BELOIT– Officials from the State Fire Marshal’s Investigation Division have joined the Beloit Police Department and the Beloit Fire Department in the investigation of a suspicious fire that occurred February 11, in a single family home at 821 East South Street in Beloit.

In a media release, the state Fire Marshal reported the cause of the fire was determined to be arson. Officials are requesting the public’s assistance.

Anyone with information regarding this fire should call 1-800-KS-CRIME or the Investigation Division of the Office of the State Fire Marshal at 785-296-8984.

By Amelia Arvesen
KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA — Sex trafficking victim advocates urged lawmakers to consider regulations of strip clubs and adult bookstores in a hearing Tuesday.

A key component of Senate Bill 147 would ban consumption of alcohol in strip clubs, prohibit total nudity and lap dances, and require these nightclub businesses to close from midnight until 6 a.m. In addition, the bill prohibits establishment of a sexually oriented business within 1,000 feet of a house of worship, residence, park, library, school and child-care facility.

The bill is referred to as the community defense act, aiming to promote health, safety, and the general welfare of Kansans and prevent negative secondary effects such as an increase in crime.

September Trible, a director at Restoration House of Greater Kansas City, works with survivors of sex crimes and said she wants to see a level of protection provided to women working in sexually-oriented businesses.

“When they are working in these types of legalized commercial sex industries, this is not a simple matter of choice,” Trible said.

Trible works with Christine McDonald, a survivor of sex trafficking, who said she was sold for $2,500 at age 15 in the 1980s to a strip club owner. The owner also gave Trible drugs.

McDonald said she wants to see strip clubs closed everywhere, but the bill is a step toward ending exploitation of women and girls.

Philip Bradley, lobbying for the Equal Entertainment Group, said closing the business is exactly the intention of the bill, and he considers it overregulation.

“The folks who are doing illegal things are what make the entire industry look bad,” Bradley said.

He said it would cost up to 1,000 jobs. Bradley proposed lawmakers separate the bill to differentiate between adult retail stores such as movie and bookstores, and on-premise establishments such as nightclubs.

Sen. Tom Arpke (R-Salina) said the sex industry — Internet porn, adult video stores, strip clubs and human trafficking — is intertwined.

Phillip Cosby, state director of American Family Action in Kansas and Missouri, said Missouri’s Supreme Court upheld as constitutional a law similar to the Kansas bill. Adoption of the Senate bill will help Kansas communities fight a lucrative industry, he said.

“You would be hard pressed to find a city council that wants more SOBs in their community,” Cosby said.

In this case, Cosby said SOB refers to sexually-oriented businesses.

Tennessee and Arizona have statewide regulations.

The Senators on the Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee asked few questions. The committee took no action on the bill Tuesday.

Amelia Arvesen is a University of Kansas senior from San Ramon, Calif., majoring in journalism.

JUNCTION CITY -Police have confirmed the arrest of Arthur M. Vantassel, a parole violator wanted by the Kansas Department of Corrections and Junction City Police.

Police Chief Tim Brown said Vantassel was arrested about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday without incident. An alert asking the public for help locating him was issued last week.

He is being held at the Geary County Jail.

Police Department records showed Vantassel was arrested on a Geary County District Court warrant charging Possession of Narcotics and in a second case involving suspicion of Possession of Narcotics.

Vantassel had been convicted in 2011 on charges of Distribution of Certain Hallucinogens and had been an alleged fugitive from the Department of Corrections Parole Program since December.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Hallmark Cards plans to end printing work at its Litho-Krome printing subsidiary in Georgia and transfer the work to Lawrence, Kansas.

Hallmark officials said Tuesday the Litho-Krome subsidiary produces greeting cards and Crayola packaging.

The work will end in Midland, Georgia, in the third quarter of this year. The work will move to a Hallmark production center in Lawrence, Kansas.

The Kansas City Star reports 10 Litho-Krome employees will be offered a relocation option and about 40 other employees will receive severance pay.

Hallmark acquired the Litho-Krome lithography and printing operation in 1979. The current plant is being marketed for sale by the Kansas City-based real estate office of CBRE.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A co-owner of two Kansas City-area hotels has been sentenced to a year and nine months in federal prison for hiring workers who were in the country illegally and paying them less than other employees.

A judge on Tuesday sentenced 42-year-old Rhonda Bridge of Overland Park, Kansas. She pleaded guilty last July along with her husband, 53-year-old Munir Ahmad Chaudary to one count of conspiracy to harbor undocumented workers for personal gain. Chaudary awaits sentencing.

The couple admitted they hired the workers for Clarion hotels they own in Overland Park, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri.

Authorities say the illegal workers were not given Social Security, workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance.

Bridge has agreed to forfeit her interest in the two hotels and funds derived from the crime.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Parents of children suffering from seizure disorders are asking Kansas lawmakers to legalize hemp oil.

The Wichita Eagle reports that the House Health and Human Services Committee had a hearing Tuesday on a bill sponsored by Democratic Rep. John Wilson of Lawrence.

Parent Ryan Reed testified that he and his wife feed their 4-year-old son Otis hemp oil with a spoonful of apple sauce three times a day so that he can sleep soundly.

The Reeds once lived in Wilson’s district but moved last year to Colorado Springs last year, because medical marijuana is legal there. The Kansas bill would be limited to hemp oil.

But the Kansas police chiefs’ association opposed the measure and argued it could lead to a broader legalization of marijuana.

OKETO- Two people were injured in an accident just before 5 p.m. on Tuesday in Marshall County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Chevy Silverado driven by Jonathan Novak, 45, Oketo, was eastbound on Deer Trail Road one mile south of Oketo. The truck struck a 2008 Chevy Cobalt head-on.

Novak and the driver of the Cobalt Shayla A. Novak, 17, were transported to the Marshall County Community Hospital.

The KHP reported Shayla was properly restrained at the time of the collision. It was undetermined if Jonathan was wearing a seat belt.

Vehicle 2 was westbound on Deer Trail Road. Vehicle 1 and vehicle 2 struck head on in the center of the roadway. Both vehicles came to rest in the roadway.

GARDNER, Kan. (AP) — The Gardner City Council has unanimously voted to select a Kansas City, Missouri, police major as its new police chief.

The Kansas City Star reports James Pruetting will take over as chief of the Johnson County city later this month.

The eastern Kansas community voted Monday to select Pruetting, who will fill the job that’s been vacant since the previous chief resigned last June.

Gardner Mayor Chris Morrow says Pruetting brings a wealth of experience to the job and was chosen after an “exhaustive” search.