Motorist Killed on Kansas Turnpike
Topeka, Kan. (AP) - A tractor-trailer has struck and killed a person involved in a two-vehicle wreck on the Kansas Turnpike southwest of Topeka. Kansas Turnpike Authority spokesperson Rachel Bell said the victim walked away from the initial accident and was killed upon entering the roadway. The name of the victim was not immediately released.
==========
Former KS Bank Clerk Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
Wichita, Kan. (AP) - A former employee of a southwest Kansas bank has pleaded guilty to embezzling money and helping stage a robbery to cover up the theft. The U.S. attorney's office announced Friday that 29-year-old Ashley Cravens, of Ulysses, pleaded guilty to one count of theft. The former clerk at Western State Bank in Ulysses admitted that she, another clerk and the head teller embezzled more than $84,000 before they staged a July 2010 robbery. Over the next two-and-a-half years, a fourth woman joined Cravens and the head teller in stealing nearly $25,000 more. Cravens faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine at her February 7th sentencing. Co-defendant Amber Gutierrez pleaded guilty Monday. The other two co-defendants are scheduled to go on trial next month.
==========
Goverment Shutdown Slows Airplane Delivery, Costs Nearly $2 Billion
Wichita, Kan. (AP) - A report says the partial shutdown of the federal government in October delayed 156 airplane deliveries worth $1.9 billion. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget says in its report that the 16-day shutdown delayed deliveries and the sale of aircraft because aircraft registration was shut down for the duration.
==========
Advisory Panel Urges Rewrite of Kansas Farm Law
Topeka, Kan. (AP) - An advisory panel has recommended amending Kansas' corporate agriculture law to alter provisions that might be vulnerable to a constitutional challenge. Members of a Kansas Judicial Council's advisory committee issued the recommendation Friday. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that members concluded that mandating all partners in a relevent farm corporation must be Kansans was discriminatory against nonresidents.