardiac events that result from cancer therapy."

Cardiomyopathy describes an array of heart diseases that occurs when the heart muscle is abnormal. Cardiomyopathies can cause heart failure, abnormal heart rhythms and sudden cardiac death. Improved results for patients with cardiomyopathy will come through advances in genetic assessment, medical therapies, mechanical circulatory support and transplant.

The Cray family is no stranger to supporting health system patients and the University of Kansas Medical Center. The Cray Foundation provided the resources to open the Cray Diabetes Center in 1979 and has provided continual philanthropic support.

(KLZA)--The Richardson County Sheriff's Office reports there were no injuries when a helicopter crashed south of Rulo Monday night.

The small helicopter ended up in a bean field. The pilot has not been identified by authorities.

The Federal Aviation Administration will be in charge of the investigation.

(KAIR)--Two Leavenworth residents are formally charged in connection with allegedly shooting at a deputy during a pursuit.

According to Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson, 33-year-old Anthony Robertson and 29-year-old Shauntel Cornelius are both charged with aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer.

Robertson is also charged with criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle, criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer.

Cornelius is also charged with interference with a law enforcement officer, and littering.

The Leavenworth Times reports it happened Friday afternoon, around 4:45, when Robertson failed to stop at a stop sign at 207th Street and Kansas 92 Highway, in Leavenworth County.

The pickup the pair was traveling in nearly struck a Sheriff's Deputy vehicle head-on, after speeding through the intersection, overcorrecting, and entering the same lane as the deputy.

The pursuit began, which included Robertson allegedly firing a gun from inside the pickup, while Cornelius allegedly threw items, including a tire and toolbox, from the bed of the truck.

The pair, after the truck getting stuck, fled on foot, but were located, and arrested, Saturday.

(KNZA)--The third and final suspect in a 2017 Hiawatha home invasion has pleaded no contest to charges.

Brown County Attorney Kevin Hill says 28-year-old Oscar Martinez, of Bern, entered the plea Monday in Brown County District Court to charges of aggravated robbery and aggravated battery.

In exchange for the plea, charges of aggravated burglary and criminal restraint were dismissed.

Sentencing was set for August 6th.    

Martinez remains in the Brown County Jail after his request for a bond modification was denied and his bond was revoked.

He was arrested in February on a Brown County warrant and extradited from the state of Nebraska where he had been held on separate charges.   

Co-defendants, Sabetha residents Edgar Martinez and Jazmene Hicks, were sentenced in November on charges in the case.  

Edgar Martinez was sentenced to 5 ½ years in prison, while Hicks was placed on 36-months supervised probation.

Authorities say the trio broke into a home at 121 Apache Street in Hiawatha on May 16th of last year.  The occupant, Ray Atlakson, told police he was battered and robbed, with his hands bound behind his back before the suspects fled the scene.

Taken were a pair of car keys, billfold and a RCA tablet.

Atlakson was treated for injuries at the Hiawatha Community Hospital.  

(KAIR)--Arrests are made in two separate Atchison investigations, including a case dating back to last month involving a pedestrian being struck by a vehicle.

Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson told MSC News the probe, which was launched June 30, led authorities to Effingham resident Kaleb Giles. “We were able to, through some video footage in the area, get a video of a vehicle that we were interested in. We, since that time, had located a vehicle matching that description. We found the owner of the vehicle, which led us to the identity of a 20-year-old driver who had been driving the vehicle on the night of [June 30].”

Giles was taken into custody Saturday for leaving the scene of an accident.

Following his arrest, Giles was booked into the Atchison County Jail.

He has since been released on a surety bond of $500.

Wilson said Giles is accused of striking a 36-year-old man, who was walking at 2nd and Commercial Streets on the evening of June 30, and then driving away.

The pedestrian did not require hospitalized treatment.

Kaleb Giles/Credit: Atchison Co Sheriff's Office

Another investigation, focused on the burglary of an Atchison residence Friday, led to Sunday's arrest of an Atchison man. “That investigation continued through the weekend,” Wilson said. “We were able to identify a 52-year-old Atchison man as being responsible...we did locate him late on Sunday night, and he was taken into custody for this residential burglary.”

Taken into custody on charges of burglary and theft was Brent Buettgenbach. “It was unlawful entry into the residence. The victim and the suspect were known to each other. There was about $1,500 worth of items taken, including power tools and electronic equipment.”

Following his arrest, Buettgenbach was booked into the Atchison County Jail.

Brent Buettgenbach/Credit: Atchison Co Sheriff's Office

Along with those two investigations, Atchison Police continue to search for whoever is responsible for placing what the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives calls “improvised explosive device” outside of a downtown business early Friday morning. “We made a lot of progress on Friday, and we made a lot of progress over the weekend,” Wilson said. “Nobody in custody, but still going strong on the investigation.”

A $5,000 reward is offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever placed the explosive device outside the Hair Spital Barber Shop, located at 120 North 8th Street.   A suspect van, caught on surveillance video, is also being sought.

The blast shattered windows and spread debris across a one block area, but caused no injuries.

Van suspected of being in the area of Friday's downtown Atchison explosion/Credit: ATF/Atchison Police Dept. 

Wilson said there's also been no arrest yet made in the Friday afternoon armed robbery of an Atchison payday loan business. “We worked throughout the weekend following leads on that case also...we do make progress.”

The suspect was caught on security video taken at Advance America, located at 820 U.S. Highway 59.

Surveillance video footage of armed robbery suspect/Credit: Atchison Police Dept. 

(KLZA)-- A health alert has been issued for harmful algae blooms at Kirkman's Cove Lake near Humboldt. 

Samples taken last week were above the state's health alert threshold of 20-parts per billion  of a toxin released by certain strains of blue-green algae.  

The alert will continue at the lake for at least two more weeks, because lakes on a health alert must have two consecutive weeks of readings below the threshold  before the alert is discontinued.  

Kirkman's Cove Lake is closed to all activities involving body contact with the water including swimming and skiing.  

Boating and fishing are permitted, but the public is advised to use caution and avoid exposure to the water. 

Do not let pets get in the water or drink from the lake.  

This is the second algae alert for Kirkman's Cove this summer. 

(KLZA)-- A Humboldt teenager suffered non-life threatening injuries in a wreck in  Dawson involving a pickup and two semi's.

The wreck report is incomplete at this time, but Richardson County Sheriff Don  Pounds tells MSC News 17-year-old Terrance  Bohling of Humboldt had stopped his 2009 Dodge pickup at a STOP sign in Dawson.  His view was obstructed by a legally parked semi-truck.

When Bohling pulled onto Highway 75 he was hit broadside by a semi-tractor trailer driven by Terry Newland of Gretna, Nebraska.  Newland was not injured.

The semi hit the pickup in the drivers side door.  Emergency crews had to use the Jaws-of-Life to free Bohling from the pickup which was totaled in the wreck. 

The impact disabled the brakes on the pickup and it rolled into a parked semi.  

The semi Newland was driving sustained an estimated $20-thousand in damage.  The parked semi was not damaged.

Bohling was transported to the Nemaha County Hospital in Auburn where he was treated and released.  

(KNZA)--Riverside USD 114 has set two public meetings to provide information on the capital outlay levy question that voters will face during the August 7th primary election.

According to the district’s website, the meetings will take place Thursday, July 12th at the east campus gym in Elwood and Thursday, July 26th at the west campus auditorium in Wathena.

Both meetings will begin at 7 p.m.

Information will be presented on the need for the capital outlay levy, and there will also be a designated time for questions from patrons of the district.

The USD 114 Board of Education voted in May to place the tax levy on the August 7th ballot after a valid protest petition was filed following approval of a capital outlay resolution in February.

If approved by voters, the district would have the authority to levy up to 4.775 mills annually for five years for the capital outlay fund.

Currently, the Riverside school district is among only 12 districts in the state without a capital outlay levy.

The current source of revenue for the capital outlay fund is an annual transfer from the general fund budget.

(KNZA)--The Brown County Fair marks its 100th anniversary this year.

The Fair will kick off Monday, July 9th at the fairgrounds in Horton and runs through Friday.

This year’s theme is “ 100 Years of Making the Best Better.”

The fair parade will take place Tuesday evening beginning at 6:30.  The parade will include several new entries---the Topeka High drumline, K-State’s Willie the Wildcat, K-U’s Baby Jay and Horton’s own #99 Trey Dishon.

The fashion revue will be held following the parade.

Wednesday brings the swine, bucket calf, beef and dairy shows.  The pedal power tractor pull will take place Wednesday evening at 7:00, with registration beginning at 6.

On Thursday evening, grilled pork burgers will be served and free entertainment will be provided by Jake Worthington at 8:00.   Worthington was the 2014 runner-up on “ The Voice.”

The Fair will wrap up Friday evening with the livestock sale and a street dance, which will open to the public from 9 to midnight.

(KNZA)--A Mayetta man was struck and killed by a vehicle early Sunday morning on Interstate-70 in Riley County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol identified the victim as 21-year-old Matthew Bailey.

The Patrol says 23-year-old Greenwood, South Carolina resident Cyrus Renfrow was eastbound on I-70 when Bailey walked onto the roadway and was struck by his Jeep Wrangler.

Bailey was pronounced dead at the scene.

Renfrow and a passenger in his vehicle were not hurt.

The accident was reported around 3:45 Sunday morning about 13 miles southeast of Manhattan.    
    

(KAIR)--The longest Leavenworth County jury trial in at least 50-years comes to a close as a Kansas City, Kansas woman is found guilty of murder.

According to Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson, the jury Friday found 52-year-old Barbara Frantz guilty of first degree murder in connection with the death of 54-year-old Leavenworth resident Gary Frantz.

The two had been married but were separated at the time of his death.

He was found on the night of January 27, 2017 in a parking lot near the Missouri River, in Leavenworth.

Frantz had been shot six times.

Still breathing at the time he was discovered, Frantz told Police Officers on the scene that his wife had shot him.

A sentencing date for Barbara Frantz will be set July 25.

Thompson, in a press release, said he's relieved to have the case resolved, noting that the jury trial took two weeks, and ran past 8:00 some nights.

He said he's been told it was the longest jury trial to date in Leavenworth County, with no one recalling any other running longer in at least the past 50-years.

(KAIR)--Reported drug activity leads law enforcement to respond, and that leads to a traffic stop that lands an Atchison man in jail.

Atchison County Sheriff Jack Laurie told MSC News Perez Smith was spotted Wednesday in the 800 block of Laramie Street, in Atchison. “Deputies received some information about possible drug activity going on at a residence over in that area. They actually saw Mr. Smith drive by and knew [his license] was suspended and conducted a traffic stop. Following the traffic stop, he was released on a notice to appear.”

Laurie said when the actual owner of the vehicle arrived, a search was conducted, and that led to the discovery of what he says were illegal drugs. “The owner allowed them to gather some evidence out of the vehicle, which was methamphetamine, and some other items. Later obtained a warrant for Smith and picked him up on those charges.”

Smith was arrested Thursday on the warrant charging him with possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

Following his apprehension, Smith was booked into the Atchison County Jail.

(KAIR)--The report of an armed robbery late Friday afternoon in Atchison leaves authorities searching for a suspect.

The crime happened at the Advance America cash advance business, located at 820 U.S. Highway 59.

Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson tells MSC News the search for the suspect was continuing as of 4:45 Friday afternoon. “Shortly after 4 p.m. [Friday] afternoon we responded to the Cash Advance business where an aggravated robbery had just occurred. We've got a number of officers in the area seeking a suspect who ran from the scene. He took money at gunpoint from an employee there, in the Cash Advance.”

The suspect is described as a black man wearing black gloves, a black hat, and armed with a handgun.

Anyone who sees the suspect should not make contact with him, but notify local authorities immediately.

(KLZA)--The Falls City Police Department is sponsoring their National  Night Out event on August 7. 

Monday night, the City Council approved holding the majority of the event at Stanton Lake Park allowing for additional room for helicopters to land.  

Officer Zach Ractliffe coordinates the program for the Falls City Police Department.  He is expecting to have 13 different agencies for this years event which will include free hot dogs for everyone. 

The event will begin at 6 in the evening and around 7:45, everyone is invited to take part in a “March Against  Crime.” Law enforcement personnel will be walking with the crowd from Stanton Lake to the Aquatic Center for free swimming.   The streets will be blocked off during the walk for safety.

The goal is for youngsters to have as much interaction with police officers and other first responders and emergency personnel as possible.  

(KLZA)-- The latest information from the National Weather Service indicates minor flooding along the Missouri  River is expected to continue from Nebraska City, downstream through St. Joseph through at least Tuesday. 

The river level is falling, but rains upstream and an increase in the releases from the Gavins Point Dam near Yankton, South Dakota,  will keep the river level higher than normal. 

 The river reading Friday morning at Nebraska City was about 2.3-feet above the 18-foot flood stage.  At Brownville the river was 4.5-feet above the 33-foot flood stage and at  Rulo the Missouri was 4.5-feet above the 17-foot flood Stage Friday morning. 

At St. Joseph the reading was 3.6-feet above the 17-foot flood stage.  At Atchison the river is just over a foot above flood stage but is expected to drop below flood stage Saturday night.  

(KMZA)--Nemaha Central USD 115 plans to add a school resource officer.

The Seneca City Council Monday evening approving having former Kansas Highway Patrol trooper Todd Helm fill the position, who was recently hired by the Seneca Police Department.

Mayor Joe Mitchell says the school district will pay all of his expenses during the school year and he will remain as a city employee.

The Council is expected to approve an agreement with the school district at their next meeting, July 18th.

The USD 115 Board of Education approved the agreement during a special meeting last week.   

Under the agreement, Superintendent Darrel Kohlman says the police department will provide an officer to the school district for 1,000 hours during the school year.  

Kohlman says the officer will split his time between the district’s two schools.

He estimated first year costs would be $40,000 or less.

Still image captured from video surveillance footage of a van that was in the area of the downtown Atchison explosion early Friday morning.

(KAIR)--A $5,000 reward is being offered as the investigation into the cause of an early Friday morning downtown Atchison explosion progresses.

Investigators believe the explosion was intentional, caused by an explosive device. Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson on Friday told MSC News officers from his department, as well as agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Kansas Highway Patrol, and others, were actively investigating the blast, which left businesses damaged in the 100 block of North 8th Street. “There's a number of resources that we utilize. Obviously, I've talked about ATF agents that are here, as well as Fire Marshal agents that are here, but we've also utilized KHP bomb dogs, used an aircraft searching for certain things. Obviously, we're doing many interviews.”

According to a news release jointly issued Friday evening by the ATF and Atchison Police, the reward is offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

The “post-blast” investigation reveals that an improvised explosive device, placed outside the Hair Spital Barber Shop, at 120 North 8th Street, is the cause of the blast that shattered windows and spread debris across a one block area.

Surveillance video footage, and image captures from the video, have been made public.

According to the release, the footage was captured by a business, near the blast, moments before the device detonated. Captured in the footage is a vehicle, identified as a minivan believed to be a 2004 to 2008 Nissan Quest.

Anyone with information about the vehicle is asked to contact investigators at 1-888-ATF-BOMB, or 1-888-283-2662.

The ATF can also be contacted at www.atf.gov/contact/atftips, or text 63975 using the code ATFKC. Tipsters can remain anonymous. 

Although businesses in the area surrounding the barber shop also incurred  damage, the explosion caused no injuries.

It happened around 2:30 Friday morning. 

Photo credit: Brian Hagen/MSC News 

(KAIR)--A teacher at the Atchison County Community Schools is receiving special honors.

According to a news release, USD 377 high school teacher Paul English has been awarded a Summer Fellowship by the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University, in Ohio.

The release calls the center “a highly regarded nonprofit provider of educational programs for United States history and government teachers, as well as high school and college students.”

Teachers who are chosen as Summer Fellows “participate in a rigorous week-long graduate-level summer course with other students enrolled in Ashbrook's Master of Arts in American History and Government program.” The release calls the program “the nation's only master's degree program developed specifically for history and government teachers.”

The fellowship is possible through what the release calls “generous funding support from the Philip M. McKenna Foundation.

The Hiawatha Fire Department responded to an early morning house fire at 111 Navajo on Thursday. Photo credit: Hiawatha Fire Dept.

(KNZA)--Fire caused extensive damage to a Hiawatha home early Thursday morning.

According to Hiawatha Fire Department Public Information Officer Jordanne Shockley, firefighters were paged out at 2:19 to a structure fire at 111 Navajo Avenue.

Shockley says the cause of the fire remains under investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

No additional information is being released at this time.

Assisting were the Robinson Fire Department, Squad 48, Town and Country EMS and the Hiawatha Police Department.    

(KAIR)--A Huron City Council member, arrested last month following an alleged altercation with law enforcement, is accused of another attack, this time requiring hospitalized treatment for a corrections officer.

When deputies attempted to arrest 48-year-old Carol Fowler June 30 on a warrant for failure to appear in court, she allegedly refused to cooperate, leading to the use of tasers to bring her under control.

Atchison County Sheriff Jack Laurie told MSC News that on July 2, Fowler refused to cooperate with jail staff as they attempted to complete the booking process from her June 30 arrest.

Laurie said jail staff was forced to begin removing jewelry and other personal items belonging to Fowler, and when they did, she bit a corrections officer on the thumb. “They had five officers in there and it was a struggle for all of them to get her to comply. She was able to get a hold of one of the corrections officer's thumbs with her teeth and actually broke the bone in his thumb. He is back to work, some ongoing medical treatment with that. He was treated at the hospital and County protocol was followed.”

Fowler is expected to be charged with battery on a law enforcement officer in connection with the alleged attack.

According to the office of Atchison County Attorney Jerry Kuckelman, Fowler, in connection with the June 30 altercation, has been charged with two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer. One of the counts is a felony due to resulting injuries.

The second count is a misdemeanor.

Fowler is also facing one count of interference with a law enforcement officer for resisting arrest June 30.

Her next court appearance is scheduled for Friday.

According to Atchison County election documents, Fowler was elected to the Huron City Council in November, 2017.

(KNZA)--The Jackson County Democratic Party will host one of the final Democratic gubernatorial debates before the August 7th primary election.

It will take place Sunday afternoon, July 8th  at 3:00 at the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Old Bingo Hall located at 16281 Q Road near Mayetta.

According to a news release, three of the leading Democratic candidates for Kansas Governor will be attending.  They include former Wichita mayor Carl Brewer, Senator Laura Kelly of Topeka and former Kansas House member and Secretary of Agriculture Joshua Svaty.

Former U.S. Attorney for the district of Kansas, Barry Grissom, will serve as moderator.

The candidates will be addressing questions from members of the Jackson County Democratic party and representatives of the Prairie Band Potawatomi.

The public is encouraged to attend and participate in the event.   A reception will follow.    

(KLZA)-- The Missouri Department of Economic Development has awarded the community of Oregon, Missouri a $550-thousand Community Development Block Grant.

In addition, the USDA will provide a $1.4-million loan and $515,730 in grant funds to be used for improvements to the communities water distribution system. 

The project will include new piping, 23 fire hydrant assemblies, 150 water meters, and nearly 300 connections as well as asphalt repairs and a master meter for the community of Forest  City according to the Mound City News.  

The water storage tank will receive a new exterior and interior coating  as well as other improvements. 

(KLZA)-- The Humboldt City Council tackled a wide variety of  topics during their June 19th meeting. 

  Kelly Shupp, President of the Humboldt Chamber of  Commerce presented an estimate from Tim DeJohnge to build a portable electric panel for approximately $1,000.  The council approved paying for half of the cost.

Two items concerning chickens in the City limits were discussed. 
Evonne Fagler  has requested permission to have Therapy  Chickens. This item was referred to the  Citiy Attorney Dylan Handley to review.

Brett  Hutton is seeking permission to have chickens at his home on Cherry Lane.  Hutton lives on just over 10-acres on the west side of the community and want to have  six laying chickens and six to butcher. A motion to approve the request died for a lack of a second when a number of attendees said it was unfair to approve this request but not the request for Therapy Chickens. 

An interlocal agreement was approved between Humboldt and the Nemaha Natural Resources District for  a $13,150 Urban Special Project fund grant that will be used for the Humboldt Cancer Garden project for Fiscal Year 2019.  

It was also noted the swimming pool repairs were made and the pool opened one day later than planned for the season.  

The  Council also approved the expenditure of $6,755 for  asbestos abatement from four properties in Humboldt.  Bockmann Inc. Facility & Environmental Solutions will remove and dispose of asbestos materials from the properties that are to then be burned down.  

A  house at 517, 4th Street was also added to the asbestos abatement list  to be inspected.  
 

(KLZA)-- A Falls City man is awaiting a court appearance on several charges following  his arrest Tuesday morning. 

The Falls City Police Department was called to a home in the 1200 block of Chase Street, the caller reported a man was at the home and had assaulted a resident of the home and vandalized the home.

When Falls City Police officer Zach Ractliffe attempted to arrest 28-year-old Jeffrey Morley, he allegedly resisted, but the arrest was made. 

Morley is currently held at the Richardson County Law Enforcement Center.  He was arrested for assault,  criminal mischief, criminal trespass, disturbing the peace and resisting arrest. 

(KLZA)-- The Missouri Department of Economic Development has awarded the community of Oregon, Missouri a $550-thousand Community Development Block Grant.

In addition, the USDA will provide a $1.4-million loan and $515,730 in grant funds to be used for improvements to the communities water distribution system. 

The project will include new piping, 23 fire hydrant assemblies, 150 water meters, and nearly 300 connections as well as asphalt repairs and a master meter for the community of Forest  City according to the Mound City News.  

The water storage tank will receive a new exterior and interior coating  as well as other improvements. 

(KLZA)-- The Missouri Department of Economic Development has awarded the community of Oregon, Missouri a $550-thousand Community Development Block Grant.

In addition, the USDA will provide a $1.4-million loan and $515,730 in grant funds to be used for improvements to the communities water distribution system. 

The project will include new piping, 23 fire hydrant assemblies, 150 water meters, and nearly 300 connections as well as asphalt repairs and a master meter for the community of Forest  City according to the Mound City News.  

The water storage tank will receive a new exterior and interior coating  as well as other improvements. 

(KLZA)-- The Missouri River is beginning to recede.  River gauges Thursday morning all indicated the river was falling back from crests occurring the past several days. 

At Rulo the reading Thursday morning was 22.36-feet with the river expected to drop below flood stage Sunday.

The Missouri Rive level at Brownville Thursday morning was 38.39-feet with the river predicted to be below flood stage Monday morning,  July 9. 

At Nebraska City the morning river reading was 21.04 feet, just over 3-feet above flood stage with a prediction of being below flood stage on Monday. 

The river reading at St. Joseph was 21.16 Thursday morning with the river predicted to go below flood stage early Sunday morning. 

In Atchison the river is predicted to drop below flood stage Saturday morning.  The river was 23.68-feet  Thursday morning, less than 2-feet above flood stage.   

(KNZA)--A single-vehicle early Thursday morning Atchison County wreck left three teenagers with disabling injuries.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reports 19-year-old Atchison resident Austin Hager was northbound on Greeley Road, about two miles west of Lancaster, in a Chevy Camaro when he approached the T-intersection at 286th Road and failed to stop.  His car left the roadway and struck an embankment.  The vehicle then continued on, striking a tree.

Hager and a passenger, 17-year-old Muscotah resident Jacob Hamilton, were taken by Atchison County EMS to Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph.

A second passenger, 18-year-old Lancaster resident Michael Baker, was flown by Lifestar helicopter to the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City.

The Patrol says all three teens were not wearing seatbelts.

The wreck was reported shortly after 12:15.

(KNZA)--A two-vehicle Douglas County, Kansas wreck early Tuesday evening sent an Oskaloosa woman to the hospital.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol,  55-year-old Terri Lynn Clark was a passenger in a westbound SUV on Highway 40 driven by 55-year-old McLouth resident Marion Alexander.  

The Patrol says for an unknown reason an eastbound car entered the westbound driving lane.  Alexander swerved to the right to avoid a collision but the car collided into the rear driver’s side of her vehicle.

Clark was transported by ambulance to a Topeka hospital.

Alexander and a three-year-old passenger in her vehicle were not hurt.  Also the driver of the car, a Topeka woman, was not hurt.

(Left to right) City Clerk Tish Sims swears in Bill Collins as interim mayor and David Middendorf as interim finance commissioner at Monday's City Commission meeting  

(KNZA)--A change in Hiawatha leadership as a new mayor and city commissioner are sworn in.

The Hiawatha City Commission Monday evening approved the appointment of longtime commissioner Bill Collins as interim mayor after accepting the resignation of Dr. Steffen Shamburg.

The Commission then approved the appointment of David Middendorf to fill Collins unexpired term as finance commissioner.

Both took their seats on the Commission after being sworn in by City Clerk Tish Sims.

Collins expressed his gratitude to everyone for their confidence in him and said he hopes he does a good job.

Middendorf, who was the only person to express an express in filling the interim commission seat, said he was glad to be on board.

Both positions are up for election in November.

Collins is running unopposed for election as mayor. Matthew Haws and John Merchant Jr. are vying for finance commissioner.

(KAIR)--The Atchison County Lake has been placed under a public health warning because of the presence of high levels of toxic blue green algae.

That word is delivered in a news release issued Tuesday by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, in conjunction with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.

The Atchison County Lake joins five others in being placed under the warning status.

KDHE says activities such as boating and fishing may be safe. However, direct contact with the water is strongly discouraged for people, pets and livestock.

Fish can be eaten as long as they are rinsed with clean water. However, you should consume only the fillet portion and discard all other parts.

KDHE will continue to monitor the lake and will provide updates as conditions warrant.

(KNZA)--A Hiawatha man who had been sought by Brown County authorities is in custody.

Brown County Sheriff John Merchant says 39-year-old Charles Barrand was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon by the Sheriff's Department and booked into the Brown County Jail.

Details regarding his arrest were not immediately available.

Barrand was arrested on a Kansas Department of Corrections warrant.  In addition, Merchant says he faces charges of felony obstruction, criminal threat, domestic battery, violation of a protection order, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Barrand is also a suspect in recent criminal activity in Hiawatha.

He fled on foot late Sunday morning in the vicinity of West Ninth in Horton when officers attempted to locate him.

Searches were launched by ground and air in that part of Horton by multiple agencies, but he was not located at that time.

The Sheriff's Department issued a request for the public's assistance in locating Barrand.

(KAIR)--Public safety was a key topic Monday when Atchison's City Commission met in regular session.

It was early in the meeting that Andrea Clements, Executive Director for the healthy living organization Live Well Live Atchison addressed the Commission regarding the fate of the four-way stops near the Atchison Middle School.

A failed motion at the June 18 meeting of the Commission moved forward the possible removal of the stop signs which had been put in place at the start of the year on a trial basis.

Clements, prior to the meeting, pushed for a strong public presence to address the issue, and she was joined by other concerned residents who implored the Commission to keep safety in mind at the intersections of 5th and Santa Fe and 6th and Santa Fe.

Following lengthy discussion, it was ultimately decided to keep the four-way stops in place for an additional 90 days until alternative safety options can be further explored.

Mayor Allen Reavis, saying that he's also heard from residents wanting the signs removed, said the issue will be brought back for further discussion at a future meeting. “Everything stays the same for right now until we can have a little deeper discussion...I'd like to get more opinions on this, too.”

It was towards the end of Monday's meeting that Commissioner Shawn Rizza brought forward another matter of pedestrian safety, citing Saturday's hit and run of a 36-year-old pedestrian at 2nd and Commercial. “I think we as a Commission, and as a city, need to really start tackling pedestrian safety as a priority...I don't want to wait until somebody's killed.”

Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson told MSC News the hit and run remains under investigation, with the driver not yet located.

Wilson said the pedestrian did not require hospital treatment.

(KNZA)--A vacancy has been filled on the Horton City Commission.

City Clerk Kim Knudson tells MSC News that the Commission Monday evening approved the appointment of Bobby Bacon to fill the vacancy created by the recent resignation of Park’s and Recreation Commissioner Jeremy Forkenbrock, which was accepted during a June 25th special meeting.

Bacon will fill the remainder of Forkenbrock’s term, which expires in January 2020.  The position is up for election in November 2019.

Bacon took his seat on the Commission after being sworn in by Knudson.

Bacon was among four candidates who submitted letters of interest in filling the position.  The other three candidates were Tina Nigh, Avery Thornton and Charles May.

Knudson says the Commission took no action on filling the interim city  administrator position.  She said a couple of applications have been received so far.

Police Chief John Calhoon will continue to serve as interim administrator until a permanent replacement is appointed.

The administrator position became vacant following a 3-2 vote of the Commission June 18th that removed Knudson from that role, while retaining her as city clerk.

(KLZA)--A young man with ties to the Falls City and Auburn area was critically injured in a near head-on collision Sunday morning in northwestern Nebraska.

20-year-old Preston Hall, the son of Falls City native Andy Hall and Auburn native Shanda Gottula Hall, was driving a car on Highway 83, south of Valentine, about 10:30 Sunday morning when his car was involved in a wreck with a motor home.

Hall was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Kearney and then transferred to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha where he remains listed in stable, but critical condition.

Preston Hall attends the University of Nebraska at Kearney where he is a member of the football team.

His grandparents include Randy and Lori Gottula and James Hall Sr. of Falls City and Donna Guttula of Auburn.

(KLZA)-- The second round of cresting by the Missouri River is nearly complete according to the latest National Weather  Service projections. 

The River has been above flood stage from Omaha South of about a week. 

At Rulo the Missouri appears to have crested Tuesday afternoon at 22.79-feet, nearly 6-feet above flood stage. The river should be back within it's banks by Saturday morning. 

The Tuesday afternoon reading at Brownville had the Missouri River level at 39.29-feet and it appears the river is dropping.  It should be below flood stage Saturday night. 

At Nebraska City the river is slowly dropping and was at 22.49-feed Tuesday afternoon. 

At St. Joseph the Missouri is still rising with the crest forecast at 21.6-feet Tuesday evening.  The river level was 21.45-feet Tuesday afternoon. 

At Atchison, the crest is now predicted for 23.9-feet Tuesday night, up from the 23.76-feet Tuesday afternoon. The river is predicted to be below flood stage at Atchison by  Friday evening.  

(KNZA)--A missing Rushville, Missouri teenager has been located and is safe.

Hiawatha Police Chief John Defore says 15-year-old Isis Hughes was located at a residence in Hiawatha Tuesday morning following a tip.  

Her family had requested the public’s assistance earlier Tuesday morning in locating Hughes who had last been seen late June 28th in Rushville, and was believed to be in the company of a 16-year-old boy.    

MSC News posted a picture of Hughes on its web site and a short time later police received a tip on her whereabouts.

Defore says at some point Hughes will be returned to the custody of her parents.

(KNZA)--A man who had been sought by Hiawatha Police in connection with a Sunday morning burglary and aggravated assault is in custody.

Hiawatha Police Chief John Defore says 39-year-old James Schulp was taken into custody Monday night in Clinton County, Missouri.

He’s being held in the Clinton County Jail pending extradition to Kansas.

On Monday, investigators released several pictures of Schlup on the department’s Facebook page, asking anyone who sees him to contact authorities immediately.

According to police, he fled the scene of the alleged burglary and assault in the 12-hundred block of Apache in a pickup truck believed to have been stolen, and was in the possession of a handgun.

Schlup was also wanted on a warrant for failure to appear.

(KNZA)--The public’s assistance is being sought in locating a missing Rushville, Missouri teenager.

15-year-old Isis Hughes was last seen late June 28th in Rushville.

She is believed to be in the company of 16-year-old Brady Barnes.

Hughes is described as a white female, standing about 5 foot, 6 inches tall with long brown hair.

Hughes and Barnes have connections to the Hiawatha area.

Anyone who knows of her whereabouts is asked to contact their local enforcement agency.  

(KLZA)--During the June 19th Humboldt City Council meeting, representatives of Olsson Associates engineers presented information from their review of the Humboldt wastewater treatment system.

In addition to the review of the current system, alternative treatment options for the future were presented.

The current waste water treatment facility was built in 1966 with major modifications made in 1977. Since then a UV system was installed in 2008.

While the existing facility has performed well, the engineering firm believes it is approaching the end of its useful life, with the age of the plant putting it at risk of major operational issues and possible failure.

The company expressed an opinion that Humboldt cannot wait for the facility to begin failing before providing a new system.

Of the five alternatives presented, Olsson recommended going with a controlled discharge lagoon. This type system, is operated to store wastewater for extended periods and to periodically discharge treated effluent in accordance with permits.

According to the company, this would be the most cost-effective option and would remove the aging mechanical treatment plant from service. It should also have lower operation and maintenance costs than the existing facility.

The company also recommended placing the facility on the east side of Humboldt at the former airport site which is property the city owns.

The estimated cost for the controlled discharge lagoon system is $2,889,000.

An application could be submitted for state and federal funding.

No action was taken. The Council will be discussing the proposal further during their July 3rd meeting.

(KLZA)-- The Richardson County Sheriff's Office is seeking the public's assistance in finding a stolen riding lawn mower.

 A 2003 Craftsman riding mower was recently stolen from a Richardson County residence.

Anyone with information, or may have seen a Craftsman mower such as the one pictured with this story is asked to please contact the Richardson County Sheriff's Office at 402-245-2479 or your local law enforcement. 

The last location it was possibly seen at was in Rulo, Nebraska. 
 

(KLZA)-- The Richardson County Sheriff's Office is seeking the public's assistance in finding a stolen riding lawn mower.

 A 2003 Craftsman riding mower was recently stolen from a Richardson County residence.

Anyone with information, or may have seen a Craftsman mower such as the one posted with this story is asked to please contact the Richardson County Sheriff's Office at 402-245-2479 or your local law enforcement. 

The last location it was possibly seen at was in Rulo, Nebraska. 
 

(KNZA)--The Hiawatha Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance  locating the suspect in a Sunday morning burglary and aggravated assault.

Investigators on Monday released several pictures of 39-year-old James Schlup on the department's Facebook page, who is also wanted on a warrant for failure to appear.

According to police, he fled the scene of the alleged burglary and assault in a charcoal gray Ford pickup truck with no visible tags that may be stolen.

Police say Schlup had a handgun and normally carries several knifes.

Police say he stands about six foot, 4 inches tall and weighs 235 pounds.  He has distinctive tattoos on both arms and both sides of his neck.

Schlup has been known to frequent locations in Hiawatha, Atchison, Kansas City, St. Joseph, and Falls City.

Police say he should be considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact police immediately.

(KLZA)--The Richardson County Sheriff's Office is seeking the public's assistance in finding a stolen riding lawn mower.

 A 2003 Craftsman riding mower was recently stolen from a Richardson County residence.

 If anyone has information, or has seen a Craftsman mower such as the one posted with this story, please contact the Richardson County Sheriff's Office at 402-245-2479 or your local law enforcement.

The last location it was possibly seen at was in Rulo, Nebraska.

(KAIR)--Two teens are in custody, facing charges for last week's graffiti vandalism of an Atchison grocery store.

On Friday, Atchison Police began the investigation into who was responsible for spray painting both words and symbols on the exterior of Van Dyke's Grocery, located at 4th and Atchison.

Police Chief Mike Wilson told MSC News the probe led investigators to the two teens, who had been in Atchison on an overnight visit Thursday when the alleged crime occurred. “We now know that these two young boys were brought to Atchison on Thursday to spend the night at a foster home.”

Wilson said the teens, aged 14 and 15, returned to Topeka the following morning, where they were taken into custody on unrelated charges, prior to being named as suspects in the vandalism investigation. “They were scheduled to return to Topeka on Friday morning, which they did. When they did, there were some charges pending there, where they were [placed] in custody. When we worked this case on Friday they actually were [already] in custody.”

Wilson said the teens are also suspected of similar vandalism to an Atchison garage, located about a block from the grocery store, Thursday night.

Both teens face charges of criminal damage, with the case now under the review of the Atchison County Attorney's Office.

(MSC News)--Numerous local communities will commemorate the nation’s independence during the upcoming days

Hiawatha, Sabetha and Waterville will both hold their Independence Day celebrations Tuesday evening, with fireworks displays at dusk.

Bern, Blue Rapids, Centralia, Highland, Humboldt, Nebraska, Robinson and Troy are all planning a full day of activities Wednesday to celebrate the 4th of July, with fireworks at dusk.

Atchison and Everest will also hold fireworks displays Wednesday evening.  Atchison’s display will take place at Warnock Lake.

At Horton, a fireworks display will be held at Mission Lake Friday, July 6th.  Mayor Bryan Stirton spearheaded efforts to make sure the community had a fireworks display.  He says donations are still needed for the display.  Checks should be made out to the Horton Chamber with fireworks in the memo and left at Union State Bank or City Hall.  

Frankfort will hold its 4th of July activities on Saturday evening, July 7th.  A barbecue potluck dinner will be served from 6:30 to 8:30.  The evening will also include music, an ice cream social and fireworks display.

The Nemaha County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a criminal damage to property incident and theft in Centralia.

The Sheriff’s Office says sometime between 3 p.m. June 23rd and 9 a.m.  June 24th an unknown person or persons damaged a Ford pickup truck at 202 Railroad Avenue in Centralia.

Fuel cards and other items were stolen from the pickup.

The damage/loss was estimated at about $10,000.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact the Nemaha County Sheriff’s Office in Seneca.   

(KLZA)--A flood warning continues along the Missouri River, basically from Omaha southward. 

After dropping slightly Sunday evening, the river began to rise again early Monday morning following weekend rains in the river basin to the north. 

At Rulo, the river reading Monday morning was 22.44-feet with a crest predicted at 22.5-feet Tuesday afternoon. Flood stage is 17-feet.

 At Brownville, the Monday morning reading was 39.27-feet with the crest expected early Tuesday morning at 39.5- feet, 6.5-feet above flood stage. 

At Nebraska City, the Missouri River reading Monday morning was 22.41-feet with the new crest predicted at 22.5-feet Monday evening.

At St. Joseph, Missouri, the Missouri is forecast to crest Monday evening at 21.3-feet,  4.3-feet above flood stage. 

At Atchison, Kansas, the crest is predicted at 23.7-feet Monday evening which is 1.7-feet above flood stage. 

The National Weather Service is  now predicting the Missouri River to fall back below flood stage Thursday evening at Nebraska City  and Atchison, with the river to be back in its banks Friday at Rulo and Saturday at Brownville.

(KNZA)--A local judge is among six judges appointed by the Kansas Supreme Court to the Judicial Education Advisory Committee.   

According to the Kansas Judicial Center, 22nd Judicial District Judge John Weingart, of Hiawatha, has been appointed to a three-year term on the advisory committee.

The term begins July 1st and ends June 30th, 2021.

The Judicial Education Advisory Committee recommends and organizes education and training programs for Kansas appellate judges, district judges and district magistrate judges.

Members includes judges from each of the six judicial departments in the state, a representative from the Office of Judicial Administration and a Supreme Court justice.    

(KNZA)--A local judge is among six judges appointed by the Kansas Supreme Court to the Judicial Education Advisory Committee.   

According to the Kansas Judicial Center, 22nd Judicial District Judge John Weingart, of Hiawatha, has been appointed to a three-year term on the advisory committee.

The term begins July 1st and ends June 30th, 2021.

The Judicial Education Advisory Committee recommends and organizes education and training programs for Kansas appellate judges, district judges and district magistrate judges.

Members includes judges from each of the six judicial departments in the state, a representative from the Office of Judicial Administration and a Supreme Court justice.    

(KLZA)--Weather permitting, the long awaited street improvement project is scheduled to begin Thursday, July 5 in Pawnee City.

During the May 14th City Council meeting, a $1,345,000 contract with Constructors Inc. of Lincoln to resurface the streets in group “A” of the project was approved.

Pawnee City has secured a loan of more than $1.6-million from USDA for the project. In addition, there is more than $80-thousand in a contingency fund the city hopes to be able to use.

During the June 25th Council meeting, an issue with the coating in part of the Pawnee City Swimming Pool was discussed. Some of the coating is coming off. The City is contacting the company that did the work upgrading the pool prior to it opening this season.

The Council also voted to allow Assistant City Clerk Kelly Wiers to serve as a mentor in the Teammates program during work time.

(KNZA)--A two-vehicle Sunday morning Jackson County wreck sent a Topeka man to the hospital.

Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse says the wreck happened at the intersection of U.S. 75 Highway and 214th Road, south of Holton, around 8:30.

Morse said 68-year-old Holton resident Lee Doyle was eastbound on 214th Road when he attempted to cross the northbound lanes of U.S. 75 and his pickup truck struck the driver's side of a northbound car driven by 74-year-old Steven Cook. 

Cook was pinned in his vehicle and had to be extricated by the Holton Fire Department.

He was transported by Jackson County EMS to a Topeka hospital with non-life threatening injuries.  Doyle was not hurt.

Holton Police also assisted at the scene.

(KNZA)--The Brown County Sheriff's Department and Horton Police Department are requesting the public assistance in locating a Hiawatha man wanted by authorities.

According to a news release from the Sheriff's Department, authorities are seeking assistance in locating Charles Barrand who fled on foot late Sunday  morning  in the vicinity of West Ninth in Horton when officers attempted to locate him.

Searches were launched by ground and air in that part of Horton by multiple agencies, but at last report he still remains at large.

Barrand was last seen wearing khaki shorts and a teal colored polo shirt. He's described as a white male, standing 5 foot, ten and weighing 195 pounds.

Barrand is a suspect in recent criminal activity in Hiawatha and also has an arrest and detain order for violation of parole.

If located, please call the Horton Police Department, Brown County Sheriff's Department or your local law enforcement at once.