Tyson: Welding Spark Likely Caused Fire at Holcomb Plant
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) _ Tyson officials say a spark from welding during maintenance is the likely cause of a massive fire that damaged the company's plant in Holcomb. Tyson representatives met yesterday (WED) with state and other government officials to discuss Friday night's fire, which caused extensive damage. No one was injured. The company reaffirmed its commitment to rebuild the plant and reopen it as quickly as possible. Tyson will continue to pay employees while the plant remains idle. Company officials said the fire damaged a small area but affected critical operating systems. The company's president and CEO, Noel White, and Steve Stouffer, president of Tyson Fresh Meats, told officials work will begin immediately on structural damage. Other repairs, particularly electrical, will likely take more time. The company is currently completing a full assessment of the plant with electrical and structural engineers.
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Wife's Body Found After KCK Police Shoot Husband
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - Police have found a woman's body in Arkansas after police fatally shot her estranged husband near a popular shopping area in Kansas City, Kansas. Police in Overland Park say the body of 49-year-old Sylvia Ussery-Pearson was found Tuesday night in Benton County, Arkansas. The discovery was made hours after 51-year-old Charles Pearson walked into a Country Inn & Suites and told the general manager he killed his wife. The former Army Ranger said he was armed and heading to the nearby Legends Outlet shopping district. Police in Kansas City, Kansas, said that when law enforcement confronted Pearson at a nearby intersection, he fired several shots at officers, who returned fire and killed him. Ussery-Pearson had been missing since Monday. Police say her death is believed to be a homicide but the cause hasn't been released.
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Ruling Holds U.S. Attorney's Office in Kansas in Contempt
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A judge has found prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office in Kansas City, Kansas, improperly listened to recorded communications between inmates and their defense attorneys in a ruling that could upend hundreds of federal convictions and sentences. U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson in a ruling handed down late Tuesday set up what she called a roadmap for reviewing federal cases for potential violations of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Robinson also found the office in contempt of court for violating her orders to preserve evidence and turn over documents to the court-appointed special master investigating the practice. Robinson said she would impose monetary sanctions against the government as punishment. The ruling also cited internal dysfunction in the U.S. attorney's office, saying prosecutors distrusted current and past management "to the point of insubordination."
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Kansas Sheriff's Deputy Suspected in Felony Case No Longer in U.S.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Authorities say a Kansas sheriff's deputy who is a suspect in a felony investigation is no longer in the United States. The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office says the department is no longer seeking the public's help in locating 29-year-old Derick Chandler, who worked for the department. It's still not clear where the deputy is believed to be located. Authorities said previously that Chandler disappeared after Wellington police and the Sumner County Sheriff's Office identified him as a suspect in a jointly investigated case. Chandler was accused of misconduct by some residents in Sumner County. While police in Wellington declined to give specifics, some media outlets are reporting that the missing deputy is accused of child sex crimes. Chandler worked for the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office for nearly two years.
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Ex-Police Officer Sentenced to Probation in Road Rage Case
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A former Lawrence police officer has been sentenced to 12 months of probation for threatening another driver with a gun on a suburban Kansas City highway in a case of road rage. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that 35-year-old Jeffrey Brian Holtzman faces up to five months in prison if he violates the terms of the probation under the sentence imposed Thursday in Johnson County District Court. He initially was charged with aggravated assault but pleaded guilty in June to a reduced charge of criminal threat. The victim told police that he was driving on Interstate 435 near Interstate 35 in October 2018 when Holtzman pulled alongside him and pointed a handgun at him. It wasn't clear what prompted the incident. Holtzman resigned from the Lawrence Police Department the following month.
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Missouri Man Sentenced for Role in Lawrence Hotel Shootout
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - A 20-year-old Kansas City, Missouri, man has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for his role in a hotel shootout in Lawrence that killed one man and injured two others. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Shawn Smith was sentenced yesterday (WED) to 32 months in prison for robbery. Smith was originally charged with first-degree felony murder and several other counts in the September 2017 shooting death of 23-year-old Cameron Hooks, of Lenexa, and the wounding of two other men.
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Hy-Vee Warns Customers About Security Incident
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP / LJW) - An unknown number of Hy-Vee customers may have had their credit card data compromised, the grocer that operates in Lawrence warned on Wednesday. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Hy-Vee is investigating a “security incident” at its credit card readers at Hy-Vee-owned gas pumps, restaurants and drive-thru coffee shops. The Iowa-based retailer said it recently detected unauthorized activity on some of the company’s payment card networks. The company contacted federal law enforcement officials and has started its own investigation with the help of a cybersecurity company. Hy-Vee officials think the problem doesn't involve payment systems used inside its grocery stores, which use encryption technology.
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Kansas City, Kansas, Police Say Child Fatally Shot
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - Police in Kansas City, Kansas, say a child shot while riding in the back of a vehicle has died. A man in the vehicle who was also shot on Tuesday was listed in serious but stable condition. The Kansas City Star reports the man told police that people he didn't know fired at their car from another vehicle.
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Mother Arrested in Death of 2-Year-Old Wichita Boy
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The mother of a 2-year-old boy who was found dead in a Wichita hotel has been arrested in his death. Wichita police spokesman Charley Davidson said Thursday that 23-year-old Kimberly Compass faces a possible felony murder charge in the death of Zayden Jaynesahkluah. The boy was found dead May 31 at the Sunset Motel in Wichita where he lived with his mother. Davidson said in a news release that new information from the Regional Forensic Science Center led to the arrest. He did not elaborate. Information on how the boy died has not been released. Davidson said the investigation is continuing. State Rep. Michael Capps, a Wichita Republican, said when the boy died that state welfare officials had previous contact with Zayden's family.
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Man Gets 20 Years for Murder in Independence, Missouri
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) _ A 19-year-old Independence man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for a shooting death at a shopping mall last year. Tyler Gates was sentenced Wednesday for second-degree murder and armed criminal action in death 17-year-old Matthew Haylock at the Independence Center. Haylock's body was found on the pavement near a vehicle in the mall's parking lot in January 2018. The Independence Examiner reports Gates' co-defendant, 18-year-old Luis Ramirez, was sentenced to concurrent terms of eight years for attempted robbery and three years for armed criminal action in the same case. The shooting occurred after Gates and Ramirez decided to rob Haylock of a gun. Prosecutors say Gates fired the shot that killed Haylock.
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Kansas Man Guilty of Voluntary Manslaughter in Death of His Son's Mother
WELLINGTON, Kan. (AP) _ A Kansas man has been found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the death of a woman who was his son's mother. Bradley Aue had been charged with second-degree murder in the May 2018 death of 26-year-old Sierra Craft-McGee in Wellington. KWCH reports a Sumner County jury on Wednesday found Aue guilty of the lesser charge. Prosecutors allege Aue hit Craft-McGee several times and pushed her into a window, severing an artery and causing cuts throughout her body. He also didn't obtain timely medical attention for the victim. Emergency responders were unable to revive Craft-McGee, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
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H&R Bloch Foundation Gives $21 Million to UMKC
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ The University of Missouri-Kansas City has received a $21 million gift for its business school. The university said Wednesday the donation from the Marion and Henry Bloch Foundation will be divided between for three projects. Most of the donation, $11.8 million, will be used for hiring and developing new faculty and new academic programs, and to enhance existing programs. Another $8 million will go toward improving the 110-year-old Bloch Heritage Hall building at the Bloch School of Management. The remaining $1.2 million will be used to improve student retention, graduation rates and career placements. The Kansas City Star reports the university earlier this month announced receiving $5 million of a $15 million gift from the Sunderland Foundation. It also comes after a $20 million scholarship program was announced.
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Latest Bankers Survey Indicates Shrinking Rural Economy
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The latest monthly survey of bankers in parts of 10 Plains and Western states indicates a shrinking rural economy, and three-quarters of bankers said President Donald Trump's trade policies are having a negative effect on their local economies. The Rural Mainstreet survey released Thursday shows the its overall index falling from an already anemic 50.2 in July to 46.5 this month. Any score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, says trade tensions "are driving growth lower for areas of the region with close ties to agriculture." Goss also noted that despite negative consequences from tariffs, nearly 7 of 10 bank CEOS surveyed support either raising or continuing the Trump administration's current tariffs. Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.
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Winds Blow over Semis, Power Lines in Western Kansas
HAYS, Kan. (AP) - Strong winds and heavy rain blew over semi-trailer trucks and downed power lines and caused damage across parts of western Kansas. Ellis County and Hays city officials said in social media posts that Tuesday's storms caused flooding and wind damage across the county. The Hays school district cancelled the first day of school on Wednesday because of the damage. The Wichita Eagle reports Ellis County dispatchers reported about 20 semi-trailer trucks were blown over, and the Kansas Highway Patrol reported power lines down. Interstate 70 was closed for a few hours Tuesday between Hays and WaKeeney to clear the debris. Flash flooding also was reported in Oakley, Colby, Ellis, Jennings and near Hill City.
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Kansas Man Dies when Tractor Collides with Train
SPEARVILLE, Kan. (AP) - The Kansas Highway Patrol says a 59-year-old Kansas man died when his tractor collided with a train. The patrol says Bernard Stegman, of Spearville, died Tuesday after the collision at a railroad crossing near U.S. 50 about 3 miles southeast of Spearville. None of the three men on the train were injured. They were from Wichita, Stafford and Sedgwick.
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Man Drowns in Southwest Kansas Pond
SYRACUSE, Kan. (AP) - The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office says a 23-year-old man drowned in a public pond near Syracuse. The sheriff says the body of Joaquin Vazquez Hernandez, of Syracuse, was recovered from the pond Tuesday evening. Emergency responders were called about 2 pm Tuesday after a man went underwater in the pond and didn't resurface. KAKE-TV reports people near the pond tried unsuccessfully to rescue the man.
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Wichita Eagle Announces Digital-Only Saturday Edition
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - The Wichita Eagle says it's moving to a digital-only edition on Saturdays as more readers get their news online. The paper says it will stop publishing a printed newspaper on Saturdays and shift to a digital edition. The change takes effect November 16.
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