KU Snaps 46-Game Road Skid with 31-7 Win at Central Michigan
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) — Pooka Williams rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns as Kansas snapped the second-longest road losing streak in college football history at 46 games, winning 31-7 at Central Michigan on Saturday. Central Michigan quarterback Tony Poljan was intercepted four times by Kansas, which won on the road for the first time since September 12th, 2009. The Kansas streak was only topped by Idaho State, which lost 48 straight through 2014. With the historic losing streak behind the Jayhawks in their best chance to snap it this season, David Beaty's team can go one week without its coach on the hot seat. Athletic director Jeff Long released a statement after last week's season-opening 26-23 overtime loss to Nicholls, saying the evaluation of the program was "ongoing." Up next, KU hosts Rutgers on September 15th.
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KCK Elementary Teacher Charged with Child Sex Exploitation
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — An elementary school teacher in Kansas City, Kansas, has been charged with sexual solicitation of a minor. The Kansas City Star reports 42-year-old Jason Crum, of Shawnee, was charged Friday on a felony count of sexual exploitation of a child. He was released from jail after posting $100,000 bond. The charge alleges that between January 2014 and January 2015, Crum attempted to convince a child under the age of 18 to engage in sexually explicit conduct. Crum is listed on the Kansas City, Kansas, school district's website as an elementary school teacher. A district spokeswoman says officials had recently been made aware of Crum's arrest and placed him on administrative leave. Court records do not list an attorney for Crum.
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Salina Man Pleads No Contest in Son's Bathtub Death
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A Salina man whose young son was found dead in a bathtub last year has pleaded no contest in the boy's death. In a plea agreement filed last week, 44-year-old Michael Ray Hatfield agreed to plead no contest to one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of aggravated endangering of a child. Sentencing is scheduled for October 22nd. The charges stem from the May 2017 death of Hatfield's 10-month-old son, Waylon Hatfield. Hatfield was originally charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child endangerment, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. The Salina Journal reports an older brother found the child face down in a bathtub filled with water and paramedics could not revive him. Drugs and drug paraphernalia were found in the home.
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Kansas Woman Sentenced for Social Security Fraud
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A 50-year-old Wellington woman has been sentenced six months in prison and ordered to pay more than $86,000 in restitution for fraudulently collecting Social Security benefits. U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said Amy McLain was sentenced Friday for one count of Social Security fraud. She pleaded guilty to receiving Social Security benefits while working from 2008 to 2014 at Kreifels Communications. She fraudulently reported to Social Security that she was not working and had no income. A co-defendant, 58-year-old Scott Kreifels, of Wellington, was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay more than $49,900 in restitution. McLain's husband, 49-year-old Jeffrey McLain, also of Wellington, will be sentenced November 1st.
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Lawrence Dad Pleads No Contest in Daughter's Shooting
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A 33-year-old man who left a loaded semi-automatic handgun within reach of toddlers pleaded no contest to charge resulting from his daughter's death. In exchange for the plea to two counts of aggravated child endangerment, prosecutors dropped an involuntary manslaughter charge Friday against Chance Smith, of Lawrence. He will be sentenced November 7th. Smith's 1-year-old daughter, Autumn Grace Smith, was hit by a bullet and died in September 2017 at the family's home. Smith told police that he was outside for five or 10 minutes and didn't hear a gunshot. When he came back in he found a 2-year-old boy crying and Autumn upstairs, shot. The Lawrence Journal-World report s Smith's attorney said he's expected to be placed on probation and ordered not to own any guns.
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Judge: County Not at Fault after Wichita Man Set Himself on Fire
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A jury ruled that a Sedgwick County community mental health agency and one a psychiatrist were not at fault in the death of a patient who set himself on fire. The 55-year-old Wichita man, Allen Rouse, died in April 2015 after he drove through a security gate at the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma, doused himself with a flammable liquid and burned to death. The Wichita Eagle reports the Sedgwick County jury reached its verdict Friday in a lawsuit against Comcare, the county community mental health agency, and Rouse's psychiatrist, Lin Xu. Comcare attorney Stephen Netherton said no one, including Rouse's siblings, saw or heard anything to indicate Rouse intended to harm himself. Rouse's family's attorney argued Rouse had not received effective medication or psychiatric care as his condition deteriorated.
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Kansas Environmentalists Decry Order on Injection Wells
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas utility regulators have rejected the suggestion that permits for more than 2,100 injection wells should be revoked because a small number of them did not follow regulations concerning how much time the public has to protest the projects. The Kansas Corporation Commission on Thursday issued an order that said concerns raised about legal notices showing a 15-day public protest period instead of the required 30 day-notice involved only about 3 percent of the permits, which the commission's assistant attorney said was a harmless error. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports environmentalists said the decision shows the Kansas Legislature must get involved to fix the permitting problems. Activist Cindy Hoedel said lawmakers need to address concerns about the safety of injecting saltwater into wells and how that contributes to increasing earthquakes.
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Grand Jury into Kobach's Office Likely Delayed for Months
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Court procedures are likely to delay a Douglas County grand jury investigation into Secretary of State Kris Kobach's office until well after the fall election. Steven Davis of Lawrence, who gathered enough signatures to force the investigation, contends Kobach's office didn't register some people who tried to register online. Kobach denies that claim. The Kansas Supreme Court last week declined to consider the issue, meaning an appeals court ruling approving the grand jury stands. Supreme Court spokeswoman Lisa Taylor says it would be late this month before the appeals court sends a mandate to the Douglas County District Court ordering a grand jury be convened. Kansas Public Radio reports after county court receives the order, the process of alerting potential jurors will begin. That process typically takes months.
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Lenexa Police say Shooting Call was Likely 'Swatting'
LENEXA, Kan. (AP) — Lenexa police say a call to a crisis line reporting that someone had shot one of his parents apparently was a swatting call. Police spokesman Danny Chavez says police were notified Thursday by a suicide crisis line from New York that someone was sending texts saying he had shot one of his parents, was suicidal and would kill anyone who came in. Chavez told The Kansas City Star that police had contact only with the crisis line and never contacted the supposed shooter. Police say investigators who went to the home found no evidence of a crime. Chavez says the two people inside the home were cooperating with the investigation and are not believed to be involved with the false report.
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Ex-Cowboy Randle Facing Rape Charge in Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Former Dallas Cowboys running back Joseph Randle has been arrested in Kansas on suspicion of rape. Records show that Randle was booked into Sedgwick County Jail at around 3:40 a.m. Friday. The prosecutor's office wasn't releasing information, and a police spokesman and Randle's attorney in previous cases didn't immediately reply to phone messages seeking details about his latest arrest. Randle was released on probation in June under a plea deal that allows prosecutors to seek to have him put in prison if he gets into trouble again. He spent most of the past two years in jail on an array of charges, with occasional stints in a state mental hospital. Several of them were related to Randle hitting three people with a car after an argument at a housewarming party.
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Killer of Kansas Girl Gets Chance at Parole
PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. (AP) — A school janitor who subdued a 13-year-old girl with chloroform more than 40 years ago as she walked home from a suburban Kansas City pool and then killed her is set to go before a parole board later this month. The Kansas City Star reports that John Henry Horton was arrested in 2003 for the 1974 death of Liz Wilson. She vanished while cutting through the parking lot of Shawnee Mission East High School. Horton was sentenced to life in prison. But life, under Kansas law in force at the time of Liz's death, meant serving only 15 years before being eligible for parole. The parole board has already heard from prosecutors and police who oppose Horton's release. The board will announce a decision in October after hearing from Horton.
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Kansan among Several Hurt in Branson Tram Accident
BRANSON, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say four women were hurt after a passenger tram hit a tree at an entertainment venue in the southwest Missouri tourist town of Branson. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the crash happened Thursday at the Shepard of the Hills outdoor theater. The patrol says the tram was going downhill on a private path when the brakes locked up. The tram started skidding and ran off the roadway before striking a wooden fence and a tree. Three of the women suffered minor injuries and a third had moderate injuries. The women are from Oklahoma and Kansas. The patrol says the tram can carry up to 24 passengers.
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Kansas State Fair Offers Unusual Food, New Shows
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas State Fair is welcoming some unusual food vendors and new attractions this year, from deep fried Pina Coladas to an inaugural Bread Sculpture contest. The Wichita Eagle reports the fair in Hutchinson opened Friday, featuring a food lineup that attempts to outdo outrageous concoctions from the past. This year's food vendors are serving deep fried deviled eggs, pickles stuffed with sour hard candy and burgers topped with a MoonPie. The Hutchinson News reports that the "Timberworks Lumberjack Show" will be a main attraction this year. The show coming from Wisconsin features lumberjacks competing in events such as log rolling, speed climbing and ax throwing. Kansas Wheat is also hosting a new contest this year for competitors to "look beyond the loaf." The competition is to sculpt bread dough into creative pieces.
