OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City man has admitted to driving under the influence in a crash that killed a woman who worked with special needs children.
The Kansas City Star reports that 28-year-old James McAllister, of Overland Park, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of 24-year-old Caitlin Vogel of Stilwell. He also pleaded guilty to driving without a court-ordered ignition interlock device.
Authorities say McAllister ran a stop sign in May 2016, causing his sport utility vehicle to broad-side the sedan Vogel was driving. Vogel worked with special needs children as an autism instructional assistant for the Olathe school district.
Sentencing is set for Oct. 18. The plea agreement calls for a prison sentence of nine years and seven months.
Down to seven council members, there were no worries of voting ties at the Great Bend City Council meeting Tuesday night at the Great Bend Events Center. Mayor Dr. Mike Allison confirmed the 4-3 vote to reinstate suspended Great Bend Police Chief Cliff Couch.
Mike Allison Audio
Great Bend City Council meeting on September 5, 2017.
Council member Dana Dawson made the motion to reinstate Couch, stating that problems existed between Couch and former City Administrator Howard Partington. Allison followed Dawson’s comment stating the problem was a situation where an employee (Couch) decided he did not have to do what his boss (Partington) asked him to do.
Couch was suspended with pay on July 24 and was awaiting a hearing regarding his suspension. His reinstatement will now nullify the need for the hearing.
Dawson, Brock McPherson, Cory Zimmerman, and Mike Boys all voted for the reinstatement. Along with Vicki Berryman and Joel Jackson, council member Allene Owen voted against the reinstatement because she wanted to address the allegations in the hearing that were made by Couch.
Allene Owen Audio
At the June 5 council meeting, Couch made allegations towards Partington and Allison for misconduct and unethical procedures. Partington eventually retired on August 16, after 36 years in the position, because of what he called malicious attacks towards him over a policy dispute. Council member Wayne Henneke resigned his Ward 2 position the following day quoting stress and turmoil in the city as reasons why.
The city council also voted 7-0 Tuesday night, in front of a packed room, to have a procedures audit to be conducted on the city from a certified public accounting firm, another motion presented by Dawson.
Dana Dawson Audio
Dawson stated the audit should be done to show the public that the council is listening and making an effort to have a clean slate. Dawson mentioned the audit will investigate the past 10 years of the Administrator’s Office, 10 years on city loans, five years on the Police Department, five years on the Street Department, and new surveys to all the departments. City Clerk Shawna Schafer said she was not sure how long it would take an auditor to conduct an audit of this nature, but estimated if an auditor sent three auditors with a standard rate of $250 an hour per auditor, it could cost roughly $6,000 a day. Dawson he went back on his initial request to have a forensic audit because he found out the process could cost north of $100,000.
The city council also voted 7-0 to make McPherson the next council president following Henneke’s resignation.
Allison appointed committees to interview applicants for Interim City Administrator, Fire Chief, and appoint a new council member to fill the vacant Ward 2 seat. Allison says so far two applications have been received for the administrator position, a few for the open council spot, and three internal applications for the Fire Chief position. Former Fire Chief Mike Napolitano’s retirement went into effect September 1, 2017 after 43 years with the Fire Department.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — University of Kansas police have found a stolen, loaded gun in a bathroom stall in an academic building on campus.
Deputy Police Chief James Anguiano said the .38-caliber revolver was discovered Tuesday morning in Wescoe Hall. He said both a student and a graduate teaching assistant had seen the firearm.
Anguiano said a check of the serial number showed the gun was stolen in Olathe, Kansas. He did not have more details.
It was the second report in two months of an unattended gun being found in a university bathroom. A Wichita State University employee left one behind in July.
A Kansas law that took effect in July requires state universities to allow concealed guns on their campuses.
SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged sex crimes.
On August 22, police received a report of possible sex crimes involving three young children, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester.
The victims, three boys ages five, nine and eleven, told police Harold Weis, 33, Salina, sexually assaulted them, according to Forrester.
The encounters are said to have occurred at Weis’s Salina apartment, 1265 Faith Drive, between 2012 and August of 2017.
Police arrested Weis and booked him into the Saline County Jail on 20 counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, 21 counts of criminal sodomy, four counts of aggravated solicitation and one count of criminal threat.
Senator Dole during a 2014 visit in Russell with Eagle Communications
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has voted to give the Congressional Gold Medal to former Sen. Bob Dole for his service to the nation as a soldier, legislator and statesman.
The medal represents Congress’ highest expression of appreciation for distinguished contributions to the nation.
The Senate has already passed the legislation. Tuesday’s voice vote approval sends the measure to President Donald Trump for his signature.
Dole, 94, represented Kansas in the House for eight years and in the Senate for more than 27 years. He led Republicans in the Senate for more than a decade before resigning in 1996 to focus on his campaign for the presidency. That campaign ended with a loss to Bill Clinton.
Dole was seriously wounded in World War II and never regained full use of his right arm.
SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities continue to investigating reports of a missing Kansas woman.
Maize police are asking for the public’s assistance in locating 30-year-old Kendra Leigh Nystrom who has now been missing for over four months, according to a media release.
Kendra was last seen around 10:30 AM on the morning of May 4, 2017. She left her parents’ home in the 12000 block of West 29th Street North with only her dog. She left the house on foot leaving her personal belongings, car and cell phone behind. This residence is located adjacent to the Cowskin Creek which was running above capacity due to recent heavy rains. Moderate flooding was occurring in the area at the time.
On May 10, 2017, an area resident recorded what appeared to be some type of altercation between a man and a woman at the intersection of 37th Street North and 135th Street West, which is approximately a mile and a half from the Nystrom’s home.
The video showed a woman getting out of and running away from a car stopped at the intersection and a male chasing after her. Both subjects ultimately returned to the car which left traveling south on 135th Street West. We have not been able to identify the parties involved in the incident or if the incident was in anyway related to Kendra’s disappearance.
Kendra had spent the night before her disappearance at a motel on West Kellogg in Wichita and may have frequented motels along west Kellogg and or south Broadway. We have received several tips of sightings of Kendra in the areas of South Broadway in Wichita, the Plainview neighborhood in Southeast Wichita and the Oaklawn community in South Wichita, however we have not been able to verify or confirm any of these sightings. While we have spoken with numerous individuals who know Kendra, none have seen or heard from her since the date she went missing.
Kendra is described as awhite female with reddish brown hair. She is approximately 5’4″ tall and weighs between 100 and 120 lbs. She also has the initials “R.J.” tattooed on her left ring finger. Her dog is a black and gray male Chihuahua mix named Frankie.
We are asking for owners of property adjacent to the Cowskin Creek south of 29th Street North to check areas near the creek. We would also like to speak with the individuals involved in the incident that occurred on May 10 at the intersection of 37th Street North and 135th Street West in Sedgwick County.
These cases, no matter the age of the missing person, take a toll on family. It is highly unusual for Kendra to go more than a week without talking to her mother. It has now been over four months. On behalf of the Nystrom family, we are asking for anyone who has any information about Kendra’s disappearance or current whereabouts to call 9-1-1 or the Maize Police Department at 316-425-3356. We know someone either knows Kendra’s whereabouts or holds the key to her disappearance. It is important we hear from you. Information and tips may also be reported anonymously to Crime Stoppers by calling 316-267-2111 or 1-800-222-TIPS.
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Back in a big way, Kansas redshirt-junior linebacker Joe Dineen Jr., returned to the field for the first time in nearly a year after missing the majority of the 2016 campaign with an injury, leading the Jayhawks to a 38-16 win over Southeast Missouri State. Dineen posted a game-high 15 tackles in the win on his way to being named the Big 12 Conference’s Defensive Player of the Week.
Dineen, who was honored by the conference office for the first time in his KU career, was just one tackle shy of his career-high as he collected a Big 12 leading 15 total stops, including 11 solo hits. In addition, he recorded a career-high tying 2.5 tackles-for-loss.
Dineen’s 15 tackles mark the fifth time in his Jayhawk career he has tallied 10 or more tackles in a game and he was part of a KU defense that held SEMO to just 3.4 yards per play, the lowest average per play for a Jayhawk opponent since 2008.
Dineen is the first Jayhawk to pick up weekly conference honors on defense since his teammate Dorance Armstrong Jr., was selected for the award on Nov. 21, 2016 following KU’s win over Texas.
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Backed by a combined 181 yards in returns last week against Central Arkansas, which featured a 62-yard punt return touchdown, Kansas State junior D.J. Reed was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week, the conference office announced Tuesday.
It was Reed’s second career player of the week honor but the first of the special teams variety as he was the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week following last year’s Texas Tech victory. K-State now has 44 player of the week accolades since 2011, the second most in the Big 12, while 24 have been special teams honors.
Reed took the opening kickoff 96 yards to the Bear 4-yard line to set up K-State’s first touchdown of the season, which bettered his previous long kickoff return of 76 yards last season at Baylor.
It was just the first of two long returns as Reed took a second-quarter punt 62 yards for a touchdown to give the Wildcats a 31-16 advantage. The score came on the first punt-return attempt of his career as he became the first Wildcat to take their first-career punt return for a touchdown since Thomas Randolph against New Mexico State in 1993.
WACO, Texas – Fort Hays State Football is receiving votes in the first regular season edition of the AFCA Division II Coaches’ Poll, released on Monday (Sept. 4). The poll voters gave FHSU 14 points following its 41-point win in the season opener over Missouri Southern.
The Tigers will have a chance to strengthen their case for top 25 consideration this week when they host No. 13 ranked Central Missouri on Thursday night (Sept. 7) at 7 pm. It will be the first home game of the season for the Tigers. FHSU fell to the Mules last year in Warrensburg 34-17 when UCM owned a No. 16 ranking.
Fort Hays State continues to look for its first-ever top 25 spot in the AFCA Poll, which began in 2000. The Tigers received votes in seven editions of the poll last year. The last time FHSU held a spot in the top 25 of the official NCAA Division II Poll was September 16, 1996, when it was No. 6 in the nation. The Tigers fell out of the poll the following week. The poll at that time was organized by the NCAA Football Committee.
Northwest Missouri State continues its hold on the No. 1 ranking in the nation after a win over then No. 4 ranked Emporia State in the first week. Emporia State fell to No. 15 with the loss. Central Missouri jumped from No. 21 to No. 13 this week after a comeback win over Pittsburg State in the first week. Washburn joins FHSU as MIAA schools receiving votes this week.
HUTCHINSON—Cleanup and repairs are being done in preparation for the Kansas State Fair after a number of teens vandalized displays and buildings over the weekend.
Police report that a number of 13-year-old teens used knives to slash tents near the Gate 3 area, spray painted a number of portable buildings on display and several fair structures, and poured stain over a number of hot tubs at a vendor’s booth.
Fair GM Susan Sankey says she is disappointed by the actions of the teens and that the damage is still being assessed. She also noted that law enforcement’s presence will certainly be stepped up from now until the fair is over.
Sankey says repairs to their buildings are being made, although some are just temporary, especially where some buildings were attacked with spray paint. Several vendors had damage either to tents or product to an extent that is not known at this time.
Police took the youth in Sunday morning after responding to the report of a stolen truck from Skaets restaurant. The pickup was found inside the fairgrounds, which led to the discovery of the teens and the damage.
Officers say the vandalism is a felony due to the dollar amount of the damage done.
