State of Kansas Declares Emergency at El Dorado Prison
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas declared an emergency Tuesday at its most crowded maximum-security state prison over what Gov. Laura Kelly called "serious staffing shortages" inside a lockup that's had multiple inmate disturbances over the past two years. The declaration from Interim Corrections Secretary Roger Werholtz allows the El Dorado Correctional Facility to require employees to work longer shifts. But Kelly told a gathering of state employees that she also will pursue additional funding for the prison system and changes in sentencing laws that could lessen prison crowding. "The shortage there is really a huge safety and security issue," Kelly told reporters before speaking to dozens of government workers at the Statehouse. "This is not something anybody wanted to do, but it absolutely had to be done." The move comes as neighboring states face problems in crowded prisons. Nebraska's prison system faces a July 2020 deadline set by state lawmakers there to reduce prison overcrowding, but its director has acknowledged it probably will miss it. In Oklahoma, the state's prisons directors is seeking more than $800 million to build two new prisons. Both states have had deadly prison riots. While riots in Kansas haven't cause inmate or staff deaths, the state has spent at least $414,000 repairing damage and replacing equipment from four riots at three prisons, including the one in El Dorado. A riot in July 2018 at the El Dorado prison, about 30 miles east of Wichita, cost the state nearly $177,000. Werholtz said the prison has 86 vacancies on it staff of fewer than 500 employees. He and other corrections officials have said that staffing problems have not eased despite efforts in recent years to boost pay for corrections officers.
Meanwhile, the prison's population has risen over the past eight months, partly because the state is shifting inmates as it builds a new prison in Lansing to replace its oldest lockup. The El Dorado prison held 2,029 inmates as of Monday, or 74 more than its state capacity of 1,955 inmates — reset after former Republican Governor Sam Brownback's administration increased the number housed two-to-a-cell. The prison held an average of 1,854 inmates a day during 12 months that ended with June 2018. Read more about this story.
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Report Finds Kansas' Nursing Home Inspections Faulty
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ The Kansas agency responsible for inspecting nursing homes says it didn't act correctly in response to problems uncovered in a federal audit. The Office of Inspector General report estimated that the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services failed in 2014 to verify that 65 percent of the issues found during nursing home inspections had been corrected. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that the office also determined that the state agency neglected to conduct inspections every 15 months, as it is required to do. The report said the longest break between inspections was 18 months. The Office of Inspector General is submitting recommendations to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid that would change the way all states handle inspection reports.
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Massage Parlor Owner Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy Charge
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A 54-year-old woman has admitted that she operated a prostitution business out of massage parlors in Lawrence and Topeka. U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said in a news release today (TUE) that Weiling Nielsen pleaded guilty to conspiracy. She owned and operated Naima Asian Massage and Serenity Health Spa in Lawrence, and Jasmine Massage in Topeka. In her plea, she admitted the massage parlors provided sexual services to customers for payment in cash. The services were advertised on the internet. Prosecutors say Nielsen and her husband deposited cash into various bank accounts and bought money orders to deposit in bank accounts in California. Nielsen agreed to pay a $650,000 judgment. She will be sentenced May 15. Both parties are recommending three years on federal probation.
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Lawrence School Superintendent Anthony Lewis Plans Community Discussion After Gun Incidents
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) _ Lawrence school Superintendent Anthony Lewis is planning a community discussion after a student allegedly brought a gun to school for the fifth time this school year.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports the lastest incident happened today (TUE) at Lawrence High School, where a gun was found in a student's book bag after administrators received a tip. That came after another student brought a handgun to school last Wednesday. Other incidents were reported in April and September at Lawrence High School and Lawrence Free State. No one was injured in any of the incidents. All the students have been disciplined except one, who investigators determined forgot a rifle was in his car after a hunting trip. Lewis said the district needs the community's help to address what could be a dangerous problem.
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Man in Jeep Killed by Train in Marion County
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Authorities say a 67-year-old man was killed after his vehicle was struck by an Amtrak train in Marion County. The Marion County sheriff's office says a Jeep Liberty was on the tracks when it was struck at around 2:45 am today (TUE) by the westbound train. KWCH-TV reports reports the train came to a stop after hitting the vehicle. People on the train say the vehicle appeared to be parked on the track with no lights on. The investigation is ongoing.
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Former Mail Truck Driver Admits Stealing from U.S. Mail
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A former contract truck driver for the post office in Rose Hill has admitted to stealing items from the mail. U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said in a news release that 30-year-old Manuel De La Cruz, of Wichita, pleaded guilty today (TUE) to three counts of stealing from the mail. He admitted the items he stole were worth more than $6,500. The stolen items included a Lenova laptop computer, an upper receiver for an AR 15 rifle, an AR 15 rifle barrel and a gas block for an AR 15. Sentencing is set for April 29. He faces up to five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
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Proposed Kansas bill: Child Not "Aggressor" in Sexual Abuse
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt wants to change state law to prevent judges from easing sentences for adult sex offenders because a child victim is purportedly an "aggressor" in the crime. The legislation proposed Monday was sparked by the decision of Leavenworth County Judge Michael Gibbens to give a 67-year-old man a more lenient sentence after saying the sex abuse victims, ages 13 and 14, were "more an aggressor than a participant." State law now allows judges to reduce sentences below the guidelines by finding the victim contributed to the criminal conduct. The proposed bill would prohibit that reasoning when the victim is younger than 14 years and the sex offender is an adult. It also would make it unavailable whenever human trafficking victims are involved regardless of their age.
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Honeywell to Move Jobs from Wichita, Washington to Olathe
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Honeywell Aerospace is expected to close its Wichita facility and move its jobs to Olathe by the end of the year. Honeywell spokesman Scott Sayres confirmed Friday that the company will move jobs from Wichita and Renton, Washington to Olathe. He says the company's plant in the Kansas City suburb of Olathe is centrally located and has the capacity to handle more work. The jobs will move from Wichita by the end of the year and from Washington in the next 1.5 years. The Wichita Eagle report s Sayres wouldn't say how many jobs are involved, but Olathe Chamber of Commerce CEO Tim McKee said he understood it would be hundreds of jobs. Sayres said some Wichita workers will have the potential to relocate to Olathe.
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Alleged Ringleader in Foiled Kansas Bomb Plot Plans Appeal
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The alleged ringleader of a foiled plot to massacre Somali Muslims in southwest Kansas is appealing his conviction and prison sentence. The attorney representing Patrick Stein on Monday filed a notice of appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Stein was among three militia members convicted of plotting in 2016 to blow up a mosque and apartments housing Somalis in Garden City. A judge last month sentenced Stein to 30 years in prison for conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and 10 years for conspiracy against civil rights. The sentences will run concurrently. Stein will return to federal court on Feb. 22 for a change-of-plea hearing and sentencing in a separate indictment alleging possession of child pornography. The material was discovered during searches in the bomb case.
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Plea Negotiations Stall for Sedgwick County Commissioner
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge is refusing to again delay the trial of Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O'Donnell after plea negotiations broke down. U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren on Monday noted O'Donnell's trial had already been postponed four times. The judge chided co-defense attorney Joshua Ney for not attending the status conference where the date was set and then waiting until two weeks before trial to ask for another continuance. Ney cited in a motion last week his heavy workload, telling the court that plea negotiations stalled on February 4. The government has accused O'Donnell of fraudulently obtaining $10,500 from his campaign accounts for his personal use. An indictment charges him with 23 counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. A five-day trial is set to begin February 25.
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Officials Identify Man Found Dead in Neosho Rapids Fire
NEOSHO RAPIDS, Kan. (AP) — Lyon County officials are investigating a fire that killed a man in Neosho Rapids. The sheriff's department said Monday that 55-year-old Daniel Lambeth died in a house fire. His body was found inside the home after fire crews arrived about 5 pm Sunday. The official cause of death will not be released until autopsy results are final. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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1 Person Dead, 1 Injured in House Fire Near Great Bend
GREAT BEND, Kan. (AP) — Fire officials are working to determine the cause of a fatal fire in Rice County. The Hays Post reports fire crews were called to a home about 25 miles (40.23 kilometers) east of Great Bend late Friday. Rice County Sheriff Bryant Evans says 66-year-old Beverly Boatright died at the scene. His 59-year-old wife was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. Evans says the family dog also died in the fire. The home is a total loss.
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Man Falls from 3-Floor Window During Wichita Hotel Fire
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita fire officials say a man suffered serious injuries when he fell from a third-floor hotel window after a fire that appeared to be intentionally set. Wichita Fire Department Lt. Jose Ocadiz said the man was hanging from the window when firefighters arrived Sunday at a Best Western in south Wichita, but the man fell before responders could help him. The Wichita Eagle reports firefighters contained most of the fire to the room where it began. Ocadiz said the fire was intentionally set. The injured man was the only person in the hotel room. The fire caused $100,000 in structural damage and $25,000 in content damage. Ocadiz said most of the damage was from the sprinkler system.
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Kansas Woman Donates Part of Farm Sale Profits Back to Tribe
NORTH NEWTON, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas woman who sold land that's been farmed by her family for five generations has donated a portion of the profits to help preserve the heritage of the Native American landowners more than a century before her: the Kaw Nation. Florence Schloneger tells the Wichita Eagle that she gifted $10,000 to the nonprofit Kanza Heritage Society as a way to acknowledge that her family's ownership of the McPherson County land "came at a great cost" to the Kaw, or Kanza, people. Schloneger's family owned 320 acres of prairie that was historically Kaw hunting grounds. The nonprofit's president, Jim Pepper Henry, says Schloneger's donation is a first for the tribe. Henry believes many are starting to understand the lands their families acquired over the years were swindled, coerced and even forcibly taken from the Kaw people.
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Officer Rescues Doe Trapped for About a Week in Storm Drain
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have rescued a doe that was found trapped in a storm drain in suburban Kansas City. Police in Olathe said in a Facebook post that someone stumbled across the animal Saturday while walking a dog. The post described the doe as "very agitated and in distress." The department estimated that it had been in the hole for about a week. A video shows an animal control officer reaching a long pole with a loop on the end into the open manhole and pulling out the doe. After emerging, the doe bounds into a wooded area. The officer then told the county that the manhole needs fixing.
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Cleveland Browns Give Former KC Chiefs Running Back Kareem Hunt Second Chance
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — The Cleveland Browns believe there's remorse in Kareem Hunt's heart. The NFL hasn't gotten that far. Following their own investigation, the Browns signed Hunt to a one-year contract Monday, giving the former star Chiefs running back a second chance after a video showed him pushing and kicking a woman. "I think we're all appalled by it," general manager John Dorsey said at the team's headquarters, hours after the Browns announced the controversial signing. "It is an egregious act. We all understand that. But after doing our research, extensive research, analyzing the situation, we came to the conclusion that I am willing to help a man from a second chance moving forward to be a better person, and that's all you can ask for in society, and that's all I'm trying to do."
Soon after the disturbing video surfaced in December, Kansas City released the 23-year-old Hunt, who was seen in a physical altercation with the woman last February during an argument in the lobby of a Cleveland hotel where he stayed. While Kansas City's actions drew public support, the move put Hunt's career in peril and placed him on the commissioner's exempt list. He was in his second season with the Chiefs and one of their best players after leading the league in rushing as a rookie.
Now, the Browns feel comfortable giving the Cleveland native an opportunity to make amends. Hunt, who sought treatment and counseling, could still be suspended by the league under its personal conduct policy for the incident and two others that surfaced after he was released by the Chiefs. The league's investigation is ongoing, and until it's completed the Browns won't know if or when he'll be able to play. Hunt has not been charged with a crime.
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