Wichita Considers Banning, Taxing Plastic Bags
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The city of Wichita is considering banning plastic bags or implementing a city-wide tax to curb their use. The Wichita Eagle reports that the City Council voted for a new task force to consider reducing or eliminating single-use plastic bags. Either option would make Wichita the first city in Kansas to pass a plastic bag ordinance. Other cities in the U.S. have banned plastic bags or imposed taxes on them. The task force is scheduled to meet this month to discuss what such a move could end up costing businesses and the city to implement.
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Fired Wichita Officer Found Not Guilty in High-speed Crash
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A jury has acquitted a former Wichita police officer who was fired for crashing his vehicle into another while speeding at nearly 80 mph without lights or sirens. The Wichita Eagle reports that Samuel Dugo was found not guilty Friday of aggravated battery. Dugo had been charged with the felony after the March 2018 wreck critically injured a 71-year-old man. Dugo was later fired in August 2019. The Kansas Highway Patrol determined Dugo was driving 79 mph in a 30 mph zone before the collision, while responding to a burglary call. He was not using his emergency lights or sirens. Before the collision, Dugo was clocked at 100 mph.
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Grass Fires Lead to Temporary Closing of Kansas Highway 10
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - Two grass fires in rural Douglas County burned almost 200 acres and temporarily closed part of Kansas Highway 10 Saturday afternoon. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that smoke from the fires near Eudora backed up traffic on K-10 and led to closing the westbound lane. Several area firepartments from Douglas, Leavenworth, and Johnson counties assisted the Eudora Township Volunteer Fire Department in battling the grass fires. Chief Mike Baxter of the Eudora Township Volunteer Fire Department warned residents that this is prime grass fire season and to use caution.
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Hutchinson Man Killed in Kansas Turnpike Crash
BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a Hutchinson man was killed in a crash on the Kansas Turnpike in south-central Kansas. The Kansas Turnpike Authority says the crash happened Friday afternoon, when the southbound car 58-year-old Gilberto Benitez-Garcia was driving went off the road near Belle Plaine. Station KFDI reports that the crashed was reported around 12:30 p.m. Friday. Investigators say Benitez-Garcia's car traveled 900 feet after leaving the turnpike and hit a tree. Benitez-Garcia, who was the only person in the car, was pronounced dead at the scene.
