SE KS Losing Emergency Shelter for Families
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — An emergency shelter for homeless families in 11 southeast Kansas counties is expected to close at the end of March.
The CHOICES shelter in Pittsburg is operated by the Southeast Kansas Community Action Program and serves about 300 people a year.
Officials of the nonprofit organization announced plans for the closing this week. They cited a steep cut in Community Services Block Grant funding from the Kansas Housing Resources Corp.
Program officials told The Morning Sun in Pittsburg the shelter has depended on the block grant to cover its annual shortfall of about $190,000.
The nonprofit is looking at ways to house people who have depended on the shelter. Officials said they also wanted to give the shelter's employees adequate notice that their jobs will be ending March 31st.
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Van Crashes Into Pizza Hut in Doniphan County
WATHENA, Kan. (AP) — Witnesses say a man may have suffered a medical problem before driving his van into a Pizza Hut in Doniphan County.
The crash happened Friday afternoon in Wathena.
The Kansas Highway Patrol says the 45-year-old Leavenworth man was driving east on U.S. 36 when his van drifted into the westbound lanes, hit a ditch and vaulted across the parking lot into the Pizza Hut.
No one inside was hurt, but a group of Doniphan County officers had just finished a lunch meeting and witnessed the accident. Another witness, Wathena firefighter Bob Ryser, says the driver was talking afterward but seemed confused and appeared to have suffered a medical problem.
The driver was taken to a hospital in St. Joseph, Missouri.
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Man charged in death of fan at Arrowhead Stadium
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of a Kansas City Chiefs fan in an Arrowhead Stadium parking lot.
Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced the charge Friday against 23-year-old Joshua Bradley of Independence. He was arrested early Friday and is being held on $75,000 bond.
Smithville resident Kyle Van Winkle died after being confronted by a group of fans December 1st when he was found in the wrong vehicle in the parking lot. Police say the Jeep looked like one that Van Winkle rode in to the game.
Peters Baker said Friday that Bradley hit Van Winkle more than once during the confrontation.
An autopsy found that Van Winkle died from a blow to the head.